11 June 1560, Mary of Guise, Regent of Scotland, died.
Mary was the wife of King James V and the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary replaced Arran as regent during her daughter's infancy and arranged her betrothal to the French dauphin. Her main aim was the union of her native France and Scotland, under French leadership. This, coupled with her unswerving support for Cardinal Beaton's repressive policies toward Scottish Protestants, made her a hugely unpopular figure within the country. _________________ FOA BOB -
On 12 June 1843 Sir David Gill, Scottish astronomer, was born.
Gill was noted for his measurements of solar and stellar parallaxes, which accurately revealed the distances of the Sun and other stars to Earth. He was also a pioneer in the use of photography to map the heavens. _________________ FOA BOB -
On this day in 1831 James Clerk Maxwell was born in Edinburgh.
Nicknamed "daftie" by his fellow pupils at Edinburgh Academy, he went on to predict the existence of radio waves in 1865, and is considered by many to be the father of the science of electronics. _________________ FOA BOB -
14th June On 14 June 1946, Scottish inventor, John Logie Baird, died.
Baird is remembered as the inventor of television. Born in Helensburgh, even as a child his talents were already apparent, creating a telephone exchange system, connecting his house with four neighbouring ones and, using a petrol generator in the garden, setting up a lighting system for the house - the first in Helensburgh to have electric light.
On this day in 1746 Colin MacLaurin, the Scottish mathematician, died. MacLaurin was a child prodigy who attained the position of professor of mathematics by the age of 19, and a close friend and associate of Isaac Newton. His masterwork is Organic Geometry, with the Description of the Universal Linear Curves. _________________ FOA BOB -
On 15 June 1996 Sir Fitzroy MacLean, the Scottish soldier, diplomat, politician and author, died.
Prior to the outbreak of war, MacLean served as a diplomat in Moscow, but it is his service during the war for which he is most noted. MacLean was a founder member of the SAS, serving in North Africa before being sent into occupied Yugoslavia as the British representative to the Communist partisans. After the war he served as an MP, achieving ministerial rank as Undersecretary for War in the mid-1950s.
Thomas Campbell
On the 15 June 1844 Thomas Campbell, the Scottish poet, died. Author of The Pleasures of Hope, Campbell helped found the University of London for students who were excluded from Oxford and Cambridge for religious or financial reasons. _________________ FOA BOB -
On this day in 1971 John, Lord Reith, the Scottish broadcasting executive, died.
Reith is regarded as the founding father of public service broadcasting in Britain. He served as the first General Manager of the British Broadcasting Company between 1922-27, and as the first Director-General of the BBC from 1927-38. Reith was the inspiration behind using radio as an educational medium and as a tool for providing the nation, and world, with regular impartial news, "making the nation as one man", as he described it.
Henry McLeish.
On 16 June 1948 Henry McLeish, Scottish Labour politician, was born. McLeish began his working life as a footballer for East Fife, but soon entered the political arena, serving from 1987 as MP for Central Fife. His career reached its zenith with his appointment as First Minister of the Scottish Executive, succeeding Donald Dewar. He was forced to resign, however, after a financial scandal at his constituency.
On 16 June 1807 the Rev. John Skinner, poet, theologion and Episcopalian minister of Longside in Buchan, died. His song, Tullochgorum, was complemented by Robert Burns in a letter sent to Skinner as, "the best Scotch song ever Scotland saw". _________________ FOA BOB -
On 17 June 1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Loch Leven castle.
Mary was imprisoned in the castle on the island in the middle of the loch after the defeat of her forces at the battle of Carberry Hill. She was pregnant at the time and gave birth on the island, although what happened to the child is unknown. Shortly after this Mary was forced into signing her abdication papers in the castle, which made her half-brother, Moray, Regent. It was the spring of the following year before Mary made her escape from the castle, dressed as a servant girl. _________________ FOA BOB -
On 18 June 1815 the Battle of Waterloo was fought in Belgium.
Many Scottish regiments took part in the battle, which ended Napoleon's "hundred days". Perhaps the most prominent action involving the Scottish contingent was the combined charge of the Gordon Highlanders and the Scots Greys. A French column with over 4,000 men advanced on the Highlanders, while the Gordons, with only about 300 men, were under strict orders not to give way. As the situation reached its most critical moment, suddenly the Scots Greys appeared on the top of the hills. Both Gordons and Scots Greys in common charged the French column, shouting, "Scotland Forever", with the Gordons hanging on to the stirrups of the cavalry horses.
On 18 June 1970 the Scottish National Party celebrated their first General Election success, with Donald Stewart winning the Western Isles constituency from Labour. He was to hold on to the seat until his retiral in 1987. _________________ FOA BOB -
The only son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Lord Darnley, James acceded to the throne at the age of one, after his mother was forced to abdicate. He was tutored by George Buchanan, a firm Protestant and one of the sharpest minds in Scotland. James was a master diplomat and courted favour in England until he emerged as the main challenger to inherit the English crown on Elizabeth's death. After gaining the English kingdom, James left Edinburgh and only returned once to Scotland.
On 19 June, 1861 Earl Haig was born in Edinburgh. Haig spent a distinguished career in the military, rising through the ranks of the 7th Hussars until eventually becoming C-in-C of British forces in 1915.
Haig's tactics during the First World War have been called into question as being unimaginative and wasteful of soldiers' lives, and Haig himself cited his own despair at the casualties lost as the main reason for his work in founding the British Legion and instituting the Poppy Day appeal. _________________ FOA BOB -
On this day in 1723, Dr. Adam Ferguson, Scottish historian and philosopher, was born.
As Chair of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh University, he was a proponent of so-called "common-sense" philosophy, a precursor to modern sociology. He used the lessons of history to inform his moral thinking, and his later works especially are thought to have influenced philosophers such as Marx and Hegel. Ferguson is also famous by association, as it was at his house in 1787 that a chance meeting occurred between two Scots literary giants, Robert Burns and a young Walter Scott. _________________ FOA BOB -
On 21 June 1919, 72 warships of the German fleet were scuttled in Scapa Flow, Orkney.
Scapa Flow formed an important northern base for the British fleets in both world wars. After the armistice, 74 ships of the German High Seas Fleet were ordered into Scapa Flow to be interned. They arrived in November 1918, and stayed there for 10 months. By June, Rear Admiral von Reuter, the German Officer in command at Scapa Flow, knew that Germany would have to accept surrender terms, and he gave the order for the fleet to be scuttled. _________________ FOA BOB -
On this day in 1679 at the Battle of Bothwell, the Covenanters were defeated by royal troops led by the Duke of Monmouth.
Ideological differences among the Covenanters factionalised them, and the resulting disorganisation contributed to the ease of the Royalists' victory. Although deaths on the field were few, 200 were killed later. Of the 1400 captured or surrendered, another 258 were shipwrecked while being transported in The Crown of London. _________________ FOA BOB -
Today in 1314 Robert I, King of Scots, killed Henry de Bohun at the commencement of the Battle of Bannockburn.
In retaliation for the defeat of English garrisons at Edinburgh and Roxburgh castles, Edward II led a massive invasion force into Scotland, where they met the Scots army at Bannockburn, near Stirling. The battle continued until the next day.
James Hall
On this day in 1832 Sir James Hall, Scottish geologist, died. Founder of geochemistry, Hall demonstrated that if igneous rocks are allowed to cool slowly, they form crystalline rather than glassy rock. He also showed that limestone, when heated under pressure, does not decompose but becomes marble. _________________ FOA BOB -
Today in 1314 the Scottish army, under Robert I, defeated a far larger English army at the Battle of Bannockburn.
Bruce had chosen his ground carefully, and won a tremendous victory over the vast English army. This was perhaps Bruce's greatest hour, and his most enduring memory - fighting for his nation's independence against a hugely superior English force, and winning.
Sir John Ross
24 June 1777 saw the birth of Admiral Sir John Ross, Scottish Polar explorer. In 1818 he went in search of the Northwest Passage but turned back after exploring Baffin Bay. Financed by Sir Felix Booth, he commanded a second search expedition (1829-33), when he located the north magnetic pole on Boothia Peninsula, now called Prince of Wales Island. _________________ FOA BOB -
On this day in 1897, Margaret Oliphant, Scottish novelist, died.
Born in East Lothian in 1828, Margaret spent most of her life living in Liverpool and Glasgow. Her novels are often subversive, using sharp wit to expose the hypocrisy and injustices of Victorian society. The mundane existence of women of the time, and the difficulties of relations within families, were themes she tackled with delicacy, humour and intelligence.
25 June 1936 saw the birth of Roy Williamson, Scottish folk musician and songwriter. A founder member of the folk group, "The Corries", for whom he wrote the song which has since become Scotland's unofficial National Anthem, "Flower of Scotland". _________________ FOA BOB -
On this day in 1695 the company which undertook the Darien Scheme was formed.
The company came to ruin five years later through English obstruction, Spanish hostility and Scottish mismanagement. The image is of Darien House in Bristo Street in Edinburgh. Originally built as the headquarters for the ill-fated Company, it later became a lunatic asylum for paupers in the nearby workhouse.
Lord Kelvin
26 June 1824 saw the birth of William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, eminent Scottish physicist. He devised the Kelvin, or Absolute, scale of temperature. Thomson brought together disparate areas of physics - heat, thermodynamics, mechanics, hydrodynamics, magnetism, and electricity - and thus played a principal role in the final synthesis of 19th-century science.
His success as a synthesizer of theories about energy places him in the same position in 19th-century physics as Sir Isaac Newton has in 17th-century physics or Albert Einstein in 20th-century physics. _________________ FOA BOB -
Today in 1857 Daniel MacMillan, Scottish publisher, died. Born on the Isle of Arran, he was co-founder with his brother Alexander of the successful publishing house, MacMillan. His grandson became the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan.
Robin Hall and Jimmy McGregor
On this day in 1937, Robin Hall, Scottish folk singer and musician, was born.
Hall achieved national fame in partnership with fellow Scot, Jimmie MacGregor, on the BBC TV show, Tonight. His hits included The Mingulay Boat Song and Ye Cannae Shove Yer Grannie Aff a Bus. _________________ FOA BOB -
On 28 June 1790, the Forth and Clyde Canal opened.
The 35 mile course from Bowling to Grangemouth is the longest of the Lowland canals. It was formally abandoned in 1962. Its re-opening in 2001 was part of the Millenium Link scheme, allowing waterway travel from Edinburgh to Glasgow by linking to the Union canal via the remarkable Falkirk Wheel boat lift.
Flora MacDonald
Today in 1746, Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie set sail from Benbecula to Skye. After Culloden, the Prince had a high price on his head. He came to Benbecula, and Flora helped him escape to Skye by disguising him as her Irish maid, Betty Burke. The crossing was short but perilous, as the small boat weathered both storms and the bullets of redcoats from the shore. Yet they survived that, and the questioning of government men, thanks in no small part to the cool demeanour of Flora, and the Prince escaped to France, never to return.
She was arrested when her part in the escape became known, but the popular appeal of her courage and ingenuity meant she was well treated, and she was released after spending a few years in the Tower. She emigrated to America, but later returned to Kingsburgh on Skye, where she died in 1790. _________________ FOA BOB -
Today in 1928, Ian Bannen, Scottish actor, was born.
Bannen appeared in more than 60 British and American films. These include The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. On TV, he was probably best known for his parts in the BBC drama series, Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy, and the ITV medical drama, Dr. Finlay. In 1996, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from BAFTA. He died in 1999, aged 71. _________________ FOA BOB -
Today in 1857 marked the beginning of the trial of Madeleine Smith for murder.
The daughter of a Glasgow architect, James Smith, this most eligible of society ladies was accused in 1857 of murdering her alleged former lover, Emile L'Angelier. Among the evidence were some explicit love letters: the resulting scandal turned public opinion against her. Learning of her engagement to the wealthy William Minnoch, L'Angelier had threatened to give the love letters to her father, superficially providing her with a strong motive. However the actual evidence against her was weak, and after a famously skilful defence by the Dean of Faculty, John Inglis, a verdict of "not proven" was returned.
Subsequent research suggests that L'Angelier, a known arsenic eater, may have been a victim of his own vengeful plot to frame Madeleine for his attempted murder. She moved to London, where she became a popular figure, marrying artist and publisher, George Wardle. After this marriage failed, she moved to New York, married again in her seventies, and lived to the age of 93.
James Loughran has regularly conducted European orchestras, from Stockholm to Barcelona, as well as in the USA and Australia. In 1996 he comitted himself to Denmark's Aarhus Symphony Orchestra as Chief Conductor.
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