1785 In Scotland
Events from the year 1785 in Scotland. Incumbents Law officers * Lord Advocate – Ilay Campbell * Solicitor General for Scotland – Robert Dundas of Arniston Judiciary * Lord President of the Court of Session – Lord Arniston, the younger * Lord Justice General – The Viscount Stormont * Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Barskimming Events * 7 March – geologist James Hutton proposes the theory of uniformitarianism to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. * Late September – James Boswell’s ''The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides'' is published. * 5 October – flight by Florentine aeronaut Vincenzo Lunardi in a gas balloon from George Heriot's School, Edinburgh, across the Firth of Forth to Ceres, Fife (32 mi (51.5 km) in 1.5 hrs). * 23 November – Lunardi flies from St Andrew's Square, Glasgow, to Hawick. Births * 18 May – John Wilson, writer (died 1854) * 18 November – David Wilkie, painter (died at sea 1841) Deaths * 23 January – Matthew Stewa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. It also contains more than 790 islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt—the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands—in the Scottish Lowlands. Scotland is divided into 32 administrative subdivisions or local authorities, known as council areas. Glasgow City is the largest council area in terms of population, with Highland being the largest in terms of area. Limited self-governing power, covering matters such as education, social services and roads and transportation, is devolved from the Scott ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gas Balloon
A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air (such as helium or hydrogen). When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent the escape of gas. A gas balloon may also be called a '' Charlière'' for its inventor, the Frenchman Jacques Charles. Today, familiar gas balloons include large blimps and small latex party balloons. For nearly 200 years, well into the 20th century, manned balloon flight utilized gas balloons before hot-air balloons became dominant. Without power, heat or fuel, untethered flights of gas balloons depended on the skill of the pilot. Gas balloons have greater lift for a given volume, so they do not need to be so large, and they can stay up for much longer than hot air balloons. History The first gas balloon made its flight in August 1783. Designed by professor Jacques Charles and Les Frères Robert, it carried no passengers or cargo. On ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1736 In Scotland
Events from the year 1736 in Scotland. Incumbents * Secretary of State for Scotland: ''vacant'' Law officers * Lord Advocate – Duncan Forbes * Solicitor General for Scotland – Charles Erskine Judiciary * Lord President of the Court of Session – Lord North Berwick * Lord Justice General – Lord Ilay * Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Milton Events * 10 January – emigrants from the Scottish Highlands arrive in North America on the ''Prince of Wales'' to establish the defensive town of Darien, Georgia, originally called New Inverness, among them being Lachlan McGillivray, Lachlan McIntosh and other members of the Clan Mackintosh. * 14 April – Porteous Riots in Edinburgh. John Porteous, captain of the city guard, orders his men to fire into the crowd, causing six deaths. * 5 July – Captain Porteous found guilty of murder by the High Court of Justiciary. * 7 September – the Edinburgh mob drags Captain Porteous out of his cell in Tolbooth prison and lynche ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alexander Runciman
Alexander Runciman (15 August 1736 – 4 October 1785) was a Scottish painter of historical and mythological subjects. He was the elder brother of John Runciman, also a painter. Life He was born in Edinburgh, and studied at the Foulis Academy, Glasgow. From 1750 to 1762 he was apprenticed to the landscape painter Robert Norie, later becoming a partner in the Norie family firm. He also worked as a stage painter for the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh. In 1767 he went to Rome, where he spent five years. His brother John accompanied him, but died in Naples in the winter of 1768–69. During Runciman's stay in Italy he became acquainted with other artists such as Henry Fuseli and the sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel. Runciman's earliest efforts had been in landscape; he now turned to historical and imaginative subjects, exhibiting his ''Nausicaa at Play with her Maidens'' in 1767 at the Free Society of British Artists, Edinburgh. On his return from Italy after a brief time in London, wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1717 In Scotland
Events from the year 1717 in Scotland. Incumbents * Secretary of State for Scotland: The Duke of Roxburghe Law officers * Lord Advocate – Sir David Dalrymple, 1st Baronet * Solicitor General for Scotland – Sir James Stewart, Bt (possibly jointly with Robert Dundas) Judiciary * Lord President of the Court of Session – Lord North Berwick * Lord Justice General – Lord Ilay * Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Grange Events * 1 January – Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador to Great Britain, is arrested in London over a plot to assist the Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart. * February – as part of the Triple Alliance treaty between Britain and France, James Stuart leaves France and seeks refuge with the Pope. * July – Indemnity Act frees most Jacobites from imprisonment. The Clan Gregor are specifically excluded. * Horse post introduced between Glasgow, Edinburgh and points north. * Carrbridge Packhorse Bridge built. * Drummonds Bank is fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Matthew Stewart (mathematician)
Matthew Stewart FRS FRSE (1717–1785) was a Scottish mathematician and minister of the Church of Scotland. Life He was born in the manse at Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute, on 15 January 1717, the son of Rev Dugald Stewart, the local minister, and his wife, Janet Bannantyne. He was educated at Rothesay Grammar School, then entered the University of Glasgow in 1734, where he studied under the philosopher Francis Hutcheson and the mathematician Robert Simson, the latter from whom he studied ancient geometry. A close friendship developed between Simson and Stewart, in part because of their mutual admiration of Pappus of Alexandria, which resulted in many curious communications with respect to the De Locis Planis of Apollonius of Perga and the Porisms of Euclid over the years. This correspondence suggests that Stewart spent several weeks in Glasgow starting May 1743 assisting Robert Simson in the production of his ''Apollonii Pergaei locorum planorum libri II'', which was publis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Wilkie (artist)
Sir David Wilkie (18 November 1785 – 1 June 1841) was a Scottish painter, especially known for his genre scenes. He painted successfully in a wide variety of genres, including historical scenes, portraits, including formal royal ones, and scenes from his travels to Europe and the Middle East. His main base was in London, but he died and was buried at sea, off Gibraltar, returning from his first trip to the Middle East. He was sometimes known as the "people's painter". He was Principal Painter in Ordinary to King William IV of the United Kingdom, William IV and Queen Victoria. Apart from royal portraits, his best-known painting today is probably ''Chelsea Pensioners reading the Waterloo Dispatch (painting), The Chelsea Pensioners reading the Waterloo Dispatch'' of 1822 in Apsley House. Early life David Wilkie was born in Pitlessie Fife in Scotland on 18 November 1785. He was the son of the parish minister (Christianity), minister of Cults, Fife, Cults, Fife. Caroline Ch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1854 In Scotland
Events from the year 1854 in Scotland. Incumbents Law officers * Lord Advocate – James Moncreiff * Solicitor General for Scotland – James Craufurd Judiciary * Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Colonsay * Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Glencorse Events * 1 January – Victoria Bridge, Glasgow, opened over the River Clyde at Stockwell Street, replacing the Bishop's Bridge. * July – first voyage by a seagoing steamship fitted with a compound steam engine, the screw steamer ''Brandon'', built on the River Clyde by John Elder. * 10 August – Merchant Shipping Act 1854 vests management of Scottish lighthouses in the Northern Lighthouse Board (among other provisions). * 15 September – new North Ronaldsay lighthouse, designed by Alan Stevenson, first illuminated. * 20 September – Aberdeen Kittybrewster railway station opened to serve the Great North of Scotland Railway main line to Keith. * 11 October – temporary North Uns ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Wilson (Scottish Writer)
John Wilson of Elleray FRSE (18 May 1785 – 3 April 1854) was a Scottish advocate, literary critic and author, the writer most frequently identified with the pseudonym Christopher North of ''Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine''. He was professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh from 1820–1851. Life and work Wilson was born in Paisley, the son of John Wilson, a wealthy gauze manufacturer who died in 1796, when John was 11 years old, and his wife Margaret Sym (1753–1825). He was their fourth child, and the eldest son, having nine sisters and brothers. He was educated at Paisley Grammar School and entered the University of Glasgow aged 12 (14 being the usual age at that time), and continued to attend various classes for six years, mostly under Professor George Jardine, with whose family he lived. During this period Wilson excelled in sport as well as academic subjects, and fell in love with Margaret Fletcher, who was the object of his affections for seve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hawick
Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and is the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. The town is at the confluence of the Slitrig Water with the River Teviot. The town was formally established in the 16th century, but was previously the site of historic settlement going back hundreds of years. By the late 17th century, the town began to grow significantly, especially during the Industrial Revolution and Victorian era as a centre for the production of textiles, with a focus on knitting and weaving, involving materials such as tweed and cashmere. By the late 20th century, textile production had declined but the town remains an important regional centre for shopping, tourism and services. H ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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St Andrew's Square, Glasgow
St Andrew's Square is a public square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland and lies to the south east corner of Glasgow Cross, close to Glasgow Green. The square is noted for its immense 18th-century classical church, St Andrew's in the Square, from which the square takes its name. The church was completed in 1758, to the designs of architect Allan Dreghorn and master mason Mungo Naismith and is among the finest of its type anywhere in Britain. The interior has lavish 18th century rococo plasterwork. The building is Category A listed. It is one of six squares in the city centre. The church standing amidst fields on the banks of the Molendinar Burn, was later enclosed by a square, encouraged by the town council who sold the ground to builder developer William Hamilton of Glassford, Lanarkshire, building between 1786 and the early 1790s. He was also the architect of the Tontine in the Trongate. The square became a fashionable residence for some of Glasgow's wealthiest merchants. "He ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Scots Independent
''The Scots Independent'' is a monthly Scottish political newspaper that is in favour of Scottish independence. It was formed in 1926 with William Gillies as editor, by the Scots National League (SNL) and switched its allegiance to the National Party of Scotland (NPS) when the SNL joined with them in 1928. When the NPS merged with the Scottish Party in 1934 to form the Scottish National Party (SNP) they switched to supporting them. The paper is still today largely pro-SNP. Editors of the paper have included Arthur Donaldson, Robert McIntyre, Tom H Gibson, John L. Kinloch, Alastair Macdonald, Michael Grieve, Albert D. Mackie, David Murison, Douglas Stewart, Alwyn James, Colin Bell, W. Kenneth Fee and James and Jennifer Taggart. See also *List of newspapers in Scotland This is a list of newspapers in Scotland. Daily newspapers : Traditionally newspapers could be divided into 'quality', serious-minded newspapers (usually referred to as 'broadsheets' due to their large ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |