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David Robertson MacDonald
Lieutenant-Colonel David Robertson Macdonald of Kinlochmoidart (1764–1845), born David Robertson, was a British Army officer linked to the history of Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon). Life He was born David Robertson on 29 September 1764, the son of the eminent Edinburgh historian and minister of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, William Robertson, and his wife Mary Nisbet. His brothers included William Robertson and Lord Robertson. Trained in the military, he served in the British Army linked to the East India Company and raised the first Malay Regiment in Ceylon in 1796. He served as Deputy Adjutant General of Ceylon in the late 18th century. In 1802 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were John Playfair, Alexander Dirom, and Dr James Russell. In later life he lived at 24 Walker Street. Robertson Macdonald died on 7 September 1845. He is buried in the Robertson family vault in Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas, and 28,330 volunteer reserve personnel. The modern British Army traces back to 1707, with antecedents in the English Army and Scots Army that were created during the Restoration in 1660. The term ''British Army'' was adopted in 1707 after the Acts of Union between England and Scotland. Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the monarch as their commander-in-chief, but the Bill of Rights of 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army. Therefore, Parliament approves the army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years. The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence and commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. The Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Dirom
Lieutenant General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Alexander Dirom of Luce Bay, Luce and Mount Annan Royal Society of London, FRS FRSE (21May 17576October 1830) was a British military commander who saw overseas service in Barbados, Jamaica and India. He is remembered not only as a military commander but also as an agricultural improver, which earned him Fellowship of both the Royal Society of London and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His most notable contribution was to identify the importance of salt in animal diets, leading to the widespread use of "salt-licks" from around 1800. His views on the British corn trade also paved the way to the formulation of the Corn Laws in the early 19th century. Biography He was born in Banffshire the son of Alexander Dirom of Muiresk (Provost of Banff, Aberdeenshire, Banff) and his wife, Ann Fotheringham. He was appointed ensign (rank), ensign in the 61st Regiment of Foot on 8 December 1778 and lieutenant in the 88th Regiment of Foot (177 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fellows Of The Royal Society Of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established in 1783. , there are around 1,800 Fellows. The Society covers a broader selection of fields than the Royal Society of London, including literature and history. Fellowship includes people from a wide range of disciplines – science & technology, arts, humanities, medicine, social science, business, and public service. History At the start of the 18th century, Edinburgh's intellectual climate fostered many clubs and societies (see Scottish Enlightenment). Though there were several that treated the arts, sciences and medicine, the most prestigious was the Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge, commonly referred to as the Medical Society of Edinburgh, co-founded by the mathematician Colin Maclaurin in 1731. Maclaurin was unhappy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Army Officers
This is a list of senior officers of the British Army. See also Commander in Chief of the Forces, Chief of the General Staff, and Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Captains-General of the British Army, 1707–1809 See article on Captain general Commanders-in-Chief of the Forces, 1660–1904 See article on Commander-in-Chief of the Forces Chiefs of the General Staff, 1904–1909 See article on Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom) Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff 1909–1964 See article on Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom) Chiefs of the General Staff, 1964– See article on Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom) Vice Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff See article on Vice Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom) Deputy Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff See article on Deputy Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom) Assistant Chiefs of the General Staff See article on Assistant Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom) Adjut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1845 Deaths
Events January–March * January 10 – Elizabeth Barrett receives a love letter from the younger poet Robert Browning; on May 20, they meet for the first time in London. She begins writing her ''Sonnets from the Portuguese''. * January 23 – The United States Congress establishes a uniform date for federal elections, which will henceforth be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. * January 29 – ''The Raven'' by Edgar Allan Poe is published for the first time, in the ''New York Evening Mirror''. * February 1 – Anson Jones, President of the Republic of Texas, signs the charter officially creating Baylor University (the oldest university in the State of Texas operating under its original name). * February 7 – In the British Museum, a drunken visitor smashes the Portland Vase, which takes months to repair. * February 28 – The United States Congress approves the annexation of Texas. * March 1 – President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1764 Births
1764 ( MDCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday and is the fifth year of the 1760s decade, the 64th year of the 18th century, and the 764th year of the 2nd millennium. Events January–June * January 7 – The Siculicidium is carried out as hundreds of the Székely minority in Transylvania are massacred by the Austrian Army at Madéfalva. * January 19 – John Wilkes is expelled from the House of Commons of Great Britain, for seditious libel. * February 15 – The settlement of St. Louis is established. * March 15 – The day after his return to Paris from a nine-year mission, French explorer and scholar Anquetil Du Perron presents a complete copy of the Zoroastrian sacred text, the ''Zend Avesta'', to the ''Bibliothèque Royale'' in Paris, along with several other traditional texts. In 1771, he publishes the first European translation of the ''Zend Avesta''. * March 17 – Francisco Javier de la Torre arrives in Manila to become the new Spanis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Robertson-Macdonald
Admiral David Robertson-Macdonald, 11th of Kinlochmoidart (6 August 1817 – 16 May 1910), also known as David Robertson, was a Scottish officer in the Royal Navy. He joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer, and saw service off the Portuguese and Spanish coast, in the West Indies and in the Mediterranean. Promoted to Lieutenant in August 1841, he served in HMS ''Hazard'' in the 1842 war with China, before the ship was posted to New Zealand. In August 1844, Lieutenant Robertson assumed the role of Acting Commander of HMS ''Hazard'', following the death of Commander Charles Bell, RN, at Kororāreka, New Zealand. At Kororāreka in the early morning of 11 March 1845, Commander Robertson, with a party of 45 sailors and marines, repulsed the first attack of the Battle of Kororāreka from Kawiti, Pumuka and their party of some 200 warriors, at Christ Church and along Matavia Pass. Missing presumed dead following the naval party's withdrawal to the stockade, he was later found conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greyfriars Kirkyard
Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at Greyfriars. The Kirkyard is operated by City of Edinburgh Council in liaison with a charitable trust, which is linked to but separate from the church. The Kirkyard and its monuments are protected as a category A listed building. History Greyfriars takes its name from the Franciscan friary on the site (the friars of which wear grey habits), which was dissolved in 1560. The churchyard was founded in August 1562 after Royal sanction was granted to replace the churchyard at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. The latter burial ground was not used after around 1600. The Kirkyard was involved in the history of the Covenanters. The Covenanting movement began with signing of the National Cov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Russell (surgeon)
James Russell FRSE RSA (1754–1836) was a Scottish surgeon who was the first professor of clinical surgery at the University of Edinburgh. He was president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and was a co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1805 he published one of the earliest descriptions of direct inguinal hernia. His collection of anatomical specimens was donated to the Surgeon's Hall in Edinburgh and is now known as the James Russell Collection. Early life He was born in Edinburgh. His father, also James Russell (d 1773), was a surgeon who became Deacon (President) of the Incorporation of Surgeons in 1752. He gave up his surgical career to take up the Chair of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in 1764 succeeding Adam Ferguson who had become Professor of Moral Philosophy.Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. (1874). ''List of Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh from the year 1581 to 31st December 1873''. Edinburgh: R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Playfair
John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth'' (1802), which summarised the work of James Hutton. It was through this book that Hutton's principle of uniformitarianism, later taken up by Charles Lyell, first reached a wide audience. Playfair's textbook ''Elements of Geometry'' made a brief expression of Euclid's parallel postulate known now as Playfair's axiom. In 1783 he was a co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He served as General Secretary to the society 1798–1819. Life Born at Benvie, slightly west of Dundee to Margaret Young (1719/20 – 1805) and Reverend James Playfair (died 1772), the kirk minister of Liff and Benvie. Playfair was educated at home until the age of 14, when he entered the University of St Andrews to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre. Sri Lanka has a population of around 22 million (2020) and is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation's population. The Tamils, who are a large minority group, have also played an influential role in the island's history. Other long established groups include the Moors, the Burghers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Society Of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established in 1783. , there are around 1,800 Fellows. The Society covers a broader selection of fields than the Royal Society of London, including literature and history. Fellowship includes people from a wide range of disciplines – science & technology, arts, humanities, medicine, social science, business, and public service. History At the start of the 18th century, Edinburgh's intellectual climate fostered many clubs and societies (see Scottish Enlightenment). Though there were several that treated the arts, sciences and medicine, the most prestigious was the Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge, commonly referred to as the Medical Society of Edinburgh, co-founded by the mathematician Colin Maclaurin in 1731. Maclaurin was unhappy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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