Saint Columba

[Death]

An Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. According to traditional sources, Columba died in Iona on Sunday, 9 June 597, and was buried by his monks in the abbey he created.

Robert the Bruce

[Reign Start]

Robert I, known as Robert the Bruce, was King of Scots. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent kingdom and is now revered in Scotland as a national hero.

James IV of Scotland

[Start]

Generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs. He was responsible for a major expansion of the Scottish royal navy. He took an active interest in arts, law, literature and science, even personally experimenting in dentistry and bloodletting. With his patronage the printing press came to Scotland, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the University of Aberdeen were founded. He commissioned the building of the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Falkland Palace.

Mary, Queen of Scots

[Reign Start]

Also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was queen until her forced abdication. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland, Mary was six days old when her father died and she inherited the throne. During her childhood, Scotland was governed by regents. She was beheaded by Elizabeth I of England, who perceived her as a threat to the throne.

Mary, Queen of Scots

[Reign End]

Also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was queen until her forced abdication. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland, Mary was six days old when her father died and she inherited the throne. During her childhood, Scotland was governed by regents. She was beheaded by Elizabeth I of England, who perceived her as a threat to the throne.

James VI and I

[Reign Start]

Was King of Scotland as James VI prior to becoming King of England & Ireland as James I. This period called the Jacobian Era. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, though both were ruled by James.

James VI and I

[Reign End]

Was King of Scotland as James VI prior to becoming King of England & Ireland as James I. This period called the Jacobian Era. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, though both were ruled by James.

Witch persecutions in Scotland

[Abolished]

Scotland had the most persecutions in Great Britain, about 5000. Under the Scottish Witchcraft Act of this year, both the practice of witchcraft and consulting with witches were capital offences.

Logarithms

[Invented]

The Scottish mathematician, John Napier, invented logarithms, the inverse of exponentiation, as a means of simplifying calculations. They were rapidly adopted by navigators, scientists, engineers and more.

Encyclopædia Britannica

[Published]

Theory of the Earth

[Published]

By James Hutton, a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the "Father of Modern Geology", he played a key role in establishing geology as a modern science. He advanced the idea that the earth's remote history can be inferred from evidence in present-day rocks. He showed that geological features could not be static but underwent continuing transformation over indefinitely long periods of time.

David Livingstone reaches Victoria Falls

David Livingstone was born on the 19th March 1813 in a mill town called Blantyre, in Scotland.

Penicillin

[Discovered]

Alexander Fleming, a Scottish physician and microbiologist, discovered the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance in this year. He received the Nobel Prize about 2 decades later, together with Howard Florey & Ernst Chain who purified it (with others at Oxford).

Hadrian's Wall

[Created]

A former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in [122] in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. It was a stone wall with large ditches in front of it and behind it that crossed the whole width of the island. Hadrian's Wall marked the boundary between Roman Britannia and unconquered Caledonia to the north. The wall lies entirely within England and has never formed the Anglo-Scottish border, though it is often loosely described as being such.

St Andrews University

[Established]

St Andrews is Scotland's first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world. Teaching began in the community of St Andrews in [1410], and the University was formally constituted by the issue of a papal bull in [1413].

Darien scheme

[Dissolved]

An unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth and influence by establishing New Caledonia, a colony in the Darién Gap on the Isthmus of Panama, which would create and manage an overland route to connect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. More than 80% of participants died within a year. The Company of Scotland was backed by approximately 20% of all the money circulating in Scotland, and its failure left the entire Scottish Lowlands in financial ruin.

Skara Brae

[Abandoned]

A stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. It consisted of ten clustered houses, made of flagstones, in earthen dams that provided support for the walls; the houses included stone hearths, beds, and cupboards. The site was occupied from roughly [3180] BCE to about [2500] BCE and is Europe's most complete Neolithic village.

Robert Burns

[Birth]

Known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world.

Robert Burns

[Death]

Known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde

[Published]

Written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer.

First War of Scottish Independence

[Start]

The first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in [1296] until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in [1328]. De facto independence was established in [1314] at the Battle of Bannockburn. The wars were caused by the attempts of the English kings to establish their authority over Scotland while Scots fought to keep English rule and authority out of Scotland.

First War of Scottish Independence

[End]

The first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in [1296] until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in [1328]. De facto independence was established in [1314] at the Battle of Bannockburn. The wars were caused by the attempts of the English kings to establish their authority over Scotland while Scots fought to keep English rule and authority out of Scotland.

Second War of Scottish Independence

[End]

Broke out when Edward Balliol led an English-backed invasion of Scotland. Balliol, the son of a former Scottish king, was attempting to make good his claim to the Scottish throne. He was opposed by Scots loyal to the occupant of the throne, eight-year-old David II. At the Battle of Dupplin Moor Balliol's force defeated a Scottish army ten times their size and Balliol was crowned king. Within three months he was forced out. However, he appealed to the English king, Edward III, who invaded Scotland and besieged Berwick.

Jacobite Risings

[First Rising]

In [1688], concerns about King James II and his designs on an absolute monarchy came to a head. Parliament deposed the Roman Catholic ruler in an act hailed as a Glorious Revolution, ignoring James Francis Edward Stuart, James’s son from his second marriage. So a series of rebellions in Scotland attempted to overthrow the ruling House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the throne. They were encouraged and assisted by Britain’s enemies, who saw their cause as a way of distracting Britain.

Jacobite Risings

[Last Rising]

In [1688], concerns about King James II and his designs on an absolute monarchy came to a head. Parliament deposed the Roman Catholic ruler in an act hailed as a Glorious Revolution, ignoring James Francis Edward Stuart, James’s son from his second marriage. So a series of rebellions in Scotland attempted to overthrow the ruling House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the throne. They were encouraged and assisted by Britain’s enemies, who saw their cause as a way of distracting Britain.