 |
 |
By Keith
and Lois Forbes
We are married Scottish and American respectively former authors, economic garden and travel writers and historians. Read about our ancestors of the 13th century, descended from John de Forbes of Scotland. We have visited and written about these unusual, dramatic and beautiful Treasures of or about Britain from our own personal experiences and are pleased to present them for a world-wide audience. |
Here are some of those whose claims to fame are both unusual and not very well known, as well as extremely well known. For more details on most, consult the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Built the first electric car in 1835.
It may come as a considerable
surprise to many non-Scots that St. Andrew, whose feast day - St. Andrew's Day -
is 30th November, is neither Scottish or Celtic in any
conceivable way. Nor was he the original patron saint of Scotland, as he
always has been of Greece, Ukraine and Russia - and Belgium until the 1670s. It was
because of St. Margaret of Scotland. With her pan-European
vision for Scotland, she wanted a patron saint
who was also venerated in Hungary, Russia and beyond. St. Margaret may have been a saintly woman
herself in almost every way, but in terms of getting her own way in who should
be the new patron saint of Scotland to succeed St. Columba, she was a zealot
with a passion.
St. Andrew himself, good man he undoubtedly was, did nothing at all for the Scots to earn himself the role of patron saint of Scotland. Further impositions by the non-Scots over the Scots included the introduction of the saltire - earlier used by Spain in its military flag - as The flag of Scotland representing the Cross of St. Andrew, widely displayed now in Scotland as a symbol of national identity and the establishment of the "Order of Saint Andrew" or the "Most Ancient Order of the Thistle" as an order of Knighthood restricted to the King or Queen and sixteen others, introduced by King James II of England (VII of Scotland) in 1687.
Very little is really known about St. Andrew himself. He is believed to have been a fisherman in Galilee (now part of Israel), along with his elder brother Simon Peter (Saint Peter). Both became followers (apostles) of Jesus Christ, founder of the Christian religion.
St. Andrew is said to have been responsible for spreading the tenets of the Christian religion though Asia Minor and Greece. Tradition suggests that St. Andrew was put to death by the Romans in Patras, Southern Greece by being pinned to a cross (crucified). Andrew asked for and was granted a crucifix of a decussante cross, to distinguish his crucifixion from that of Jesus. The diagonal shape of this cross is said to be the basis for the Cross of St. Andrew which appears on the Scottish Flag.
St. Andrews bones were entombed, and around 300 years later were moved by Emperor Constantine (the Great) to his new capital Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey). Legend suggests that a Greek Monk (although others describe him as an Irish assistant of St. Columba) called St. Rule (or St. Regulus) was warned in a dream that St. Andrew's remains were to be moved and was directed by an angel to take those of the remains which he could to the "ends of the earth" for safe-keeping. St. Rule dutifully followed these directions, removing a tooth, an arm bone, a kneecap and some fingers from St. Andrew's tomb and transporting these as far away as he could. Scotland was close to the extremities of the know world at that time and it was here that St. Rule was shipwrecked with his precious cargo.
St. Rule is said to have come ashore at a Pictish settlement on the East Coast of Scotland and this later became St. Andrews. Thus the association of St. Andrew with Scotland was said to have begun.
Perhaps more likely than the tale of St. Rule's journey is that Acca, the Bishop of Hexham, who was a renowned collector of relics, brought the relics of St. Andrew to St. Andrews in 733. There certainly seems to have been a religious centre at St. Andrews at that time, either founded by St. Rule in the 6th century or by a Pictish King, Ungus, who reigned from 731 - 761.
Whichever tale is true, the relics were placed in a specially constructed chapel. This chapel was replaced by the Cathedral of St. Andrews in 1160, and St. Andrews became the religious capital of Scotland and a great centre for Medieval pilgrims who came to view the relics.
There are other legends of how St. Andrew and his remains became associated with Scotland, but there is little evidence for any of these, including the legend of St. Rule. The names still exist in Scotland today, including St. Rules Tower, which remains today amongst the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral.
The Saltire, once used by the Spanish in a military flag, was officially adopted in Scotland in 1286. The coat of arms of the Bank of Scotland, founded in 1695, shows four gold coins set between the arms of the Saltire. The blue of the Saltire is the national sporting color of the Scots
It is not known what happened to the relics of St. Andrew which were stored in St. Andrew's Cathedral, although it is most likely that these were destroyed during the King Henry the Eighth-inspired Reformation so ardently supported by Knox, Wishart and others. Unlike in England where the Anglicans did so, in Scotland the former Roman Catholic churches in Scotland were converted to Knox's harsh brand of Calvinism.
The place where these relics were kept within the Cathedral at St. Andrews is now marked by a plaque, amongst the ruins, for visitors to see. The larger part of St. Andrew's remains were stolen from Constantinople in 1210 and are now to be found in Amalfi in Southern Italy. In 1879 the Archbishop of Amalfi sent a small piece of the Saint's shoulder blade to the re-established Roman Catholic community in Scotland. During his visit in 1969, Pope Paul VI gave further relics of St. Andrew to Scotland with the words "Saint Peter gives you his brother" and these are now displayed in a reliquary in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh.
Medieval literary man.
Was the first, in 1843, to receive a patent for an early fax machine. He was the first to scan o picture or text line by line. It led to the fist commercial fax service between Lyons and Paris and use by newspapers in 1906.
Poet.
He devised the drink Irn-Bru.
One of Scotland's finest 19th-century architects.
 |
After Bishop Elphinstone died in 1514,
this principal and historian ran King's College, University of Aberdeen, for years.
He was the first person in Scottish history to refer to the Grampians. He did so in 1520 when he used the term "Mons Grampius" - taken from Tacitus's "Agricola" (AD 95) as the scene of the crushing victory by Agricola over the Picts (under Calgacus) in about AD 86. |
King and patriot. He defeated a much bigger English army at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, after which Scotland was independent for years.
Novelist and diplomat, including as Governor-General of Canada. His "The 39 Steps" is a filmed classic. He died in 1940.
1759-1796. Artist and poet. There are numerous references to him everywhere.
From a 1787 painting by Alexander Nasmyth. Many more portraits of Burns were done from life.
Nationalist.
Not Scottish, but
celebrated and venerated in Scotland, certainly Celtic and died about AD 597 - 1,405 years ago - in the land - Ireland
- with more kinship to Scotland than England or anywhere else in Europe and
beyond. His feast day is on 16th June.
He was the patron saint of Scotland for centuries before he was replaced by St. Andrew, below. St. Columba, or Colm or Colmcille or - St. Colmcille, Callum of the Chapel - as he is variously known, is closely associated with the Scottish Isle of Iona, where he landed in AD 503 and established a monastery - (pictured). He may have been consigned to relative obscurity in Scotland for centuries now but there is still a St. Columba's Church in Glasgow, a St. Colm street in Edinburgh and a place name, Kilmacolm in Renfrewshire.
In Ireland, however, it is a different story. He was from Donegal, born in AD 521. He was a prince of the O'Neill's of Ulster, then a powerful dynasty and great-grandson of the great leader Nial of the Nine Hostages. His mother was Eithne, of the house of Leinster. He may have been married as he was said to have had children.
 |
Film actor, noted first for his fine performance in the 1960s film "Derby O'Gill and the Little People" then in the James Bond series as the greatest James Bond of all. Also a host of other fine films. Knighted. Self-styled Scottish nationalist. |
Botanist.
Botanist.
Botanist, 1799-1834.
Botanist. Another, with the same name, was a genre painter.
He was the Bishop of Aberdeen and recognized the need to educate
clerics and lawyers in Scotland. Young King James approved and in 1495 Bishop
Elphinstone received the Papal Bull from Pope Alexander the VI. It took the
Bishop until 1505 to secure the funds and construct the fabric of what is today
King's College of Aberdeen University. He was one of the founders of the
university. Much of Kings College still remains
today. The University opened with 36 staff and students. The structure was based
on the Bishop's own experiences in Paris, Orleans and Glasgow. The curriculum
covered Latin and Greek (in which most subjects were taught), medicine and both
canon and civil law. In those days, a student could have been as young as
fourteen. One of the
staunchest supporters of the "New Foundation" at Kings was George
Keith, fourth Earl Marischal. Aberdeen was still composed of two separate
burghs, Old Aberdeen and the New Town. Earl Marischal was convinced of the need
for a seat of higher learning in the New Town. He sponsored Marischal College
and the General Assembly and Scottish Parliament granted the Foundation Charter
to take effect in April 1593. The curriculum concentrated on the "liberal
arts", with topics as diverse as anatomy, physiology, geography and
history, as well as the ethics and politics of Aristotle. Archibald Simpson
was the architect of the new Marischal College.
His date of birth is not known. Son of Feriach and St. Kentigerna - daughter of a Prince of Leinster in Ireland. He was also known as Foelan. He became a monk and accompanied his mother from Ireland to Scotland where he lived as a hermit near the place which became St. Andrew's monastery for many years, and then was elected abbot. He later resigned and resumed his spiritual life at Glendochart, Perthshire, where he built a church and was renowned for his miracles. One legend says his prayers caused a wolf that had killed the ox he was using to drag materials to the church he was building, to take the ox's place. He died on January 19, same day as his feast day.
 |
1817-1892. Botanical artist. One
of the most productive of the Victorian era, and one of the most talented.
Born in Glasgow, 28th February 1817, he was educated locally and apprenticed to a firm of calico designers at the age of 17. The complex process of fabric printing required him to become familiar with engraving as well. Large heavy rollers were created for each colour to be applied to the cloth, and the patterns had to match exactly so that the final product would have a single multi-coloured pattern. The skills Fitch learned at the plant would prove invaluable later, as he would engrave and lithograph thousands of his own botanical prints. |
 |
1883-1900. Famous
war correspondent, author and writer. He was present at the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the Spanish Carlist War, the
Russian-Turkish War and the British Army's Afghanistan, Indian and
Zululand campaigns. His stories, memoirs and adventures were published
in hundreds of British and American books and magazines.
They included:
There is a special crypt in his honor at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, as this photograph shows. He was laid to rest in Allen Vale Cemetery in Aberdeen, Scotland, in the section overlooking the River Dee. He was a cousin of the great-grandfather of the co-author of this website. |
Botanist. 1873-1932. Born in Falkirk, he was educated at Kilmarnock Academy and was later Apprenticed to a local chemist, where he learned about the medicinal properties and uses of many different plants, and also learned about the drying and preserving of herbarium specimens. a remarkably productive plant collector and explorer. The greatest of all collectors of rhododendrons, introducing hundreds of species from China and Tibet to Edinburgh Botanic Garden, including R. giganteum and R. sinogrande. Sponsored by the seed grower, A. K. Bulley of Ness, he went to China in 1904. He also specialized in primulas. The list of material collected by Forrest is impressive and includes Abies georgei, Abies forrestii (a beautiful silver fir), Acer forrestii (snakebark maple), Adenophera, Aster, Dacocephalum, Hemerocallis, Iris, Primula and Rhododendron forrestii.
Botanist.
1812-1880. Botanist.
Born in Berwickshire. In 1842 he was Deputy Superintendent of the Royal Horticultural Society's garden
at Chiswick in England. China was a country closed to all foreigners, with the
exception of French Jesuit missionaries. These missionaries sent small
quantities of seed back to Europe, along with reports of many wonderful plants
unknown in the west. The Treaty of Nanking ended the first Opium War in 1842 and
granted England the right of entry to the interior. The Horticultural Society
chose Fortune to lead its first expedition even although he had no experience of
collecting or the Chinese language. This 1843 expedition had limited success as
the country was still in turmoil and access was still restricted to the coastal
areas. Fortune not only brought back new plants but also new techniques
including the art of bonsai. Fortune returned to China on several occasions and
collected material from a country still in upheaval with a succession of Opium
Wars.
His publications include:
He lived comfortably on the proceeds of his book sales and enjoyed a long retirement. He died in 1880.
1750 to 1811. Botanist. He began business life in London as a linen-draper near the Chelsea Physick Garden. He gave up his business to become a plant collector, crossed the Atlantic many times and some of our best known shrubs were introduced by him. Among these were Magnolia fraserii, Rhododendron catawbiense and Pieris floribunda.
1838-1911. There is a Museum dedicated to him in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire. He was born at 15 Commerce Street, of a Scots mother (from Fordyce in Banffshire) and English father. He was their fifth son in a family of seven boys and one girl and spent his childhood in the town. He is celebrated in flowers and shrubs named after or associated with the butterfly. They include the Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii). With a brother, he visited Shanghai in China in 1857 and in 1859, in the concluding days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, he arrived in Nagasaki at the age of 21. He was employed by (still) Hong Kong -based (but now with its head office under Bermuda jurisdiction) Jardine, Matheson & Co, tea merchants. Two years later, he established his own business in Nagasaki. He commissioned three warships for the Japanese navy from Aberdeen shipyards, introduced the first railway locomotive and first mechanized coal mine to Japan and established his own shipbuilding company (later, the industrial giant Mitsubishi). In 1867, he married a Japanese lady called Tsura, the daughter of a samurai, who usually wore the emblem of a butterfly on her clothes. As the result of family pressure, Tsuru, at the age of 17, divorced her first husband, a samurai, due to political differences between her family and his at the time of the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate. She was thus separated from her baby daughter, Sen. But she found happiness with Glover. Their children were Hana and Tomisaburo ("Tommy" to his father). She was known to her friends and family as Ochô-san, from the butterfly motif on her kimono. As a direct result of these accomplishments and their organization of education mostly in Britain of young Japanese, both Glover and his wife are said to have been the inspiration for Puccini's magnificent opera, Madame Butterfly. In 1863, they built Glover House on Minami Yamate. It is on a beautiful hillside overlooking Nagasaki Harbour, the oldest western-style building in Japan. The house became the property of the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard in 1939, was donated by the company to the city of Nagasaki in 1957 and was designated an important cultural asset by the Japanese government in 1961. Glover Garden is still there, a major tourist attraction, with more than 1.2 million visitors each year. Glover was the first non-Japanese to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun.
Legendry fiddler.
His 20th Indian division drove the Japanese out of Burma in World War 2. After the partition of India, he commanded the Pakistan Army.
Poet.
Poet.
Botanist.
Named after him is the Justicia brandegeana. Shrimp plant, shrimp bush, false hop. Attracts hummingbirds.
John Knox
 |
1505-1572. The
preacher and leading Protestant reformer. He campaigned against Roman
Catholic and French influences and was a strong anglophile.
But his "First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Woman" did not make him a favorite of either Mary, Queen of Scots or Elizabeth I of England. His "History of the Reformation" is a major account of events from his point of view. From a wood engraving after a portrait by Adrian Vanson, first published in 1580. |
 |
1722-1790. The
Jacobite heroine who saved Bonnie Prince Charlie from capture by the
English.
She went as a fugitive from Benbecula to Skye, with the Prince disguised as her Irish maid Betty Burke. Later, he escaped to France. She was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London. She was released from there in 1747. This painting of her by Richard Wilson was done shortly after her release. Mostly because of her, the "Skye Boat Song" became world-famous. |
Spymaster, one-legged, who ran Force 136, Britain's sabotage and assassination network in southeast Asia. Later, he was chairman of the Scottish Arts Council.
 |
1883-1974.
Painted by Robert Heriot Westwater in 1962.
Author of magnificent books that include The Monarch of The Glen, Hunting the Fairies, Four Winds of Love, Sinister Street, Whisky Galore and the Shell Guide to Scotland. He helped found the National Party of Scotland and remained committed to Scottish and Celtic independence. In 1933, he moved to Barra in the Hebrides and lived for 12 years among the Gaelic and mostly Roman Catholic community. Later, he moved to Drummond Place, Edinburgh. |
She
was born in about AD 1046, some say at Castle Reka, Mecseknadasd, Hungary, with
others claiming she was English. She was the daughter
of Princess Agatha of Hungary and possibly also the grand-daughter of
King Stephen of Hungary (1000-1038) who was canonized as St. Stephen and
became the patron saint of Hungary. She was Hungarian by birth,
nationality and inclination, English immigrant and Scottish only by marriage.
She was an immigrant to England before she journeyed to Scotland to be married. She went to Scotland from England by accident, not design. She and her party left England by boat to return to Hungary, but were blown to Scotland.
She married King Malcolm III (Canmore) of Scotland, son of Duncan I. She was his second wife.
In Scotland, she pioneered the care of the poor and sick, laid great stress on education, founded an early system for teaching.
With her pan-European vision for Scotland, she wanted a saint who was also venerated in Hungary, Russia and beyond that. She was a devout follower of the Church of Rome. She was the only monarch in the United Kingdom ever to be canonized.
She may have been a saintly woman herself in almost every way, but in terms of getting her own way in who should be the new patron saint of Scotland to succeed St. Columba, she was a zealot with a passion.
So Israeli-born St Andrew, not a Scottish saint, became is the patron saint of Scotland.
She died not long after hearing of her husband's death by treachery.
Botanist.
Until 1999 when he died, he was Professor of Modern British History at Oxford University.
Botanist.
Scottish by birth, he was born
before AD 550 and died on 13th January in AD 613, his feast day. He was of the
most important persons in the Church in Britain in the 6th and early 7th
centuries. He was active in central and southern Scotland, northern England and
Wales. He met St David of Wales - probably an Irishman - St Columba (also Irish)
and folklore - not reliable - has it that he was the great-nephew of King
Arthur. There are numerous references to him in early medieval chronicles in
Scotland, England and Wales. Many of the oldest churches in northwest England
are dedicated to him, from his presence there. There are conflicting accounts of
his heritage. One says he was the son of Tenew (later venerated as St Tenew),
daughter of King Llew or Loth, after which Lothian was named. Another says his
father was Owain, son of Urien, Prince of Rheged. Another says his father was
Urien of Rheged, Loth's brother. If so, he might been born in the principality
that then extended from Cumbria to Dumfriesshire.
There are conflicting accounts of his very early life. Another says that while still in his mother's womb he and his mother were banished because of her infidelity. Their coracle drifted to the coast of Fife, landing at Culross, where St Serf ran a religious establishment. On the beach there, he was born, illegitimate. He was brought up and educated by St. Serf. He was so holy in time he became a bishop - of all the North Britons and established his See in Glasgow. He is reputed to have spent long periods in places that included Hoddom in Dumfriesshire.
But when King Morken came to power and became a murderer, Mungo, by then a bishop, had to flee for his life. He went south and west, into England and Wales. In the latter, after meeting with St David, he was asked by a ruler in north Wales to act as bishop. It was his second bishopric, at St Asaph's, one of the Welsh sees. St Asaph was Mungo's assistant there (and his successor when he left).
When Morken was overthrown by Redderech, who established the Kingdom of Strathclyde, which stretched from the top of Loch Lomond to the borders of present-day Cheshire, Redderech asked Mungo to return to Scotland. He did so, initially at Hoddom, then Dumbarton, in his third bishopric. Redderech and his wife Queen Languoreth had palaces at Govan and Rutherglen, now both parts of Glasgow. As bishop, Mungo was given his own estate in which to establish a religious and educational community. Glasgow began in this way. When Mungo died, his burial site became a place of pilgrimage and importance and he became known as the Father of Glasgow. Around his place of burial arose a township, and by the 12th century it was a cathedral city. It has grown much since then. Today, the city's coat of arms and Mungo's motto are on public display. His remains are buried in the crypt of the Cathedral.
Born about AD 360,
died AD 432. His feast day is 26th August. Many churches dedicated to him
throughout Scotland and in several locations in northern England. He is often
referred to as the apostle of the northern Britons and Picts. He was born in
Galloway and educated in Rome. His manner and eagerness to learn brought him to
the notice of the Pope, St Damasus, who decided to train him. After St Damasus
died, his successor, St Siricus, consecrated St Ninian a Bishop and commissioned
him to return to Britain to preach the Catholic faith. Traveling back to Britain
through France he heard of the great work being done by St Martin de Tours (c.
316 - 397AD) at his abbey in Marmoutiers. St Ninian stayed at the abbey for some
time and was encouraged and helped in his work by St Martin who became his
friend and left a lasting impression on him. St Ninian returned to Scotland to
begin an evangelical mission there. With the help of masons from St. Martin's
Monastery in Tours he began to build his church. The first church he built in
Scotland (c.397AD) was the first Christian settlement north of Hadrian's wall,
and it was said to be a whitewashed stone building (Most churches of this time
were wooden), which could be easily seen. He named it Candida Casa (The White
House), and in the language of that time it became known as Whithorn. During
recent archaeological excavations, remnants of a white plastered wall were found
which could possibly be from this first church. St Ninian used this church for
his base and from it he and his monks evangelized the neighboring Britons and
the Picts. He was known for his miracles, among them curing a Chieftain of
blindness, and these led to many conversions. Following St Ninian's death, the
missionary foundation he helped to create, allowed Christianity to grow in
strength and survive in Scotland. A Cathedral was built to house the Saint's
remains and his church and shrine at Whithorn became a centre of pilgrimage.
Pilgrims included King James IV of Scotland, reported a regular visitor. Today
the Cathedral is in ruins, but pilgrimages are still made to Whithorn and St
Ninian's cave, to which it is said he retired when he needed peace to meditate
and pray.
Giant of 20th century advertising. In World War 2, a British Secret Agent in New York, briefed to lure the USA into war. His exploits included organizing opinion polls for Gallup and rigging them in favour of the war.
1745-1771. Botanical artist. Born in 1745 in Edinburgh. He was hired by Banks to be the artist for Captain Cook's first great voyage of discovery on the Endeavour. Ficus parkinsonii was named in his honour.
It will come as a surprise to many that this Patron Saint of Ireland is, in fact, Scottish by birth. It was only later that he went to Ireland, initially as a slave. There are so many sources of material on him to consult so we merely summarize his life.
 |
Her Late Majesty was
painted here in 1983 by Avigdor Arikha. She was born the Hon. Elizabeth Angela
Marguerite Bowes-Lyon on 4th August 1900, the youngest daughter of Claude,
future 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Nina Cecilia
Cavendish-Bentinck.
On 26th April 1923 she married Prince Albert Frederick George, Duke of York. He became King George VI on 11th December 1936 and she became Queen Elizabeth. Their two daughters were Her Majesty the Queen and the late Princess Margaret Rose. She endeared herself to the British people and members of the (British) Commonwealth of Nations and there was much sadness, as well as a splendid Royal Funeral, when she died. |
She spent her childhood at Stirling Castle and her Coronation took place there, at the Chapel Royal in 1543. She narrowly escaped death by fire in 1561. Her son, the future James VI of Scotland and I if England, was baptized at Stirling Castle.
19th-century Fife-born physician-turned engineer who designed a heating and ventilation system for the Palace of Westminster in London, but - contrary to popular opinion - it was rejected by Sir Charles Barry and replaced by that of another engineer.
He founded the Aberdeen Philosophical Society.
Botanist.
Founder of Nova Scotia.
Botanist.
Historiographer royal in Scotland.
Born in Edinburgh in 1850. Died when 44. Barrister and Author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes; Treasure Island; Kidnapped; The Master of Ballantrae; for much of his life a bed-ridden invalid.
So-called because he was the first person in Britain to navigate the air - 350 feet up, in a balloon.
Businessman of Dundee, who created a newspaper and comics empire and was mostly responsible for the ousting of Winston Churchill, then the local MP, from Dundee.
Botanist.
Patriot, defeated an English army at Stirling Bridge in 1297 but was eventually betrayed, caught, hung, drawn and quartered by the English.
English-born but loved by the Scots for creating in Dundee, for David Couper Thomson, the comic-art classic The Broons, Oor Willie, Desperate Dan and Lord Snooty.
Written by
