|
John Somerville (minister)
John Somerville (1774–1837) was an early 19th century Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland who also had sporting links to curling. He invented the safety catch on guns in 1824. Life Born on the Dalmeny estate (west of Edinburgh) in 1774, Somerville was an agricultural worker in the employ of Neil Primrose, the Earl of Rosebery. Between 1785 and 1788 he injured his spine, rendering him incapable of hard farm labour. However (probably under the patronage of Primrose for reason either of guilt or generosity) his fees were paid to attend Edinburgh University. In 1801 he began teaching Classics at George Heriot's School in central Edinburgh and became "House Governor" in 1805 with a reputation for "a happy mixture of severity and gentleness" and was a popular master.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott Somerville was licensed to preach as a minister of the Church of Scotland by the Presbytery of Linlithgow in 1809 and was ordained as minister of Currie Parish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church Of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church and established itself as a church in the reformed tradition. The church is Calvinist Presbyterian, having no head of faith or leadership group and believing that God invited the church's adherents to worship Jesus. The annual meeting of its general assembly is chaired by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland celebrates two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper in Reformed theology, Lord's Supper, as well as five other Rite (Christianity), rites, such as Confirmation and Christian views on marriage, Matrimony. The church adheres to the Bible and the Westminster Confession of Faith, and is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. History Presbyterian tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Currie
Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: �kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council. It is situated between Juniper Green to the northeast and Balerno to the southwest. It gives its name to a civil parish. In 2001, the population of Currie was 8,550 and it contained 3,454 houses. Etymology The name is recorded from 1210 onwards under various spellings such as ''Curey'', ''Cory'', ''Curri'' with ''Currie'' in 1402. There is no accepted derivation of the name Currie but it is possibly from the Scottish Gaelic word ''curagh/curragh'', a wet or boggy plain, or from the Brythonic word ''curi'', a dell or dirt hole. The neighbouring suburb of Balerno derives its name from Scottish Gaelic, whilst the nearby Pentland Hills derive their name from Brythonic, so either is possible. History The earliest re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
People From Midlothian
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, or legal responsibility. The defining features of personhood and, consequently, what makes a person count as a person, differ widely among cultures and contexts. In addition to the question of personhood, of what makes a being count as a person to begin with, there are further questions about personal identity and self: both about what makes any particular person that particular person instead of another, and about what makes a person at one time the same person as they were or will be at another time despite any intervening changes. The plural form "people" is often used to refer to an entire nation or ethnic group (as in "a people"), and this was the original meaning of the word; it subsequently acquired its use as a plural form of p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1837 Deaths
Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February – Charles Dickens's ''Oliver Twist'' begins publication in serial form in London. * February 4 – Seminoles attack Fort Foster in Florida. * February 25 – In Philadelphia, the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY) is founded, as the first institution for the higher education of black people in the United States. * March 1 – The Congregation of Holy Cross is formed in Le Mans, France, by the signing of the Fundamental Act of Union, which legally joins the Auxiliary Priests of Blessed Basil Moreau, CSC, and the Brothers of St. Joseph (founded by Jacques-François Dujarié) into one religious association. * March 4 ** Martin Van Buren is sworn in as the eighth President of the United States. ** The city of Chicago is incorporated. April–June ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1774 Births
Events January–March * January 21 – Mustafa III, List of Ottoman Sultans, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. * January 27 ** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and feathers British customs collector and John Malcolm (Loyalist), Loyalist John Malcolm, for striking a boy and a shoemaker, George Robert Twelves Hewes, George Hewes, with his cane. ** British industrialist John Wilkinson (industrialist), John Wilkinson patents a method for Boring (manufacturing), boring cannon from the solid, subsequently utilised for accurate boring of steam engine cylinders. * February 3 – The Privy Council of the United Kingdom, Privy Council of Great Britain, as advisors to King George III, votes for the King's abolition of free land grants of North American lands. Henceforward, land is to be sold at auction to the highest bidder. * February 6 – France's Parliament votes a sentence of civil degradation, depriving P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balerno
Balerno (; gd, Baile Àirneach, IPA: �paleˈɛːɾʲnəx Scots: Balerno or Balernie) is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre, next to Currie and then Juniper Green. Traditionally in the county of Midlothian it now administratively falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council. The village lies at the confluence of the Water of Leith and the Bavelaw Burn. In the 18th and 19th century, the area was home to several mills using waterpower. In the 20th century, the mills closed and the village now forms a residential suburb of Edinburgh. History Balerno's name derives from the Scottish Gaelic ''Baile Àirneach'', meaning "townland/town of the hawthorns". The earliest written records of Balhernoch or Balernach are found in the late 13th century. The 18th century brought substantial development to the area, with several new flax, snuff and paper mills springing up around the Water of Leith and its tributary, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flintlock
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known as the '' true flintlock'', that was introduced in the early 17th century, and gradually replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock, the wheellock, and the earlier flintlock mechanisms such as snaplock and snaphaunce. The true flintlock continued to be in common use for over two centuries, replaced by percussion cap and, later, the cartridge-based systems in the early-to-mid 19th century. Although long superseded by modern firearms, flintlock weapons enjoy continuing popularity with black-powder shooting enthusiasts. History French court gunsmith Marin le Bourgeoys made a firearm incorporating a flintlock mechanism for King Louis XIII shortly after his accession to the throne in 1610. However, firearms usi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Safety (firearms)
Close-up shot of a safety of an M16A2 rifle In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling. Safeties can generally be divided into subtypes such as internal safeties (which typically do not receive input from the user) and external safeties (which typically allow the user to give input, for example, toggling a lever from "on" to "off" or something similar). Sometimes these are called "passive" and "active" safeties (or "automatic" and "manual"), respectively. Firearms with the ability to allow the user to select various fire modes may have separate switches for safety and for mode selection (e.g. Thompson submachine gun) or may have the safety integrated with the mode selector as a fire selector with positions from safe to semi-automatic to full-automatic fire (e.g. M16). Some firearms manufactured after the late 1990s and early 2000s include a mandatory integral locking mec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Monument, Edinburgh
The National Monument of Scotland, on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, is Scotland's national memorial to the Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. It was intended, according to the inscription, to be "A Memorial of the Past and Incentive to the Future Heroism of the Men of Scotland". The monument dominates the top of Calton Hill, just to the east of Princes Street. It was designed during 1823–6 by Charles Robert Cockerell and William Henry Playfair and is modelled upon the Parthenon in Athens. Construction started in 1826 and, due to the lack of funds, was left unfinished in 1829. This circumstance gave rise to various nicknames such as "Scotland's Folly", "Edinburgh's Disgrace", "the Pride and Poverty of Scotland" and "Edinburgh's Folly". Proposals As early as 1816, the Highland Society of Scotland called for the construction of a national monument to commemorate the fallen in the Napoleonic Wars. Initially The Mound was considered as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Andrews University
(Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment = £117.7 million (2021) , budget = £286.6 million (2020–21) , chancellor = The Lord Campbell of Pittenweem , rector = Leyla Hussein , principal = Sally Mapstone , academic_staff = 1,230 (2020) , administrative_staff = 1,576 , students = () , undergrad = () , postgrad = () , doctoral = , other = , city = St Andrews , state = , country = Scotland , coordinates = , campus = College town , colours = United College, St Andrews St Mary's College School of Medicine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linlithgow
Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on an historic route between Edinburgh and Falkirk beside Linlithgow Loch. The town is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Edinburgh. During the medieval period, the town grew in prominence as a royal burgh and residence around Linlithgow Palace. In later centuries, Linlithgow became a centre of industry in leather making and other materials, before developing rapidly in the Victorian era with the opening of the Union Canal in the 1820s and the arrival of the railway in 1842. Linlithgow was the former county town of the county but the Council now resides in nearby Livingston. Today Linlithgow has less industry and the economy of the town centre is focused on hospitality, heritage and tourism services. Linlithgow's patron saint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called ''rocks'', across the ice ''curling sheet'' toward the ''house'', a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones, with each player throwing two. The purpose is to accumulate the highest score for a ''game''; points are scored for the stones resting closest to the centre of the house at the conclusion of each ''end'', which is completed when both teams have thrown all of their stones once. A game usually consists of eight or ten ends. The player can induce a curved path, described as ''curl'', by causing the stone to slowly rotate as it slides. The path of the rock may be further influenced by two sweepers with brooms or brushes, who accompany it as it slides down the sheet and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_1938.jpg "Click for more on -> People From Midlothian")
.jpg "Click for more on -> 1774 Births")
