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Robert Fergusson
Robert Fergusson (5 September 1750 – 17 October 1774) was a Scottish poet. After formal education at the University of St Andrews, Fergusson led a Bohemianism, bohemian life in Edinburgh, the city of his birth, then at the height of intellectual and cultural ferment as part of the Scottish Enlightenment. Many of his extant poems were printed from 1771 onwards in Walter Ruddiman's ''Weekly Magazine'', and a collected works was first published early in 1773. Despite a short life, his career was highly influential, especially through its impact on Robert Burns. He wrote both Scottish English and the Scots language, and it is his vivid and masterly writing in the latter ''language, leid'' for which he is principally acclaimed. Life Robert Fergusson was born in a tenement between Cap and Feather Close and Halkerstons Wynd, both small vennels north of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, demolished in 1763 to make way for what is today the hidden southern arches of the North Bridge, Edinbur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Runciman
Alexander Runciman (15 August 1736 – 4 October 1785) was a Scottish people, 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, with financial support from Robert Alexander of Edinburgh,Basil Skinner, Skinner, Basil (1966), ''Scots in Italy in the 18th Century'', National Galleries of Scotland, p. 25 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 James Barry (painter), James Barry, Henry Fuseli and the sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel.Macmillan, Duncan (2023), ''Scotland and the Orig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Linen Bank
The British Linen Bank was a commercial bank based in the United Kingdom. It was acquired by the Bank of Scotland in 1969 and served as the establishment's merchant bank arm from 1977 until 1999. History Foundation The Edinburgh-based British Linen was "the only British bank to be formed on the basis of an industrial charter" and, as the name suggests, its roots lay in the Scottish linen industry. The original driving force behind the formation of the British Linen Company (as it was first named) was Andrew Fletcher, Lord Milton. He was a lawyer landowner, had been active in the promotion of the Royal Bank of Scotland and, according to Checkland, "from 1735 to 1766 he was the most important man in the politics of Scotland." He had helped establish the Board of Manufactures, Board of Trustees for Fisheries and Manufactures in Scotland and was the chairman of the board's Linen Committee. In 1727 he had been instrumental in the formation of the Edinburgh Linen Co-Partnery and in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Gregory (mathematician)
David Gregory (originally spelt Gregorie) FRS (3 June 1659 – 10 October 1708) was a Scottish mathematician and astronomer. He was professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, and later Savilian Professor of Astronomy at the University of Oxford, and a proponent of Isaac Newton's '' Principia''. Biography The fourth of the fifteen children of David Gregorie, a doctor from Kinnairdy, Banffshire, and Jean Walker of Orchiston, David was born in Upper Kirkgate, Aberdeen. The nephew of astronomer and mathematician James Gregory, David, like his influential uncle before him, studied at Aberdeen Grammar School and Marischal College (University of Aberdeen), from 1671 to 1675. The Gregorys were Jacobites and left Scotland to escape religious discrimination. Young David visited several countries on the continent, including the Netherlands (where he began studying medicine at Leiden University) and France, and did not return to Scotland until 1683. On 28 November 1683 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elegy
An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometimes used as a catch-all to denominate texts of a somber or pessimistic tone, sometimes as a marker for textual monumentalizing, and sometimes strictly as a sign of a lament for the dead". History The Greek term ἐλεγείᾱ (''elegeíā''; from , , ‘lament’) originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter (death, love, war). The term also included epitaphs, sad and mournful songs, and commemorative verses. The Latin elegy of ancient Roman literature was most often erotic or mythological in nature. Because of its structural potential for rhetorical effects, the elegiac couplet was also used by both Greek and Roman poets for witty, humorous, and satirical subject matter. O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298. In August 1305, Wallace was captured in Robroyston, near Glasgow, and handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians. Since his death, Wallace has obtained a legendary status beyond his homeland. He is the protagonist of Blind Harry's 15th-century epic poem '' The Wallace'' and the subject of literary works by Jane Porter and Sir Walter Scott, and of the Academy Award-winning film ''Braveheart''. Background William Wallace was a member of the lesser nobility, but little is definitely known of his family history ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Gregory Mathematician
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damascus in the late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE to commemorate a victory over two enemy kings, contains the phrase (), which is translated as "House of David" by most scholars. The Mesha Stele, erected by King Mesha of Moab in the 9th century BCE, may also refer to the "House of David", although this is disputed. According to Jewish works such as the ''Seder Olam Rabbah'', ''Seder Olam Zutta'', and ''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' (all written over a thousand years later), David ascended the throne as the king of Judah in 885 BCE. Apart from this, all that is known of David comes from biblical literature, the historicity of which has been extensively challenged,Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel; by Isaac Kalimi; page 32; Cambr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copyist
A copyist is a person who makes duplications of the same thing. The modern use of the term is mainly confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript. However, the term is sometimes used for artists who make copies of other artists' paintings. Music copyists Until the 1990s, most copyists worked by hand to write out scores and individual instrumental parts neatly, using a calligraphy pen, staff paper, and often a ruler. Producing parts for an entire orchestra from a full score was a huge task. In the 1990s, copyists began using scorewriters – computer programs which are the music notation equivalent of a word processor. (Such programs include Sibelius (scorewriter), Sibelius, Finale (scorewriter), Finale, MuseScore, LilyPond, and Comparison of scorewriters, many others). Scorewriters allow the composer or songwriter to enter the melodies, rhythms and lyrics to their compositions into the computer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Meldrum
Oldmeldrum (commonly known as Meldrum) is a village and parish in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, not far from Inverurie in North East Scotland. With a population of around 2,187, Oldmeldrum falls within Scotland's top 300 centres of population. Oldmeldrum is home to one of the oldest whisky distilleries in Scotland, Glen Garioch, which was built in 1797. Local industries are agriculture and engineering services connected to the oil industry in Aberdeen. Prehistory and archaeology Archaeological excavations in advance of the construction of a new bypass road around the north of Oldmeldrum, in the summer 2005, revealed the remains of three Bronze Age ring-ditch roundhouses. The archaeologists believe that the houses that might be part of an area of open settlement which means the first settlement at Oldmeldrum was 3500 years ago. History The Battle of Barra was fought in May 1308 (some say earlier) near the Hill of Barra between the armies of Scots King Robert Bruce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early Middle Ages, medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Kingdom of France, France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of the early 16th century; the oldest of the British Armed Forces, UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the early 18th century until the World War II, Second World War, it was the world's most powerful navy. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superior ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Tullideph
Thomas Tullideph (sometimes Tulliedeph or Tullidelph) (1700–1777) was principal of St Leonards College at the University of St Andrews and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1742. The odd surname is said to mean “hill of the oxen” and first appears as John de Tolidef in Aberdeen in the early 14th century. Robert Fergusson described him as “fearsome” and nicknamed him Pauly Tam. Life He was born in 1700 in Dunbarney in Perthshire, one of seven children of Katrine Rankin and John Tullideph. He studied at the University of Edinburgh then briefly worked as a merchant in that city before studying divinity and being created minister of Dron church in 1727. In 1730 he replaced Rev James Dickson as minister of Markinch Church in Fife. He resigned in 1734 to take up his position as a professor of Biblical criticism at the University of St Andrews, being replaced in Markinch by Rev George Preston. He was later raised from professor to principal and ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Wilkie
William Wilkie (5 October 1721 – 10 October 1772) was a Scottish Church of Scotland minister and Professor of Natural Philosophy. Primarily remembered as a poet nicknamed Potato Willie, known more respectfully as the "Scottish Homer", he contributed to Scotland's 18th Century Vernacular Revival. The son of a farmer, he was born in West Lothian and educated at Edinburgh. In 1757 he produced the ''Epigoniad'', dealing with the Epigoni, sons of seven heroes who fought against Thebes. He also wrote ''Moral Fables in Verse''. Life The son of James Wilkie, a farmer, he was born at Echline Farm, in the parish of Dalmeny, West Lothian. He was educated at Dalmeny parish school and then studied at the University of Edinburgh, having among his college contemporaries John Home, David Hume, William Robertson, and Adam Smith. His father dying during his student days, he succeeded to the unexpired lease on a farm at Fishers' Tryste, near Edinburgh. This he carried on to support his three si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Watson (historian)
Robert Watson (c.1730–1781) was a Scottish minister and academic, known as a historian. Life The son of an apothecary and brewer in St Andrews, Watson was born there about 1730. After studying at St Andrews, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, he was licensed as a preacher; but having failed to obtain a presentation to one of the churches in St. Andrews, he was shortly afterwards appointed professor of logic in St. Salvator's College. There he was promoted to be principal in 1777. The same year he was also presented by George III to the church and parish of St. Leonard. Watson died on 31 March 1781. Works In 1777 Watson published ''History of Philip II of Spain'' (London, 2 vols.) Praised by Horace Walpole, it had publishing success: translated into French, German, and Dutch, it also reached a seventh edition by 1812. At the time of his death he was working on a ''History of the Reign of Philip III'': it was completed by William Thomson, and published in 1783 (London; revised editions 180 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
