- John Logie Baird. Television has brought information and entertainment to millions, but there would probably be no Television - if it were not for the Scottish genius John Logie Baird ( JLB ), was born in Helensbourgh and was a graduate of the Royal Technical College in Glasgow. He obtained the world's first television picture in 1925. The first ever public demonstration of television was given by JLB in the town of Falkirk in Scotland and in 1928 he transmitted the first transatlantic broadcast. He also pioneered what he called 'Noctovision' - a camera system using infrared light and a 3D stereo image colour TV format he called 'Telechrome'. In the 1940's he insisted that the future of TV must be in the transmission of 3D images, but sadly, he died in 1946 before completing his 3D research.
- Alexander Graham Bell. Is the telephone including the mobile ( cellular ) important in your life? Perhaps there would be no telephones if it were not for Alexander Graham Bell, a Scot who was educated at Edinburgh and who later emigrated first to Canada and then to the USA. Without telephone land lines the internet would not exist. AGB's researches also laid the groundwork for modern fibre optics.
- Kirkpatrick Macmillan. Do you enjoy touring by bicycle, using a BMX, or riding a mountain bike? It was a Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan, born in 1813, who invented the bicycle, but he never patented it and it was therefore widely copied. All his life he remained unconcerned that others were given the credit that belonged to him. Indirectly the bicycle was to have a profound effect on technology. In 1894, two young brothers were caught up in the bicycling craze that swept America, they became bicycle engineers and founded the 'Wright Cycle Company' - their bicycle engineering experience would soon lead them to higher things. On December 17 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first sustained, controlled flight in a powered aircraft.
- Allan Ramsay was born in Leadhills, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He opened the first lending library in the world in Edinburgh Scotland, in 1726. His statue stands in Princes Street Gardens, below Edinburgh Castle.
- James Dewar. When out walking do you enjoy a warm drink from your vacuum flask? It was invented by Scot Sir James Dewar.
- Charles Macintosh. Aren't you glad to be able to put on waterproofs when the rain comes pouring down? Charles Macintosh researches in chemistry led to the invention of waterproof clothing and the 'Macintosh Coat'.
- Robert Watson-Watt. How dangerous would flying be if air-traffic controllers around the world did not have Radar? Radar was invented by the Scot, Sir Robert Watson-Watt - ( a descendant of James Watt of Steam Engine fame ). Radar is also used to produce satellite images of the Earth.
- Joseph Lister. How would you like to go into hospital for an operation and not have any anaesthetic before the operation or any antiseptics after it? Both were pioneered by Scotsman Professor Joseph Lister of Glasgow University. When his contemporaries said that it was immoral to use Chloroform, then recently discovered and pioneered as an anaesthetic by fellow Scot James Young Simpson. Lister argued from the Bible story in Genesis where God put Adam to sleep before taking part of his side to make Woman. Lister's argument led to the acceptance by the Victorians of the morality of anaesthetics.
- Alexander Fleming. What if there were no antibiotic drugs? - Scot Alexander Fleming saw disease, amputations and death, as a result of infected wounds during World War 1 and went on in September 1928 to discover the world's first antibiotic, Penicillin - which has saved millions of lives, indeed it has been claimed that Penicillin has saved more lives than have been lost in all the wars throughout history. He was born in 1881 at Lochfield farm near Darvel in Ayrshire Scotland. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945 he insisted, 'Nature makes penicillin, I just found it.' He was the first to use anti typhoid vaccines on patients and he pioneered the use of Salvarsan against syphilis and discovered the antiseptic powers of lysozyme.
- Alexander Wood. The Scottish physician Alexander Wood, Secretary and later President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, introduced the hypodermic syringe that allows the doctor to administer antibiotic and other healing drugs.
- Prof. Graham Teasdale invented the 'Glasgow Coma Scale', the most widely used scoring system in quantifying patient level of consciousness following traumatic brain injury. Doctors grade the best eye opening response, the best verbal response and the best motor response - the combined score allowing them to determine the severity of the injury.
- James Lind. Scottish physician James Lind born and educated in Edinburgh and a 'Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh' devised the scientific method known today as 'Clinical Trials' to test the effectiveness of drugs or treatments. He devised his method to perform controlled trials of six treatments for sailors with scurvy and found that citrus fruits cured the condition within two weeks. At Edinburgh, in 1753, he published his results in a book titled 'Treatise of the Scurvy'. As a result of his tests the Royal Navy began to carry supplies of limes as part of the ships rations and this led to the British being nicknamed 'Limeys'. He also discovered that the steam of salt water was fresh and proposed a simple method of supplying ships with fresh water by distillation.
- Patrick Manson. Sir Patrick 'Mosquito' Manson graduated a doctor from Aberdeen University. He discovered the microscopic filarial worms in mosquito tissues and was the first person to link them to the cause and spread of malaria. He founded the medical school in Hong Kong and was one of the founders of the London School of Tropical Medicine.
- Other Scottish medical pioneers were: James Young Simpson - Chloroform. John Williams ( Glasgow ) - Developed the Smallpox Vaccine. Sir William McEwen - first Bone Graft. Ian Aird - developed Kidney Transplants. Aleck Isaacs - Interferon. James Syme - Plastic Surgery.
- Other Scottish inventors, discoverers and developers were: Lord Kelvin - Kelvin Temperature Scale. William Symington ( Leadhills, Lanarkshire ) the 'Inventor of Steam Navigation' was the first man to propel a boat by steam in 1788. Duke of Montrose - Aircraft Carrier. James Beaumont Neilson - Hot Blast Furnace. Alexander Bain - Chemical Telegraph and Electric Clock. James Nasmyth ( Edinburgh ) - Steam Hammer. William Ged ( Edinburgh ) - Stereotyping. William Smellie ( Edinburgh ) - created the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Samuel Craig ( Inverkething ) - founded the Russian navy. William Paterson ( Dumfries ) - founded the Bank of England. King James VI - Authorised the translation of the Bible into English.
- James Braidwood formed the world's first municipal fire brigade in Edinburgh and pioneered the best way to enter burning buildings. Invented one of the first types of breathing apparatus for firemen.
- Robert William Thomson. Did you have a smooth car or bus ride lately? Scot, Robert William Thomson-Invented the vulcanised rubber pneumatic tyre.
- Thomson also patented the fountain pen, so you can write a letter home.
- John Boyd Dunlop. The vulcanised rubber pneumatic tyre was taken up by John Boyd Dunlop who established the Dunlop Rubber Company who are still making rubber tyres to this day.
- James Chalmers invented the adhesive postage stamp for you to stick on the envelope.
- John Law founded the Bank of France and invented paper money to save you having to carry heavy metals in your pocket.
- Neil Arnott invented the water-bed.
- Adam Smith was born at Kirkcaldy in Fife in 1723. He became famous for his influential book 'The Wealth of Nations' ( ’An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations’ ), written in 1776 when he was 53 years old. Smith established economics as a subject in its own right and was the originator and champion of the system of economics known as 'free enterprise'. Smith's genius was quickly recognised and free enterprise became the economic basis for the economy of the western world. He argued that the wealth of nations consisted of 'the uniform, constant and uninterrupted effort of every man to better his condition'. His basic principles were - the importance of free trade, putting consumers before producers, allowing and encouraging competition and rolling back non-productive state interference.
- Golf. We don't know who invented it but the game of golf was invented in Scotland. In a resolution of 6 March 1457, King James II ( Second ) of Scotland banned football and 'ye golf' because the games were stopping his subjects from practising military skills such as archery. There is even a record of the King of Scotland, James IV playing Golf way back in 1504. When the Scottish King James VI ( Sixth ), was invited by the English to come and reign over them also, making him the first King of the UK, he was called James I ( First ), he visited Greenwich and on Blackheath, he played the first game of golf in England. Soon golf was almost as important in England as the sport of hunting.
- Nessie One of Scotland's great discoveries. In Scotland she is known affectionately as 'Nessie', the rest of the world knows her as the 'Loch Ness Monster'. The first recorded sighting of Nessie was in the 6th century and sightings are still being reported. Loch Ness is deeper than the North Sea and much of the Atlantic Ocean. Could Nessie be a marooned family of aquatic dinosaurs perhaps Plesiosaurs ? Come and see….If you dare ! |
 View Nessie caught on tape - 1 minute clip |
- James Small replaced the wooden plough when he invented a new shaped metal plough that turned over the turf as it cut the soil. The new plough meant that one man and a horse could do what it previously took over half a dozen men and two horses to do and so freed labour for the industrial revolution. Small refused to charge anyone money for copying or using his invention.
- James Watt was born in Greenock. He improved the design of the steam engine, increased its efficiency by three-quarters and revolutionised both industry and transport. The power unit the 'watt', which is still used today, is named after him. The poet William Wordsworth wrote of Watt: 'I look upon him, considering both the magnitude and the universality of his genius, as perhaps the most extraordinary man this country has ever produced.'
- Sir David Brewster invented the kaleidoscope improved the spectroscope and devised a new method for lighthouse illumination. He had a significant influence on the development of photography.
- James Clerk Maxwell is generally regarded as one of the greatest physicists this world has ever seen. His pioneering work mathematically proved that everything about the relationship of magnetism and electricity could be stated in four simple, elegant equations. The first revolution in Physics was Newton's understanding of gravity; the second was Maxwell's unification of magnetism and electricity, now called 'Electromagnetism'. He paved the way and was the inspiration for Einstein's theory of relativity and Quantum theory. Albert Einstein, ( a lifelong admirer of Maxwell ), said that his work had resulted in the most profound change in the study of physics since the time of Isaac Newton.
- Henry Faulds was born in 1843 at Beith, in Ayrshire, Scotland. He studied medicine at Anderson College - later part of Glasgow University - and in 1874, he became the United Free Presbyterian Church's first medical missionary to Japan. In 1875, he established the Tsukiji hospital and was offered the post of physician to the Imperial Japanese Household. He discovered that each person's fingerprints were unique and was the first man in history to establish the innocence of a suspect and assist in the conviction of a felon. The breakthrough came when Tokyo police arrested a man for burglary, but Dr Faulds proved through fingerprints that he was not the thief, and when they arrested another suspect he established his guilt through fingerprint evidence. However, when Dr Faulds, then in Japan, appealed to the ageing Darwin, author of 'The Origin of Species', for help to expand his research, Darwin passed Dr Faulds's findings to Sir Francis Galton who was his nephew. Galton and his colleague, William Henry, stole the discovery and history has recorded it as their work. The Scottish Parliament has recently passed a motion that sought to right the wrong of the scientist's name being written out of history and his home town of Beith are gathering funds to erect a monument to Dr. Faulds.
- Thomas Telford was born in 1757 in Westerkirk, Dumfries, Scotland. In 1801 Telford devised 20 year project to improve communications in the Highlands of Scotland. It included the building of the Caledonian Canal along the Great Glen and the redesign of sections of the Crinan Canal, some 920 miles of new roads, over a thousand new bridges (including the Craigellachie Bridge), numerous harbour improvements and 32 new churches. He designed and built many famous bridges canals, docks and roads all over England and Wales including the Menai Bridge, at that time the longest suspension bridge in the world. Telford was consulted in 1806 by the King of Sweden about the construction of a canal between Gothenburg and Stockholm. His plans were adopted and construction of the Göta Canal began in 1810. Telford travelled to Sweden at that time to oversee some of the more important initial excavations.
- Rev. Patrick Bell invented the reaping machine which led to the modern combine harvester.
- Joseph Black ( the Father of Quantitative Chemistry ), developed the concept of 'Latent Heat' and discovered Carbon Dioxide.
- John Napier invented logarithms and the decimal point.
- George Cleghorn an Army surgeon discovered that quinine bark contained a cure for Malaria.
- Sir Hugh Dalrymple invented hollow-pipe drainage to dry previously useless water-logged land and bring it into agricultural production.
- Sir John Douglas devised the 'Queensberry Rules' for boxing in 1867.
- Patrick Ferguson from Aberdeenshire invented the breech-loading rifle which was capable of firing seven shots per minute.
- Rev. Alexander Forsyth inventor of the percussion cap which ignited when struck. This led to the modern bullet.
- James Gregory inventor of the reflecting telescope used by Sir Isaac Newton.
- William Murdock dissatisfied with candles invented gas lighting.
- John McAdam developed the road covering process known as tarmacadam ( or tarmac ).
- James Paterson from Musselburgh developed a machine process still used to make fishing nets.
- James Pillans invented the blackboard and coloured chalks.
- James Young a Scottish chemist, developed the world's first oil industry using a process of refining oil to extract Paraffin ( Kerosene ) at Bathgate in 1851 using oil extracted from locally mined Torbanite, shale and bituminous coal.
- Sir William Fairbairn from Kelso built the first iron boats and devised new techniques in bridge construction.
- William Cullen of Glasgow University invented the first method of refrigeration.
- Alexander Shanks invented the forerunner of the modern lawnmower and incorporated a grass roller in the design.
- Alexander Bain invented the facsimile machine ( fax ). Bain's original concept is still the basis for the modern fax.
- James Maxwell took the first coloured photo.
- More than 70 Scots have been honoured by being commemorated on the postage stamps of over 100 nations.
- Sean Connery was born in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland on August 25, 1930. He spent 3 years in the Royal Navy, during which time he represented the Navy as a welterweight boxer. When he left the navy he went into in weight lifting competitions and was Scotland's representative to the 1953 Mr. Universe contest, where he finished 3rd. Since he came to fame playing Ian Fleming's superspy James Bond in 'Dr. No' (1962), he has stared in about 70 feature films, about 20 major television productions and in about a dozen theatrical plays. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in July of 2000.
- As a boast of the inventive ingenuity and practical nature of the Scots there is an old saying, ' It was an Englishman who received the credit for inventing the toilet seat - but it was a Scotsman who came up with the idea of cutting a hole in the middle of it !'
The above is an incomplete list, but it is enough to show the rich diversity of Scotland's contribution to the peoples of the world.
The | Tartan Day | page has a list of famous Scottish Americans. |
