I Never Knew That About the Scottish

House of Gordon

The Huntlys

Dukes of Gordon

Gordons of Haddo

The Aberdeens

The Wicked Earl

Lord Aberdeen

George Osborne

Marquess of Aberdeen

Some Notable Gordons

The Spanish Gordons

Clan Forbes

Some Notable Forbes

Earls of Angus

Montrose

Graham

The Great Montrose

Dukes of Montrose

Some Notable Grahams

Bonnie Dundee

Thane of Glamis

Grey Lady

Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

Duke of Argyll

Campbell

Lord Campbell

Earls of Argyll

Dukes of Argyll

Some Notable Campbells

Lord Clyde

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman

Earl of Stirling

Sir James Holborne

Sir Ralph Abercromby

Nova Scotia Rooms

Anstruther

Beggar’s Benison

Some Notable Anstruthers

Secret Anstruther

Secret Agent

Balfour

Some Notable Balfours

Cardinal Beaton

Arthur Balfour

Christopher Winn’s first book was the bestselling I Never Knew That About England. Volumes on Ireland, Scotland, Wales and London followed and he has recently published books on the English, Scottish and Irish, alongside an illustrated edition of I Never Knew That About England. A freelance writer and collector of trivia for over 20 years, he has worked with Terry Wogan and Jonathan Ross and sets quiz questions for television as well as for the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. He is married to artist Mai Osawa, who illustrates all the books in the series. His website is http://www.i-never-knew-that.com.

Bestselling author Christopher Winn takes us on a fascinating journey around Scotland, discovering the traditions, triumphs and distasters, foibles, quirks and customs that make up the Scottish people. From their peccadilloes to their passions he uncovers astounding stories and extraordinary facts that will amuse and enlighten in equal measure.

Travel through the Highlands and cities across Scotland and learn now every county contributes to the distinct Scottish personality. From the capital Edinburgh, home of Alexander Gordon Laing who was the first European to see Timbuktu, to Tain, home of John Shepherd-Barron, inventor of the automatic cash machine, uncover the memories and tales of ordinary folk from every walk of life and find out what it means to be Scottish.

Charmingly illustrated with pen and ink drawings throughout, this fascinating book will entertain and inform for hours on end.

IN ORDER TO be able to fully appreciate the stories in this book it is helpful to know a little of their history and where they come from.

The monarchs of Scotland traditionally trace their descent from Fergus Mor, King of the ancient Irish Gaelic kingdom of Dal Riata, which covered an area more or less equivalent to the modern County Antrim. He led a group of ‘Scotii’ from Ireland to settle in Kintyre in the late 5th century.

Dal Riata, or Dalraida in Scotland, grew to occupy much of the western seaboard of present-day Scotland (Argyll, Bute and some of Wester Ross) as well as the original territory in the north of Ireland.

The inhabitants of Dalraida were referred to as Scotii, from the Latin name for the people of Ireland.

In the 9th century Dalraida, under Kenneth MacAlpin of the Scotii, united with the kingdom of the Picts in the north to form the land of the Scotii or Scotland.

Maternal grandson of Malcolm II and son of Crinan, hereditary lay abbot of Dunkeld – hence House of Dunkeld.

Also a maternal grandson of Malcolm II and therefore cousin of Duncan. Son of the Mormaer of Moray.

Known as Malcolm Canmore (Big Head). Son of Duncan, he slew Macbeth at Lumphanan.

Youngest son of Malcolm III, David spent much of his youth at the court of his brother-in-law Henry I of England, who was married to David’s sister Matilda. When he came north to rule Scotland David brought with him many Norman knights to whom he gave land and titles. In what is termed the ‘Davidian Revolution’ he introduced Norman feudalism, consolidated the system of primogeniture and founded a number of monasteries.

Known as William the Lion from his standard, a red lion rampant on a yellow background, which is still the Royal Standard of Scotland.

He succeeded in wresting the Western Isles from Norway and bringing them under Scottish rule. When he died without a male heir Scotland’s monarchy was plunged into chaos.

Known as the ‘Maid of Norway’ she was the grand-daughter of Alexander III and daughter of King Eric Fairhair of Norway. She never set foot in Scotland but was drowned off Orkney at the age of 7 while on her way to her new kingdom. Her death left the throne of Scotland without an obvious heir by primogeniture, and a number of candidates came forward to claim the throne, including Robert de Brus, grandfather of the future Robert I (Robert the Bruce). Edward I of England was asked to choose between them and he decided upon John de Balliol, a great grandson of David of Huntingdon, brother of William the Lion.

John was eventually deposed by Edward I who then annexed Scotland to the English crown. This move resulted in the Scottish Wars of Independence which started with William Wallace in 1297, saw the crowning of Robert the Bruce as Robert I of Scotland in 1306 and ended with Scottish independence after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

In 1296 Edward I of England persuaded many of the Scottish nobels to sign a document swearing their allegiance to him. The document became known as the Ragman Rolls after a previous record compiled by a papal tax collector called Ragimunde.

He married the daughter of King Christian of Denmark and received sovereignty of Orkney and Shetland as an unredeemed dowry.

On the death of Elizabeth I of England in 1603 the crowns of England and Scotland were united and James VI of Scotland became also James I of England.

After the death of Anne, the last Stuart monarch, the term King or Queen of Scots was no longer used. The Hanoverians and all subsequent monarchs have been British monarchs.

In 1707 the Parliaments of Scotland and England were united into the Parliament of Great Britain and the separate Kingdoms of Scotland and England became a single United Kingdom.

THE WORD CLAN comes from the Gaelic ‘clann’, meaning children, descendants or tribe – members of a clan share a common descent and most usually share a surname taken from the founder of that Clan. If Gaelic, this surname was often derived from a physical characteristic (eg Campbell – gaelic for ‘crooked mouth’), or from ‘mac’, or ‘son of’ as in MacDonald, son of Donald. If Norman, the surname was usually based on territory, as in Robert de Brus, or Robert of Brix in Normandy, and Adam de Gordon, Adam of Gourdon in France. I have used the European dynastic term ‘House’ rather than ‘Clan’ for some of the families of Norman descent, eg House of Gordon.

Because these surnames refer back to a single ancestor it follows that most people bearing that surname, wherever in the world they now live, share the same family roots and are hence of Scottish descent. It is on this basis that in each chapter I feature some notable people who share the same surname.

After the Battle of Culloden in 1746 the Clans and their old loyalties were suppressed by the Act of Proscription, and many Clan members became scattered around the world as a result of the emigrations caused by such repression and also the Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries. Consequently many Clan Chiefs and their relatives reside outside Scotland.

In the late 19th century, however, there was a movement, led by Sir Walter Scott, to revive the customs, loyalties, dress and traditions of the Clans, and today many Clan societies flourish. Clans now hold annual gatherings at their ancestral castles which are attended by Clan members from all over the world.

Most Clans and families were associated with, or settled in, a particular part of Scotland at a time when the country was divided into kingdoms, mormaerdoms and provinces, rather than counties. Because these older divisions were somewhat vague and constantly changing, I have divided the chapters of this book into more recognisable counties, and each chapter features the Clans and families who hail from the territory now known by those county names, as well as other figures who were born there or are associated with the county in some other way.

HOUSE OF GORDON

THE HUNTLYS

DUKES OF GORDON

GORDONS OF HADDO

THE ABERDEENS

THE WICKED EARL

LORD ABERDEEN

GEORGE OSBORNE

MARQUESS OF ABERDEEN

SOME NOTABLE GORDONS

THE SPANISH GORDONS

CLAN FORBES

SOME NOTABLE FORBES

Castle Fraser – one of the grandest of Aberdeenshire’s great tower houses, built in the late 16th century by the Aberdeenshire branch of the Fraser family, who also founded the town of Fraserburgh.

THE GORDONS CAME, it is thought, from Gourdon, near Quercy in France, in the 11th century, and gave their name to the border lands where they settled. They later fought for Robert the Bruce, and in 1320 SIR ADAM DE GORDON, from the village of HUNTLY in Berwickshire, accompanied the Declaration of Arbroath to the Papal court in Avignon to plead with the Pope to recognise Scottish independence and lift Bruce’s excommunication for killing John Comyn at Dumfries in 1306. Gordon’s reward for his efforts was to be granted the lands of Strathbogie in Aberdeenshire, once belonging to the Earl of Fife.

In 1445 Sir Adam’s descendant through marriage, Sir Alexander Seton, became the 1st Earl of Huntly, and his son married a daughter of James I.

HUNTLY CASTLE, IN the heart of Aberdeenshire, was the seat of the Chiefs of the House of Gordon for nearly 400 years from the 14th to the 17th century. Originally known as the Peel of Strathbogie, the first castle to be built on the site was a motte and bailey, put up in 1190 by the Earl of Fife to guard the crossing where the rivers Bogie and Deveron meet.

Around 1400 the Gordons replaced the wooden castle with a stone tower house, and then in 1450 the 1ST EARL OF HUNTLY built a grand new structure more in keeping with his status as one of the pre-eminent men of his time. In 1496 James IV, always keen to ruffle the feathers of the English, came to Strathbogie to celebrate the marriage of his beautiful young cousin Lady Catherine Gordon to Perkin Warbeck, pretender to the throne of Henry VII.

The 3RD EARL OF HUNTLY, one of the few survivors of the Battle of Flodden in 1513, changed the name of Strathbogie Castle, and the nearby town, to Huntly.

The 4TH EARL OF HUNTLY, GEORGE GORDON, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, converted the castle into a noble house just in time for a visit in 1556 by Mary of Guise, widow of his childhood friend James V. The Earl later fell out with Mary of Guise’s daughter Mary Queen of Scots and was defeated by Mary’s forces at the Battle of Corrichie in 1562, dying of apoplexy not long after. The Huntly title was temporarily forfeited, but was restored two years later to his son, another George Gordon, who became the 5TH EARL OF HUNTLY.

In 1599 the 6th Earl was created the 1ST MARQUESS OF HUNTLY by James VI. This title is THE OLDEST EXISTING MARQUESSATE IN SCOTLAND, and the second oldest in Britain, after that of Winchester. The 1st Marquess began to transform Huntly into a lavish palace, the impressive remains of which we see today. Just in case the casual passer-by might have been unaware who was the proud owner, his name and that of his wife are splashed in huge stone letters across the oriel windows of the upper floor. ‘George Gordon First Marquis of HU’ and, below, ‘Henriette Stewart Marquesse of HU’. The French spellings (Marquis instead of the English Marquess) provide a clue as to why Huntly Castle was more like a sumptuous French château than a northern Scottish castle – Gordon grew up in France and clearly picked up some tips on comfort from the French aristocracy. Even in its ruinous state, Huntly still exudes luxury and extravagance, with its huge rooms and elaborately carved windows and fireplaces. The castle’s greatest treasure, famous far and wide, is the extraordinary carved heraldic frontispiece above the main courtyard entrance, which is UNIQUE IN BRITAIN.

The Gordons eventually lost Huntly Castle after the 2nd Marquess, who was the first to sport the Gordon nickname ‘COCK O’ THE NORTH’, backed King Charles in the English Civil War, and Huntly began a slow decline until, in the 18th century, much of the building was ransacked for stone to make houses in the town.

Accessed from the town via a stone archway and a broad avenue of trees, Huntly Castle is now in the care of Historic Scotland.

THE 4TH MARQUESS of Huntly was created 1ST DUKE OF GORDON in 1684, and from this time on Gordon Castle in Morayshire, built in the 1470s by the 2nd Earl of Huntly, became the main seat of the House of Gordon (see Morayshire). The dukedom died out in 1836 with the death of the 5th Duke, but the marquessate of Huntly survived, passing to the Duke’s cousin the Earl of Aboyne, who became 9th Marquess of Huntly. GRANVILLE GORDON, 13TH MARQUESS OF HUNTLY, born in 1944, is the present CHIEF OF THE HOUSE OF GORDON, and resides at ABOYNE CASTLE.

The 5th Duke of Gordon’s nephew, Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond, inherited most of the Gordon estates, and in 1876 his son was created Duke of Gordon of the second creation, becoming Duke of Richmond and Gordon. The holder of this title thus holds four dukedoms (Richmond, Lennox, Gordon and Aubigny), more than any other duke.

IN 1469 JAMES GORDON, a cousin of the Gordons of Huntly, acquired the lands of HADDO, near Tarves, and settled there. His descendant SIR JOHN GORDON OF HADDO, was an ardent Royalist and was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia by Charles I in 1642 (see Clackmannanshire). He was later locked up in Edinburgh’s St Giles Cathedral by the King’s enemies for kidnapping the Provost of Aberdeen, who was a staunch believer in the National Covenant renouncing the religious innovations of Charles I. Gordon, whose cell in St Giles, known as Haddo’s Hole is still there, was then beheaded, earning the distinction of becoming THE FIRST ROYALIST TO BE OFFICIALLY EXECUTED IN SCOTLAND.

Sir John’s eldest son was restored to the title and estates at the Restoration of Charles II, and his son, George, was created 1ST EARL OF ABERDEEN.

IN 1732 WILLIAM, 2ND EARL OF ABERDEEN, set about building a sumptuous mansion at Haddo to replace the run-down old ‘Place of Kellie’ tower house that had served as the family home up until then. William was later described by the family historian Archie Gordon, 5th Marquess of Aberdeen, as ‘ambitious, financially accumulative and a thumping snob’ – qualities he exhibited splendidly by marrying first the daughter of the Earl of Leven and Melville, then the daughter of the Duke of Atholl and thirdly the daughter of the Duke of Gordon, each of whom brought with them a considerable dowry of land and money.

HADDO HOUSE was designed in Palladian style by William Adam, the leading Scottish architect of the day. As one of the first stately houses in the north of Scotland it must have amazed the people of Aberdeenshire, who were more used to stern castles and rugged tower houses.

IN 1745 THE 2nd Earl of Aberdeen went to join Bonnie Prince Charlie’s rebel forces at Edinburgh, but died of natural causes before he could be implicated in the rebellion, a stroke of luck for his heir, the 3rd Earl, who thus inherited his father’s estates intact, and became the largest landowner in Aberdeenshire. Known as ‘THE WICKED EARL’, he was something of a rake, and was harried into marrying the cook of a Yorkshire hostelry after he paid his compliments to the chef rather too personally – when he went back for seconds the good lady held him at gun-point until he agreed to make an honest woman of her.

In 1787 the Wicked Earl took the opportunity to increase his landholdings even further by buying the Castle of Gight, adjoining the Haddo estate, off his cousin Catherine Gordon for a knock-down price. Catherine’s father, George Gordon of Gight, a descendant of James I, had committed suicide and Catherine, his heiress, had married a fortune-hunter called Captain John Byron who dissipated her wealth and then fled to France. Catherine was forced to sell her ancestral home, which should have been passed on to her son, George Gordon, the poet Lord Byron.

The Wicked Earl, whose lifestyle eventually drained the estate, was predeceased by his son and there was little left for his grandson, who became the 4th Earl of Aberdeen, to inherit.

‘First in the cat-fed phalanx shall be seen The travell’d thane, Athenian Aberdeen’

GEORGE GORDON, ORPHANED as a boy, and ignored by his grandfather the Wicked Earl, was brought up in London by Henry Dundas, later Viscount Melville. With Dundas and the Prime Minister, William Pitt, as his guardians, his early days were much influenced by politics. He was educated at Harrow, after which he travelled widely throughout Europe, spending much of his time in Greece. On his return to London he founded the Athenian Society, whose membership was confined to those who had visited Greece – hence the name ‘Athenian Aberdeen’ given to him by his cousin Lord Byron (see above). Gordon later purchased the foot of Hercules, which had been a part of the Parthenon in Athens for thousands of years, and had it transported to Haddo, from where it has since disappeared.

In 1813 Aberdeen was sent to Vienna by the new Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, to negotiate an alliance between Britain, Russia and Austria against Napoleon, which was formalised as the Treaty of Toplitz. While in Europe he was witness to the Battle of Leipzig, the bloodiest battle ever seen in Europe until the First World War, an experience which turned him against war for ever.

He was Foreign Secretary under the Duke of Wellington, until they both resigned over the Great Reform Bill of 1832, and then again under Sir Robert Peel, during which time he was responsible for drawing up the boundaries between the USA and what would become Canada. A believer in free trade, he was forced to resign a second time, along with Peel, over the Repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846.

In 1852, after the resignation of the Earl of Derby, Aberdeen became the prime minister of a coalition government which, against his better judgement, led Britain into the Crimean War. Lord Aberdeen was personally – and somewhat unfairly – blamed for the mismanagement of the conflict and resigned in 1855.

Lord Aberdeen was remembered as honest, generous and cultured, worthy rather than charismatic, a man whose ‘strength did not equal his goodness’. Although he remarried, he never really recovered from the death of his beloved first wife, a noted beauty, at the age of 28, and the subsequent loss of all three of his daughters before they were 20.

‘I do not know how I shall bear being out of office. I have many resources and many objects of interest; but after being occupied with great affairs, it is not easy to subside to the level of common occupations.’

THE PRIME MINISTER’S grandson, the 6th Earl of Aberdeen, overwhelmed by his inheritance, ran away to sea and joined the United States merchant marine under the name of GEORGE OSBORNE. He never saw his family again, but turned out to be a fine sailor and was much mourned when he was swept overboard during a violent storm while on passage to Australia.

‘GEORGE OSBORNE’S BROTHER became the 7TH EARL OF ABERDEEN in 1870. He twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and was Governor-General of Canada from 1893 until 1898. His wife, Ishbel Marjoribanks, became a promoter of women’s rights and founded the Onward and Upward Association for the education and betterment of women in service. She was the daughter of Sir Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth, the originator of the Golden Retriever dog, and was responsible for introducing the breed to Canada. In 1916 the Earl was created 1ST MARQUESS OF ABERDEEN AND TEMAIR.

The present holder of the title is ALEXANDER GEORGE GORDON, 7TH MARQUESS OF ABERDEEN AND TEMAIR.

ROBERT GORDON OF STRALOCH (1580–1661), THE FIRST GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN’S MARISCHAL COLLEGE and SURVEYOR OF THE FIRST ACCURATE ATLAS OF SCOTLAND. His grandson Robert Gordon founded the Robert Gordon University.

GORDON’S GIN, established in London in 1769 by Alexander Gordon. The recipe is known to only 12 people in the world at any one time and has been kept a secret for over 200 years.

BAZIL GORDON (1768–1847) emigrated to America from Scotland and settled in Falmouth, Virginia, in 1786. He started a small shop handling imported goods, and then made a fortune exporting tobacco from the plantations along the Rappahannock River to England. The enterprise made him one of America’s first millionaires.

ADMIRAL SIR JAMES ALEXANDER GORDON (1782–1869), born in Kildrummy, served in the Royal Navy for over 70 years. He fought at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1979, and at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, and was present when the British fleet bombarded Fort McHenry outside Baltimore during the War of 1812, the action that inspired Francis Scott Key to write ‘The Star Spangled Banner’. He became Governor of Greenwich Royal Hospital and was made Admiral of the Fleet in 1868, the last survivor of the group of young captains, known as the Band of Brothers, who had served with Nelson 70 years earlier at the Nile. Gordon is thought to have been one of those on whom C.S. Forester based his naval hero Horatio Hornblower.

GENERAL CHARLES GORDON (1833–85), known as ‘Chinese’ Gordon for his exploits during the second Opium War, when he successfully defended Shanghai against the Taiping rebels, leading his troops into battle armed only with a walking stick. He gained a reputation for being incorruptible when he put down a mutiny sparked by his refusal to allow looting, and turned down a bribe from the Chinese emperor. He was later made Governor of Sudan, and in 1884 was ordered to conduct the evacuation of Europeans from Khartoum, which was under threat of attack from rebels led by the al-Mahdi. Having managed to get over 2,000 women, children and wounded out of the city, Gordon then held Khartoum against huge odds until 26 January 1885, when he and his troops were overwhelmed and massacred. A British relief force, which had been delayed by political wrangling in London, arrived three days later. ‘Chinese’ Gordon was hailed as a hero and became even better known as Gordon of Khartoum.

JULIETTE GORDON LOW (1860–1927), known affectionately as ‘Daisy Gordon’. She founded the Girl Scouts of America in Savannah, Georgia, in 1912. The first registered member was her niece Margaret ‘Daisy Doots’ Gordon.

SOME TIME IN the 18th century, ARTHUR GORDON, of the Gordons of Wardhouse in Aberdeenshire, who was a Catholic, left Protestant Scotland and emigrated to Spain where he set up a wine business in Cadiz. He was followed by his nephew, John David Gordon, and other Catholic members of the Gordon family, who all married into Spanish families, settled in the Jerez region and began making sherry. The first major shipment of sherry, or Jerez wine, sent to England was shipped by J. Gordon and Co. in 1798.

Their sherry also proved popular with the Spanish royal family and inspired a friendship that has lasted until the present day. In 1906 the grandparents of King Juan Carlos of Spain, King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia, spent their honeymoon at Wardhouse as guests of Rafael Gordon, Count de Mirasol, the last Laird of Wardhouse.

In Scotland, Wardhouse is now a ruin, but Beldorney Castle, the original home of the Wardhouse Gordons, is still in use as a private house. In Spain, the sherry business, Gonzalez Byass, is still run by the family, headed by Gabriel Gonzalez-Gordon Gilbey.

FORBES IS A grand old Aberdeenshire name. The Forbes, Premier Barons of Scotland, have been one of Aberdeenshire’s leading families since the 13th century, when they were awarded a tranche of land known as the Braes of Fourbois. There is a colourful story of how they came by their land and their name, which tells of a brave warrior from Ireland named Ochonchar, who came to Aberdeen in pursuit of his sweetheart, a local heiress named Bess. In order to impress her, he slew a rampaging bear that was menacing the neighbourhood – an act of heroism which, as he put it, was ‘For Bess’. It worked – he won Bess and her estates, as well as a name for his family.

For 600 years the seat of the Forbes family has been Castle Forbes, which sits above the River Don on the land won by Ochonchar. The present castle was built in 1815 for the 17th Lord Forbes. The present Master of Forbes is Malcolm, son of the 22nd Lord Forbes. His wife, Jinny, runs what could be the world’s smallest private perfumery out of a former dairy shed in the grounds.

GENERAL JOHN FORBES (1707–59) led the 1758 Forbes Expedition that captured the French outpost at Fort Duquesne. He renamed it Fort Pitt, after his Prime Minister, William Pitt the Elder, and the settlement eventually grew into the modern city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

JOHN FORBES (1740–83) travelled to America to serve as the only British clergyman in America’s oldest settlement, St Augustine in Florida. He had three sons who went on to establish the Forbes family in America. One of his descendants is JOHN FORBES KERRY, presidential nominee for the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election won by George W. Bush. As a young man Kerry spent many summer holidays at Les Essarts in Brittany, France, the estate of his grandfather James Grant Forbes. Another of Forbes’s grandsons, Kerry’s cousin BRICE LALONDE, served as mayor of the local village St-Briac-sur-Mer and ran for election as President of France in 1981.

JAMES DAVID FORBES (1809–68) designed an early seismometer to measure earthquakes at Scotland’s earthquake centre, Comrie in Perthshire. He was THE FIRST PERSON KNOWN TO HAVE CLIMBED THE CUILLINS ON SKYE, and became THE FIRST HONORARY PRESIDENT OF THE ALPINE CLUB, which was founded in 1857 as THE WORLD’S FIRST MOUNTAINEERING CLUB.

His son, PROFESSOR GEORGE FORBES (1849–1936), reported for The Times as THE ONLY BRITISH WAR CORRESPONDENT WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY DURING THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR OF 1877. A prolific inventor, he also pioneered the use of electricity for the world’s first electric railway, the City and South London Railway, forerunner of the world’s first underground network, and invented the CARBON BRUSH still universally used in electric motors today.

BERTIE CHARLES FORBES (1880–1954), financial journalist and publisher who founded Forbes Magazine in 1917. Born in New Deer, he emigrated to New York in 1904.

JOHN BARBOUR (1320–95), the poet described as ‘the Father of Scots Literature’, was born in Aberdeen. Best known for his epic narrative poem, The Brus, an account of the struggles and triumphs of Robert the Bruce, he was THE FIRST MAJOR ARTIST TO WRITE IN THE SCOTS VERNACULAR.

Born in Drumoak, James Gregory became a very young professor at the University of St Andrews. At the age of 25, in a document called Optica Promota, he put forward a design for a reflecting telescope, which was eventually built ten years later by Robert Hooke. Although Isaac Newton built the world’s first reflecting telescope in 1670, it was not as efficient as Hooke’s Gregorian telescope, which is regarded as THE WORLD’S FIRST PRACTICAL REFLECTING TELESCOPE. Gregorian optics are used today in many of the world’s modern radio telescopes and observatories such as the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope at Greenbank in West Virginia, the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which featured in the dénouement of the 1995 James Bond film Goldeneye.

WILLIAM FORSYTH (1737–1804), the botanist after whom Forsythia is named, was born in Old Meldrum. As curator of the Physic Garden in Chelsea, he is credited with creating BRITAIN’S FIRST ROCK GARDEN, and he was one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1804.

THE REVD ALEXANDER JOHN FORSYTH (1769–1843), inventor of the PERCUSSION CAP, was born in Belhevie. A keen shot, particularly of game birds, he was greatly vexed by the unreliability of the flint-lock in the damp conditions prevalent in his Aberdeenshire parish. He designed a new priming system, which he patented in 1807, whereby a percussion cap ignited an enclosed (and dry) charge when struck with a hammer. The invention was the forerunner of the modern bullet and proved so effective that the Emperor Napoleon offered a considerable amount of money for the design – his offer was rejected.

Alexander Milne Calder was born in Aberdeen, the son of a stonemason who made his living carving tombstones. Alexander picked up some useful techniques from his father, which he was able to put to good use when he moved to London to work on the Albert Memorial. In 1868 he emigrated to Philadelphia in the United States and a few years later received a commission that would occupy him for the next 20 years, to make sculptures for America’s largest municipal building, PHILADELPHIA CITY HALL.

Out of the 250 pieces he created, Calder’s masterpiece was undoubtedly the bronze statue of Philadelphia’s founder, William Penn, which still crowns the tower of City Hall and helped, for a few years at the start of the 20th century, to make it the tallest building in the world. At 548 ft (167 m) high, it is still the tallest masonry building in the world. The statue is 37 ft (11.3 m) high and is THE TALLEST STATUE TO BE FOUND ON TOP OF A BUILDING ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

Alexander Milne Calder’s grandson, SANDY CALDER, invented the ‘MOBILE’, a type of kinetic sculpture, smaller examples of which can often be seen hanging above a baby’s cot to entertain the occupant.

MARY SLESSOR (1848–1915), missionary and THE FIRST WOMAN TO PRESIDE OVER A COURT UNDER BRITISH JURISDICTION, was born in Gilcomston, Aberdeen, the daughter of an alcoholic shoe-maker. She became a missionary in Nigeria when she was 28 and was appointed to sit in judgement at the native courts in 1891. Though petite, she was fearless and unconventional, socialising with the natives, stopping ritualistic killings, and setting up schools, churches and hospitals all over West Africa. She was greatly loved by the local tribespeople, who called her ‘Ma’. Her image appears on the £10 note issued in Scotland by the Clydesdale Bank.

‘This is a green world, with animals comparatively few and small, and all dependent on the leaves … Some people have strange ideas that they live by money … we live not by the jingling of our coins, but by the fullness of our harvests’

Pioneer ecologist, one of the founders of modern town planning, and THE FIRST BRITISH CITIZEN TO USE ‘LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT’ AS A PROFESSIONAL TITLE, Patrick Geddes was born in Ballater. Using observations he made from his camera obscura in Edinburgh’s Outlook Tower, he was responsible for the renovation of much of the Royal Mile, replacing cramped and squalid tenements with spacious new buildings such as Ramsay Garden. He also pioneered the use of moats to separate animals in Edinburgh Zoo from the public, in place of the old Victorian cages. In 1915, in his book Cities in Evolution, he coined the word ‘CONURBATION’, and in 1925 he designed the centre of TEL AVIV in Israel as a garden city.

ANDY BEATTIE (1913–83), appointed in 1954 as THE FIRST MANAGER OF THE SCOTLAND FOOTBALL TEAM, was born in Kintore.

EARLS OF ANGUS MONTROSE GRAHAM THE GREAT MONTROSE DUKES OF MONTROSE SOME NOTABLE GRAHAMS BONNIE DUNDEE THANE OF GLAMIS GREY LADY EARL OF STRATHMORE AND KINGHORNE

Dudhope Castle on Dundee Law in Dundee. Built by the Scrymageous family in the late 13th century, the present castle dates from 1580. Home in the 17th century to Viscount, ‘Bonnie’ Dundee

ANGUS FOLK

Hector Boece William Small James Tytler Neil Arnott

Revd Patrick Bell James Bowman Lindsay Sir Robert Watson-Watt

Iain Macmillan Ian McDiarmid

Earls of Angus

ANGUS, THE COUNTY, is named after Oengus, the oldest of seven sons of Fergus, a king of the Pictish kingdom of Alba in the 8th century. Each son occupied his own province, and when the Picts combined with the Scots to form the kingdom of Scotland these provinces became known as mormaerdoms, a Gaelic term, and their rulers were called mormaers. The first of these to be recorded was Dubacan of Angus, who was Mormaer of Angus in the 10th century.

Matilda, daughter of the last Gaelic Mormaer of Angus, Maol Choluim, married the Norman Gilbert de Umfraville, who used the Anglo-French title Earl of Angus. The title was eventually forfeited on the death of his grandson in 1325 and went to the Stewart family.

Montrose

THE TITLE DUKE OF MONTROSE was created in 1488 by James III for David Lindsay, the Earl of Crawford, who became THE FIRST SCOTSMAN NOT OF ROYAL BLOOD TO BE MADE A DUKE. The title then died out until WILLIAM GRAHAM was created Earl of Montrose in 1505, since when it has stayed in the Graham family. The present Duke of Montrose is the Chief of Clan Graham and is THE ONLY ELECTED DUKE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. He resides at Drymen, near Loch Lomond.

Graham

THE NAME GRAHAM could come from the Celtic ‘greamach’, meaning grim, or the Saxon ‘grem’, meaning stern or fierce, but is most likely of Norman origins. The first recorded Graham is the Norman knight SIR WILLIAM DE GRAHAM, who rode north from England with David I in 1128 and possibly got his name from Greag Ham, now Grantham in Lincolnshire. Sir William witnessed the charter to found the abbey of Holyrood and was granted lands in West Lothian, at Abercorn and Dalkeith, and as his descendants were building their reputation as the ‘Gallant Grahams’, so they gained more lands and honours, a process helped on occasion by marrying into the royal family.

SIR PATRICK GRAHAM died at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296, the only Scottish noble not to retreat, and his son SIR JOHN DE GRAHAM was William Wallace’s stalwart friend, by his side throughout Wallace’s campaign for independence. In early 1297, near Queensberry in Dumfriesshire, the Scots were surprised by a body of English cavalry led by Sir John Graystock, whereupon Graham, aided by a few chosen men, led a hopeless charge, killing Graystock and giving his companions time to escape unscathed into the forest. Graham was wounded at Stirling Bridge and finally slain at the Battle of Falkirk.

Sir John’s son DAVID GRAHAM was a faithful supporter of Robert the Bruce and received the lands of Montrose in return. In 1451 Patrick Graham was made THE 1ST LORD GRAHAM, and in 1488 William, the 3rd Lord Graham, who sat in the first parliament of James IV, was created EARL OF MONTROSE. Along with his king, he died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

The Great Montrose

JAMES GRAHAM, 5TH EARL AND 1ST MARQUESS OF MONTROSE (1612–50) was most likely born at Mugdock Castle in Stirlingshire. He became Earl of Montrose on his father’s death in 1626, was educated at St Andrews University and learned the art of war in France. He was one of the four Scottish nobles who drew up the National Covenant in Greyfriar’s Kirkyard in 1638, declaring the right of Scots to worship God without papist bishops. He went on to fight for the Covenanters in the 1640 Bishops’ War against Charles I, but became disillusioned when he realised that many of the Scottish nobles were using the conflict for their own ends. As a result he refused to support the Scottish Parliament when it advocated union with Cromwell’s English Parliamentarians, for which he was briefly imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle.

In gratitude, Charles I made Montrose his Lieutenant in Scotland, and created him 1st Marquess of Montrose. The new Marquess raised the King’s standard at Blair Atholl to rally the Clans to the King’s cause. To get the feuding clans to agree to anything was no easy task, and the fact that Montrose was able to lead them to a succession of stunning victories, culminating at the Battle of Kilsyth in August 1645, is testament to his skill as a leader, as well as his tactical genius.

His forces eventually became too dispersed, and he was finally defeated at Philphaugh, near Selkirk, in September 1645 and fled to Norway.

Shocked by Charles I’s execution, in 1649 Montrose returned to Scotland determined to avenge the King. His forces were depleted in a shipwreck off Orkney, however, and his remaining men were easily overcome at the Battle of Carbisdale in 1650. Montrose escaped but was betrayed and held at Ardvreck Castle by MacLeod of Ardvreck until he could be handed over and taken to Edinburgh, where he was hanged without trial and disembowelled.

At the Restoration, Charles II ensured that Montrose was given a hero’s funeral, and he was laid to rest beneath a grand monument in St Giles Cathedral.

Dukes of Montrose

JAMES GRAHAM, 4TH Marquess of Montrose (1682–1742), was elevated to 1ST DUKE OF MONTROSE by Queen Anne in 1707 in recognition of his support for the Act of Union.

JAMES GRAHAM, 6TH DUKE OF MONTROSE (1878–1954), was a naval engineer and President of the British Institution of Marine Engineers, who conceived and designed THE FIRST PRACTICAL AIRCRAFT-CARRIER and also took THE FIRST-EVER FILM OF A TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.

JAMES GRAHAM, 7TH DUKE OF MONTROSE (1907–92), lived most of his life in Southern Africa and in 1965, in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), signed the Rhodesian Declaration of Independence along with Ian Smith.

Some Notable Grahams

PATRICK GRAHAM (d.1478), grandson of Robert III, was THE FIRST ARCHBISHOP OF ST ANDREWS, from 1465 until his death.

Bonnie Dundee

JAMES GRAHAM OF CLAVER-HOUSE (1648–89) was the 1st and only VISCOUNT DUNDEE. In 1672, as a young lieutenant fighting for a Scots regiment on the Continent, he saved the life of the young Prince William of Orange, whose horse had become trapped on muddy ground. The Prince later recommended Graham as a soldier to the Duke of York (later James VII of Scotland and II of England), whose brother Charles II sent Graham to suppress the Covenanters in southern Scotland – a task he pursued so vigorously that he earned himself the nickname ‘Bluidy Clavers’.

After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, in which James was removed from the English throne by William of Orange, Graham remained loyal to James, who was his uncle, and was created Viscount Dundee. He led James’s troops to a famous, but ultimately fruitless victory at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689 (aided by Rob Roy McGregor), but died leading the final charge and was later immortalised in poem and song by Sir Walter Scott as ‘Bonnie Dundee’. The title Viscount Dundee was forfeited in 1690.

Come fill up my cup, come fill up my can,

Saddle my horses and call out my men,

And it’s Ho! for the west port and let us gae free,

And we’ll follow the bonnets o’ bonnie Dundee!

Chorus from ‘Bonnie Dundee’ by Sir Walter Scott

GEORGE GRAHAM (1674–1751), early clockmaker who invented the MERCURY PENDULUM and the DEAD BEAT ‘GRAHAM’ ESCAPEMENT. He also invented and built, in 1704, the first modern ORRERY, or clockwork model of the solar system, for Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery, who gave the device its name.

THOMAS GRAHAM (1805–69), chemist who discovered DIALYSIS (used in today’s kidney dialysis machines) and Graham’s Law on the diffusion of gases.

CHARLES K. GRAHAM (1824–89), civil engineer who laid out Central Park in New York City.

KENNETH GRAHAME (1859–1932), author of The Wind in the Willows.

WINSTON GRAHAM (1908–2003), author of the Poldark series of historical novels.

BILLY GRAHAM, born 1918, American evangelist.

BRUCE GRAHAM, born 1925, architect of the USA’s tallest building, the 1,730 ft (527 m) high Sears Tower in Chicago.

DANIEL O’GRAHAM (1926–95), prime originator of the USA’s controversial Strategic Defense Initiative concept, the defensive missile shield more popularly known as ‘Star Wars’.

DAVID GRAHAM, actor and voice-over artist who was the original voice of the Daleks (with Peter Hawkins) in Dr Who, and also Parker and Brains in the original Thunderbirds television series.

Thane of Glamis

ALTHOUGH MACBETH WAS accorded the title THANE OF GLAMIS by William Shakespeare, the first recorded Thane of Glamis was SIR JOHN LYON (c.1340–82), who was granted the lands and title by Robert II in 1372. In 1376 Lyon married Robert’s daughter Princess Joanna and then became Chamberlain of Scotland.

The name LYON is derived from a French family called de Leon who came to Scotland at the end of the 11th century and settled in Perthshire, on land that became known as Glen Lyon. Sir John Lyon is recognised as the first of Clan Lyon.

His son John is thought to have built the original tower house at Glamis to replace the hunting lodge that was already there. The younger John’s son Patrick was made LORD GLAMIS in 1445.

Grey Lady

THE 6TH LORD GLAMIS married JANE DOUGLAS, who in 1537 was burned as a witch on the orders of James V, during his feud with the Douglas family. In the chapel at Glamis Castle there is a seat at the back in which no one sits, for it is reserved for the Grey Lady, said to be the ghost of Jane – just one of the many hauntings that occur at Scotland’s most haunted castle.

Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

THE 9TH LORD Glamis was made Earl of Kinghorne in 1606, to which title the 3rd Earl of Kinghorne added the name Strathmore.

THE 9TH EARL OF STRATHMORE AND KINGHORNEBOWESLYON

Kenneth MacAlpin	843–58
Donald I	858–62
Constantine I	862–77
Aed	877–78
Giric and Eochald	878–89
Donald II	889–900
Constantine II	900–43
Malcolm I	943–54
Indulf	954–62
Dubh	962–66
Culen	966–71
Kenneth II	971–95
Constantine III	995–97
Kenneth III	997–1005
Malcolm II	1005–34

Donald III	1093–94
Duncan II	1094
Donald III (restored)	1094–97
Edgar	1097–1107
Alexander I	1107–24

Robert I (the Bruce)	1306–29
David II	1329–71

James IV	1488–1513
James V	1513–42
Mary I	1542–67

Charles I (I of England)	1625–49
Charles II (II of England)	1649–85
James VII (II of England)	1685–89
Mary II (II of England)	1689–94
William II (III of England)	1694–1702