This Day in Scottish History

Welcome back to "This Day in Scottish History." I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we're delving into a moment that sparked a revolutionary shift in medical treatment and the understanding of the human mind. On November 13, 1841, Scottish surgeon James Braid attended a demonstration in Manchester, England, that set him on a path to become the father of modern hypnotism. Born in Kinross, Scotla...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History . I’m your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we’re looking back at one of Scotland's longest and most harrowing missing persons cases: the 1976 disappearance of Renee MacRae and her three-year-old son, Andrew. This story, spanning almost five decades, unfolded with twists and mysteries that left the people of Scotland — and the wider UK — gripped for genera...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we reflect on November 11, 1918—a date forever etched in history as the end of the First World War. On this day, after four years of relentless and brutal conflict, an armistice came into effect, bringing a halt to the fighting that had devastated nations and reshaped societies. In Scotland, this day marked a bitt...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History . I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we’re traveling back to November 10, 1871, to witness one of the most famous encounters in exploration history: the meeting of Dr. David Livingstone, the legendary Scottish explorer, and Henry Morton Stanley, the determined American journalist. This was the day when, after years of silence, the elusive Dr. Living...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald, and today we’re heading back to an extraordinary and mysterious event on November 9, 1979—an encounter that has intrigued UFO enthusiasts and skeptics alike for decades. Known as the Livingston Incident, or the Robert Taylor Incident, this event is one of Scotland's most compelling UFO tales, involving a forester named R...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we’re taking a closer look at a groundbreaking medical discovery that forever altered the field of medicine. On November 8, 1847, Sir James Young Simpson, a renowned Scottish physician, made history in Edinburgh by successfully demonstrating the anesthetic properties of chloroform. This pioneering moment marked a...

Welcome back to "This Day in Scottish History." I’m your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we’re heading back to the evening of November 7, 1951, when Ochilview Park in Stenhousemuir hosted the first floodlit professional football match in Scotland. The match between Stenhousemuir and Hibernian was not just an electrifying sporting event; it marked a revolutionary moment in Scottish football, as it op...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History . I'm your host, Colin MacDonald, and today, we’re exploring the origins of one of Scotland’s most iconic institutions. On November 6, 1887, Celtic Football Club was formally constituted in St. Mary’s church hall on East Rose Street in Glasgow. What started as a local initiative would go on to shape Scottish football and build a global fanbase. Let’s jo...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we reflect on the passing of one of Scotland's greatest minds, James Clerk Maxwell, who died on November 5, 1879, at the age of 48. Born in Edinburgh on June 13, 1831, Maxwell’s legacy is profound, stretching across physics and mathematics and laying the groundwork for the modern era of scientific thought. His rev...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we honor the memory of a remarkable figure in both Scottish and global military history: Colonel Sir David Stirling. On November 4, 1990, Stirling passed away in Westminster, London, at the age of 74. His legacy, however, is deeply ingrained in military lore as the founder of the Special Air Service (SAS), an elit...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald, and today we're remembering a cherished Scottish actor, Ian Bannen, who tragically passed away on November 3, 1999, in a car accident near Loch Ness. Bannen’s life and career spanned nearly five decades, with acclaimed performances on stage, screen, and television that have left a lasting impact on the world of acting. B...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald, and today we set sail into one of the most ambitious and scientifically-driven explorations of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. It was on November 2, 1902, that the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE), under the command of William Speirs Bruce, departed from the shores of Troon, marking Scotland’s bold...

Welcome to This Day in Scottish History. I'm Colin MacDonald, and today we honor a remarkable Scottish hero of the skies, Squadron Leader Archie McKellar. It was on this day, November 1st, 1940, that McKellar, one of the leading fighter aces of the Battle of Britain, was tragically killed in combat. Known for his skill, bravery, and dedication, McKellar left an indelible mark on British air defens...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History . I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we remember an iconic Scotsman who passed away on October 31, 2020: Sir Sean Connery, one of the most celebrated actors of his generation, known to millions as the original James Bond. Born Thomas Sean Connery on August 25, 1930, in Edinburgh, Connery's life was one of legendary transformation. He grew up in Foun...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I’m your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we commemorate an extraordinary achievement in the field of medicine that took place on October 30, 1960, at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where Sir Michael Woodruff performed the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom. This pioneering surgery marked a significant step forward in transplant medicine...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I’m your host, Colin MacDonald, and today, we’re traveling back to October 29, 1312. On this day, the Treaty of Inverness was signed between Robert the Bruce of Scotland and representatives of King Haakon V of Norway. This treaty reaffirmed an earlier agreement, the Treaty of Perth, and played a vital role in cementing Scotland's hold over key territor...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I’m your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we journey back to October 28, 1854, to Dunkeld, Scotland, where a fascinating yet often overlooked figure in Jacobite history, Charles Edward Stuart, Count Roehenstart, met his end. Roehenstart’s life story is one of remarkable lineage, lost fortunes, and a quiet yet determined claim to the Stuart legacy. Charles...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History . I’m your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we turn our focus to one of the most defining moments in Scottish political history: the arrest of revolutionary socialist John Maclean on October 27, 1915, during the height of World War I. This day marked a pivotal moment in Maclean's life and the wider Red Clydeside era, forever etching his name in the annals...

Welcome back to “This Day in Scottish History.” I’m your host, Colin MacDonald, and today we are heading to the Scottish Borders to explore a remarkable feat of engineering and design, the Gattonside Suspension Footbridge. Formally opened on October 26, 1826, this bridge has connected the town of Melrose to the village of Gattonside for nearly 200 years, providing not only a practical crossing ove...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History . I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. On today’s episode, we journey to the windswept shores of Ardrossan in Ayrshire, where a tragic event unfolded on October 25, 1769—the murder of Alexander Montgomerie, the 10th Earl of Eglinton. This story of power, pride, and misfortune involves a Scottish nobleman, a government excise officer, and the bitter tensions...

Welcome Back to "This Day in Scottish History." I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we focus on a dark chapter in Scottish criminal history, marking October 24, 1983. On this day, Dennis Nilsen, a man who would become known as one of Scotland's most notorious serial killers, went on trial at the Central Criminal Court in London, accused of six murders and two attempted murders. His story is chi...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History . I’m your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we explore a defining moment in Scottish diplomacy—the signing of the Treaty of Paris on October 23rd, 1295, which solidified the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France. This treaty laid the foundation for one of the most enduring international alliances in European history, lasting over 250 years. The Auld Al...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History , I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we turn our focus to one of the darkest moments in Scotland's industrial past: the Blantyre Mining Disaster of October 22, 1877. This tragic event marked Scotland's worst-ever mining disaster, claiming the lives of 207 miners and leaving an indelible scar on the community of Blantyre. The disaster took place in t...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History . I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we reflect on a tragic event that took place on October 21, 1971—a day that is etched into the memories of many in Scotland, particularly in the small town of Clarkston, south of Glasgow. It was on this day that a devastating gas explosion tore through a row of shops at Clarkston Toll, killing 22 people and injur...

Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald, and today we’re stepping back in time to October 20, 1956—a day that marked the end of an era for public transportation in Dundee. On this day, the last tram ran on the Dundee Corporation Tramways, bringing to a close nearly six decades of electric tram service in the city. Dundee’s tramway system was a crucial part of t...