F-YEAH HISTORY!

The execution of William Burke in the Lawnmarket, 28 January 1829; as depicted on a contemporary broadsheet
The Burke and Hare murders (nickname West Port murders) were serial murders perpetrated in Edinburgh, Scotland, from November 1827 to October 31, 1828. The killings were attributed to Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses of their 17 victims to provide material for dissection. Their purchaser was Doctor Robert Knox, a private anatomy lecturer whose students were drawn from Edinburgh Medical College. Their accomplices included Burke’s mistress, Helen McDougal, and Hare’s wife, Margaret Laird. From their infamous method of killing their victims has come the word “burking”, meaning to purposefully smother and compress the chest of a victim, and a derived meaning, to quietly suppress.

Stained glass window depicting Margaret, Maid of Norway who was briefly Queen regnant of Scotland
Margaret (Gaelic: Mairead or Maighread) (9 April 1283–26 September 1290) was Queen of Scots and a Norwegian princess, also known as Margaret of Scotland (Norwegian: Margrete av Skottland) and the Maid of Norway (Norwegian: Jomfruen av Norge). Margaret was Queen from 1286 until she died in 1290. Her death while en route to Scotland, sparked off the disputed succession which led to the Wars of Scottish Independence. She was the daughter of King Eric II of Norway and Margaret, daughter of King Alexander III of Scotland. Margaret was born on 9 April 1283 in Tønsberg, while her mother did not survive the birth.

Second day use of Uniform Fourpenny Post with Edinburgh handstruck 4, 6th December 1839
The Uniform Fourpenny Post was a short-lived uniform pre-paid letter rate in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that lasted for only 36 days from 5 December 1839 until 9 January 1840. The Uniform Fourpenny Post was the first component of the comprehensive reform of the Royal Mail that took place in the 19th century to the Royal Mail postal service.

Led by their piper, men of 7th Seaforth Highlanders, 15th (Scottish) Division advance during Operation ‘Epsom’ in Normandy, 26 June 1944

Border reivers raiding Gilnockie Tower (from an original drawing by G. Cattermole) 

Border Reivers were raiders along the Anglo–Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. Their ranks consisted of both Scottish and English families, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims’ nationality. Their heyday was perhaps in the last hundred years of their existence, during the time of the Stuart Kings in Scotland and the Tudor Dynasty in England.

The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots on February 8, 1587 at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, England. After nineteen years in captivity, she was found guilty of plotting the assassination of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I

Mary, Queen of Scots depicted with her son, James VI and I; in reality, Mary saw her son for the last time when he was ten months old

Friends and family wave farewell to 260 young Hebrideans who have set sail, in search of a new and better life, from Stornoway harbour in the Isle of Lewis on the Canadian Pacific ship, the Metagama, 1923

David Kirkwood and Willie Gallacher being detained by police at the City Chambers 31 January 1919 during the “Battle of George Square”, one of the most intense riots in the history of Glasgow. The dispute revolved around a campaign for shorter working hours, backed by widespread strike action. Clashes between the City of Glasgow Police and protesters broke out, leading to the British government sending soldiers and tanks to the city to prevent any further gatherings due to their fear of a Bolshevist uprising. It was described as a “social revolution” by supporters, as had happened the previous year in the 1917 Russian Revolution, and was occurring in Germany while the ‘Forty Hours’ strike unfolded.

Trams in Glasgow, Scotland, 1962