Great Scots of Note: Scotland on Britannia

Gateway to the British Isles since 1996

Scots Who Made A Difference

by Peter N. Williams, Ph.D.
© 2007 Britannia.com

E
EDINBUURGH, Duneideann, the Hill Fort of Eiden (b. Iron Age)
Of all Scottish cities, surely Edinburgh deserves its place in a list of influential persons, for the capital can be said to have a character all its own (better yet, many different characters, for even without the Old and New Towns being viewed as separate entities, the entire city seems to be a widely-scattered conglomeration that includes rural villages). Affectionately known as Auld Reekie (Old Smokey), the city has much to offer the visitor and the permanent resident. Robert Louis Stevenson called his city "This profusion of eccentricities, this dream in masonry and living rock is not a drop-scene in a theatre, but a city in the world of reality."

Stevenson's reality is best seen from the commanding castle, high on its impregnable rock in the south. From here we look down upon a profusion of spires and turrets that make up the Old City, a truly medieval melange of churches, chapels, cathedrals, law offices, government buildings, royal residences and tenement houses. At one end of the Royal Mile lie the Castle ramparts; at the other end is the magnificent palace of Holyrood house, protected to its rear by the looming, ancient volcanic mass of Arthur's Seat, the city's own mountain.

Along this spine of the pre-18th century city, on the summit of the narrow ridge in what we now call the Old Town, we find the Law Courts and the Advocate's Library housed in the stately building that once housed the Parliament of an independent nation; the Cathedral of St. Giles, containing many medieval chapels is crowned with its unusual 15th century tower, consisting of an open spire with eight flying buttresses supporting a sculptured turret. There has been a church at this site since the late ninth century and though The Church of Scotland did away with Bishops in 1688, St. Giles, more properly the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is still referred to as a cathedral.

Most unusual are the wynds that break the steep cliff face. These are narrow, winding, stone lanes that lead down on either side of the ridge, some little more than spiral staircases. We also find the closes or vennels, which are entrance ways into the courtyards of crammed high rises (the first in Europe) where the artisans lived with their families, and where they had their workshops, taverns and clubs. Water was brought to these tenements by linkboys, called "caddies" (from the French cadet).

When Charles I, in his misguided fight with the Scottish nobility, threatened to move the law courts elsewhere, the Edinburgh Town Council erected Parliament House and it was here that the Scots Parliament met from 1639 to 1707. Then many factors, most having to do with economic necessity, forced the amalgamation of England and Scotland under one Crown and the movement of its legislators to London. The building still houses the supreme civil and criminal courts of Scotland.

Many fine buildings are found in the area reclaimed from the South Loch and known as the Meadows, including the neo-classical George Square, laid out in 1766. It is mostly occupied by the new complex of Edinburgh University. Nearby are The Royal Scottish Museum (1854) and the National Library of Scotland (1854) in the University's old quarter, a little closer to the Royal Mile.

At the other end of the Royal Mile from the Castle is the Palace of Holyrood, where Mary, Queen of Scots, symbol of Catholicism and its resistance to the tide of Protestantism sweeping northern Europe returned from France to try to turn back the clock. It was here that her faithful secretary was murdered by her jealous, immature Darnley. It was here that the ill-fated Queen gave birth to the son who would later unite the thrones of Scotland and England and it was here that Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed during his attempt to restore the Stuart monarchy in 1745. It is also in the grounds of the Palace, near the ruins of the ancient abbey, that a modern brewery mercifully continues the fine reputation once enjoyed by the monks in the brewing of beer.

Situated smack in the middle of the great divide between the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, in the depression once occupied by North Loch, but finally drained in 1815 (when it had become nothing more than an open sewer), is the 37-acre park known as Princes Street Gardens, opened to the public in 1876, containing the world's first floral clock (1903). The lawns, flower beds and leafy glades of the park are world famous and constitute a welcome oasis for busy Edinburgh shoppers and businessmen throughout the year.

On the huge mound constructed of rubble from the building of New Town are situated the neo-Grecian temples that house the Royal Scottish Academy (1832) and the National Gallery of Scotland (1839). In the middle of the Park runs the railway, brought into the city in 1847, the hideous scars caused by the aberration of the rail bed now mostly concealed under artful foliage. (Waverley Station remains at the east end of the Park). Princes Street itself has become the principal shopping street of the city and its main thoroughfare, marred only by the hideous, sometimes soot-blackened, 200 ft. pseudo-Gothic spire, erected as a monument to Sir Walter Scott or to his dog, Maida (both are represented by statues).

In the year 1766 plans were invited by advertisement for the construction of the New Town at Bearford's Parks which had been purchased by the city in 1716. James Craig's grandiose plans for a romantic classical city were adopted and New Town began on a gridiron plan, flanked by open-facing streets at each edge with the axial street ending in massive squares at each end. Though severely compromised in its actual building and ruthlessly defiled by later architects, some of Craig's original design remains, including St. Andrew Square, Register House, and Charlotte Square (Robert Adams' masterpiece of 1791).

During much of the 19th century, the city that has earned the title "Athens of the North" experienced a golden age of literature and learning that corresponded with the completion of the New Town. Prominent citizens have included philosopher David Hume, economist Adam Smith, painter Henry Raeburn, architect Robert Adams, novelists Sir Walter Scott and Robert Luis Stevenson, biographer James Boswell, physician Sir James Simpson and surgeon James Lister. Less prestigious residents of the noble city included Dr. Robert Knox of the medical school and his two providers of cadavers, stolen from the nearby churchyards, Burke and Hare.

In 1947 the first Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe gave the capital city the chance to lead the way in reconciliation of nations after the trauma of World War II. Since its beginning, the festival has attracted some of the world's finest orchestras and drama ensembles. The so-called "Fringe" attracts small companies who perform, often without invitation, and the Festival itself has had as many as 550 companies performing 1196 shows in over 110 venues, making it the largest arts festival in the world. As if that weren't enough, the city also hosts an International Jazz Festival, an International Film Festival, a bi-ennial Book Festival, and the annual Military Tattoo, held under search lights in the grounds of the venerable, old castle.

THE EDINBURGH REVIEW AND CRITICAL JOURNAL (1802-1929)
With a character entirely its own, just like its host city, for 127 years, the Edinburgh Review remained one of the leading literary magazines of Britain, forming the background for the careers of so many writers of note. Founded in 1802 as a review dedicated to support political reform, the authoritative magazine soon became an astounding success, attracting the very best of Scottish writers under its innovative and strong-minded editors. One of these, Sydney Smith (1771-1845) championed a variety of reforms, including Catholic emancipation and the elevation of female education. The success of the Review inspired the publication of other literary magazines including the Quarterly Review (1809), Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine (1819) and, in England, The Westminster Review (1824).

An early contributor to the Review was Sir Walter Scott (though he switched his allegiance to its less successful rival The Quarterly Review). Another was Thomas Carlyle, whose essays on contemporary social problems matched his critical writings on contemporary literary figures. His essay "Characteristics," designed to prepare the reading public for his revolutionary "Sartor Resartus," appeared in the Review in 1831. Other notable contributors were Thomas Babington MacAulay, William Hazlitt, Matthew Arnold and William Ewart Gladstone.

ELDER, JOHN (1824-69)
One of the great names in the history of marine engineering is that of Glasgow-born John Elder, whose introduction of the compound steam engine on ships in 1854 drastically cut fuel consumption by as much as 40 percent and made possible longer voyages on routes where refuelling was impossible. Elder's coal-burning steam engines were adopted by shipping companies world wide and were used in the navies of most governments until they were superseded by oil-burning engines in the present century.

ELGIN, JAMES BRUCE, 8th Earl (1811-63)
In 1841, James Elgin inherited his father's title and left the House of Commons where he had served as Tory MP for Southampton. One year later, he was appointed Governor General of Jamaica and four years later Governor General of British North America. In 1854 he negotiated the Reciprocity Treaty between the Canadian colonies and the United States. Returning to England, he served as special commissioner to China, official visitor to Japan and viceroy of India after a term as Postmaster General of the United Kingdom. It was during his term as Governor General of British North America that his implementation of responsible government was effected, and thus James Bruce Elgin was yet another Scot who had enormous influence on the orderly and democratic development of Canada.

ELPHINSTONE, MOUNTSTUART (1779-1859)
Beginning a long and distinguished service with the East India Company in 1795, Elphinstone quickly won distinction for his administrative abilities. At the Battle of Kirki (1817) he defeated the Peshwa to strengthen British rule in the Maratha territories, which were annexed by the Crown one-year later. His enlightened policies did much to ensure allegiance to the British government, for he insisted on restoring many of the rights and privileges of the native Indian rulers, especially the authority of the local village headmen and elders. Elphinstone also had the revolutionary idea of educating the indigenous peoples of the British-ruled lands. Elphinstone College, Bombay, founded by public subscription as a result of his efforts, was named in his honor. After twice refusing to be Governor Generalof India, Elphinstone published his History of India in 1841.

ERSKINE, THOMAS, 1st Baron (1750-1823)
Whatever one thinks of the activities of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), free men and women throughout the world owe an enormous debt to the pioneering efforts of Linlithgow lawyer Thomas Erskine and his important contributions to the defense of personal liberties. Following the conclusion of the American War of Independence, Erskine, unrivalled for his forensic skills, was called upon to defend many British businessmen involved in trading with France, especially in criminal libel cases. Following the French Revolution, he again assisted in the defense of those charged with treason and related offenses that the British government was all too eager to punish.

Erskine's defense of Thomas Paine for publishing Rights of Man (considered an act of treason) was unsuccessful, but his many court victories gave him a deserved reputation in legal history. He successfully defended Lord George Gordon on the charge of high treason for instigating the anti-Catholic riots of 1780. Up until this case, treason could be imputed to a person merely from his conduct, even though none of his separate actions amounts to treason. The verdict in the Gordon case changed all that.

Another successful defense by Erskine led to the passage of the Libel Act of 1792. When he successfully defended James Hadfield, who had tried to assassinate King George III, Erskine's insanity defense was a landmark in British legal history, constituting an important contribution to the law of criminal responsibility. At the end of his life, Erskine defended Queen Caroline, accused of adultery by her husband George IV, merely to deny her of her rights and title.