Scotland

Scotland
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Location  Europe
Capital  Edinburgh
Area  78,772 sq km
Population  5,194,000

"There's no fool like an old fool"
(Proverb/Quote of the Week)

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January

January 1 January 2 January 3 A polar bear cub was born in the UK for the first time in 25 years at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), as revealed on 3 January 2018. January 4 Gary Anderson of Scotland claimed his first World Darts Championship in a thrilling final with a glorious 7-6 win over the legendary Phil Taylor of England on 4 January 2015. January 5 January 6 January 7 January 8 January 9 Scottish scientists have identified a new species of marine reptile from fossils found on the Isle of Skye that roamed the waters near the Scottish coast 170 million years ago. The ancient dolphin-like creature was revealed on 9 January 2015. January 10 January 11 January 12 January 13 January 14 January 15 January 16 January 17 January 18 January 19 January 20 January 21 January 22 January 23 January 24 January 25 January 26 January 27 January 28 January 29 January 30 January 31

February

February 1 February 2 Scottish marine experts from Aberdeen University’s world renowned Oceanlab have discovered a new species of fish almost three miles below the surface during a voyage to one of the deepest points on the planet to the north of New Zealand, according to an official announcement on 2 February 2013. February 3 February 4 A team of researchers from Scotland has used a novel 3D printing technique to arrange human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) for the very first time. It is hoped that this breakthrough, which has been published on 4 February 2013 in the journal Biofabrication, will allow three-dimensional tissues and structures to be created using hESCs, which could, amongst other things, speed up and improve the process of drug testing. February 5 February 6 February 7 An amateur archaeologist, Douglas Scott, has uncovered the biggest collection of ancient rock art in the Scottish Highlands, as revealed on 7 February 2013. He discovered a circle of 28 carved rocks which date back 5000 years. February 8 February 9 For the first time, human eggs have been developed in a lab from their earliest stage to full maturity, a scientific step which might lead to improved fertility treatments, according to a study released on 9 February 2018 by the University of Edinburgh. February 10 February 11 February 12 February 13 February 14 February 15 February 16 February 17 February 18 February 19 February 20 February 21 February 22 February 23 February 24 February 25 February 26 February 27 February 28 The Scottish Government on 28 February 2013 announced more than £4 million for new wave and tidal power research capacity, securing Scotland’s world-leading position in marine energy. According to the announcement, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney has received £3m for a new berth to test wave-power devices and £1.1m to test support vessels serving the energy industry in the area. February 29 Scottish women were only allowed to propose marriage on one day every four years. Scotland passed a law on February 29, 1288 that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice in that year (every leap year). They also made it law that any man who declined a proposal in a leap year must pay a fine. The fine could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves, in order to soften the blow.

March

March 1 March 2 March 3 March 4 Scotland’s Andy Murray became the first British man to win the Dubai Tennis Championships in its 25-year history on 4 March 2017 defeating Fernando Verdaso 6-3 6-2. March 5 In a new paper published in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution on 5 March 2019, scientists from Scotland, Africa and the United States discussed how they have used both machine-learning and citizen science techniques to accurately count wildebeest in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania more rapidly than is possible using traditional methods. Scottish cricketer Kyle Coetzer posted highest individual score for Scotland in a ODI match as he scored 156 runs against Bangladesh at the 2015 World Cup. March 6 March 7 March 8 March 9 March 10 The Scottish Government's new Home Energy Efficiency Programme committed to provide £60 million for councils to target areas which have high levels of fuel poverty, according to an official announcement on 10 March 2013. The fund will help local authorities to transform thousands of properties across Scotland into warmer, environmentally friendly homes which are easier and cheaper to heat. Alexander Graham Bell, known for inventing the Telephone. On 10th March 1876 he succeeded to speak through his telephone to his assistant, Mr. Watson. Bell said “Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to see you.” March 11 March 12 March 13 March 14 A study, by Scottish researchers and their international colleagues, of a newly discovered 90-million-year-old dinosaur fossil have revealed how Tyrannosaurus rex became one of Earth’s top predators. Their study, published on 14 March 2016 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggested its ears and brain helped establish its dominance. March 15 March 16 March 17 March 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 Life expectancy at birth in Scotland has reached its highest ever level and the number of people in Scotland living for more than a century continues to grow. Figures published on 21 March 2014 by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show that in 2012 there were 800 people who are a century old or more living in Scotland, a rise of 280 compared with 2002. March 22 Researchers at Glasgow University Scotland have developed a synthetic skin for prosthetics limbs that can generate its own energy from solar power. The discovery was detailed in the journal Advanced Functional Materials on 22 March 2017. Archaeologist in Scotland have discovered the centuries-old remains of two castles in Partick, Glasgow during Scottish Water’s £250m upgrade of the city’s waste water infrastructure, as announced on 22 March 2016. Archaeologists have described the 12th or 13th century medieval castles in Partick as the most historically significant in the city for a generation. March 23 March 24 March 25 March 26 March 27 March 28 March 29 Lulu, a Scottish singer, jointly won the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest for the song Boom Bang-a-bang, representing United Kingdom. For the first time in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, the outcome of the voting resulted in a tie for the first place. Four countries gained 18 points each: France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Since there was no solution for this situation, all four countries were declared winners. March 30 March 31

April

April 1 April 2 April 3 April 4 James Mackenzie, a Scottish cardiologist, invented the early polygraph machine which was used for medical purposes, such as, investigating the condition of the heart. Mackenzie was born on April 4, 1853. April 5 April 6 Scottish racing cyclist Katie Archibald won gold in Women's 3000m Individual Pursuit at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. A ban on showing tobacco products at the point of sale in small shops across the UK including Scotland came into force on 6 April 2015. April 7 April 8 Scottish racing cyclist Mark Stewart won gold in Men's 40km Points Race at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. April 9 April 10 April 11 April 12 April 13 April 14 April 15 April 16 April 17 April 18 April 19 Howard Wood of Scotland won the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize for his campaign that established the first community-developed Marine Protected Area in Scotland. April 20 University of Glasgow, Scotland archaeologists using cutting edge technology on remnants of the Roman Empire’s most north-western frontier wall have shown parts of it were painted with vibrant red and yellows. The vibrant coloured stones were Roman propaganda against the indigenous local communities, as revealed on 20 April 2018. April 21 April 22 April 23 April 24 April 25 April 26 April 27 April 28 April 29 April 30

May

May 1 May 2 May 3 May 4 Margaret Thatcher was elected as the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as was of Scotland, in 1979. She was the first woman elected ruler in Europe. May 5 May 6 May 7 Scientists from Scotland and China have discovered a species of long-snouted dinosaur in Ganzhou, China which stalked the Earth more than 66 million years ago. The animal, nicknamed Pinocchio rex, belonged to the same family as Tyrannosaurus rex was reported on 7 May 2014 in Nature Communications. May 8 May 9 May 10 Scottish tennis star Andy Murray won the 2015 Madrid Open tennis title beating Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in the final. It was Murray's first victory over Nadal on clay. May 11 May 12 A bone from an extinct bird known as "Scotland's dodo" has been uncovered following an archaeological dig at the Scottish Seabird Centre, as reported on 12 May 2014. May 13 May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17 Scientists from the University of Glasgow have discovered a low-cost way to create 3D images that uses detectors which have a single pixel to sense light instead of the millions of pixels used in the imaging sensors of digital cameras. Their findings were published on 17 May 2013 in the journal Science. May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 Scottish researchers have discovered that tough conditions like environmental stresses are responsible for making the human brain disproportionately large, according to their research published in Nature on 23 May 2018. May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27 Scottish racing driver Dario Franchitti won the 96th Indianapolis 500, making it his third Indianapolis 500 motorsport racing title, on 27 May 2012. May 28 Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay won the Best Screenplay Prize for the film You Were Never Really Here at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. May 29 Physicists Peter Higgs from the University of Edinburgh was named co-winner of the 2013 Spain's Prince of Asturias Award for his contributions in Technical and Scientific research. Karina Atkinson from Scotland received Rolex Awards for Enterprise at a ceremony at Rolex’s headquarters in Geneva on 29 May 2013 for developing a scientific research center at a biologically rich reserve in rural Paraguay and using community outreach to educate the surrounding impoverished communities about the value of conservation. May 30 Scientists at Dundee University, Scotland have created a working Tractor Beam, a device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance, as reported on 30 May 2014. The researchers used an ultrasound array to exert force on an object and pull it towards the energy source. May 31

June

June 1 June 2 June 3 June 4 June 5 A courageous Scotland rugby team secured a memorable 9-6 win over Australia in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia on 5 June 2012. It was Scotland's first win over the Australian rugby team on their own turf in 30 years. June 6 Spider silk transmits vibrations across a wide range of frequencies so that, when plucked like a guitar string, its sound carries information about prey, mates, and even the structural integrity of a web. The discovery, by Scottish and English researchers who fired bullets and lasers at spider silk to study how it vibrates, was published on 6 June 2014. June 7 June 8 June 9 June 10 June 11 June 12 June 13 June 14 June 15 June 16 June 17 June 18 A team of international scientists, including researchers from Scotland, has found an Achilles' heel of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The findings, published on 18 June 2014 in the journal Nature, pave the way for a new wave of drugs that kill superbugs by bringing down their defensive walls rather than attacking the bacteria itself. Scottish crime rate has fallen to lowest level in 39 years, according to the official figures released on 18 June 2013. June 19 June 20 June 21 June 22 June 23 June 24 June 25 June 26 June 27 A team of international scientists, including researchers from Scotland, has discovered the oldest animal-built reef in southern Namibia, in a region known for its ancient sediments. Their findings were published in the journal Science on 27 June 2014. June 28 June 29 June 30

July

July 1 July 2 July 3 Drinking water quality in Scotland has hit an all-time high, according to Scotland's water service provider Scottish Water's latest annual report published on 3 July 2012. July 4 July 5 July 6 On 6 July 2012 it is reported that the 3,000-year-old mummies found more than ten years ago on the island of South Uist, off the coast of Scotland are actually made from the remains of six people, according to new isotopic dating and DNA experiments. July 7 Andy Murray of Scotland won Wimbledon 2013 men's tennis final with straight-sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Novak Djokovic and became the first British men to win Wimbledon singles title in 77 years. July 8 Scotland's first satellite UKube-1 was successfully launched aboard a Russian Soyuz-2 rocket on 8 July 2014. The nanosatellite, which is about the size of a shoe-box, features GPS devices aimed at measuring space weather, as well as a camera that will take images of the Earth. July 9 July 10 Scotland's Andy Murray became Wimbledon tennis champion for the second time with a superb win 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) against Canadian Milos Raonic on 10 July 20116. July 11 July 12 July 13 July 14 July 15 Archaeologists working in Scotland have uncovered what they believe to be the world's oldest lunar calendar—a series of large, specially shaped pits that were designed to mimic the various phases of the moon. Their study was published 15 July 2013 in the journal Internet Archaeology. July 16 July 17 July 18 July 19 July 20 July 21 July 22 Scottish skin cancer survival rates are at all time high, according to a new report from Cancer Research UK published on 22 July 2013. Eight out of 10 men and nine out of 10 women diagnosed with the most dangerous form of skin cancer will now survive the disease. The improved survival rates are linked to better treatment, early diagnosis and awareness of the symptoms. Scientists from the University of St Andrews in Scotland found further evidence that dolphins use a unique whistle to identify each other. The study, published on 22 July 2013, found that when the animals hear their own call played back to them, they respond. July 23 The 2014 Commonwealth Games were inaugurated in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the third time that the Commonwealth Games were held in Scotland. July 24 July 25 July 26 July 27 July 28 July 29 July 30 July 31

August

August 1 August 2 August 3 August 4 Scientists from Scotland, France and Spain have discovered new populations of deep-sea corals growing on the slopes of the UK’s highest underwater mountain, 1400m Hebrides Terrace Seamount, as revealed on 4 August 2014. August 5 Andy Murray won gold medal representing Great Britain in men's singles tennis at London Olympics beating Roger Federer 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 on 5 August 2012. August 6 August 7 August 8 August 9 August 10 August 11 August 12 August 13 August 14 Scientists at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland have identified nearly 100 previously unknown volcanoes in West Antarctica, which, in addition to the 47 already known to exist in the region, makes it one of the largest concentration of volcanoes in the world, as revealed on 14 August 2017. August 15 August 16 August 17 August 18 August 19 A team of researchers from Scotland and Germany has demonstrated a way to create polariton laser based on lab-grown, fluorescent jellyfish proteins -- which could help trigger major advances in fields like optical computing. Their study was published on 19 August 2016 in the journal Science Advances. August 20 August 21 August 22 August 23 August 24 August 25 August 26 August 27 August 28 Scottish scientists have discovered a naturally occurring protein, known as BslA, that can be used to create ice cream that is more resistant to melting than conventional products, as announced on 28 August 2015. August 29 August 30 August 31

September

September 1 September 2 September 3 September 4 Scotland was voted as the world’s most beautiful country by the influential travel publisher Rough Guide’s readers, as published on 4 September 2017. September 5 September 6 September 7 September 8 September 9 September 10 After 76 years and 237 Grand Slam tournaments Great Britain won its first Grand Slam tennis title. Scottish professional tennis player Andy Murray won the 2012 U.S. Open beating Serbian Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 in the final. September 11 September 12 September 13 September 14 Scottish and Australian scientists have discovered the world's longest known chain of continental volcanoes, running 2,000 kilometers across Australia, from the Whitsundays in North Queensland to near Melbourne in central Victoria. The volcanic chain was created over the past 33 million years and was detailed in the journal Nature on 14 September 2015. September 15 September 16 September 17 September 18 September 19 September 20 September 21 September 22 September 23 A 9,000 year-old case of human decapitation has been found in the rock shelter of Lapa do Santo in Brazil, a decapitated skull covered in amputated hands, by an international team of scientists, including researchers from Scotland. Their findings were detailed in the journal PLOS ONE on 23 September 2015. Scottish professional snooker player John Higgins won the 2012 Shanghai Masters snooker tournament, beating English Judd Trump 10-9 in a thrilling final, on 23 September 2012. September 24 September 25 Almost half of Scotland’s electricity consumption now comes from renewable energy sources, according to an official report published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on 25 September 2014. The report estimates renewables met a record-breaking 46.4 per cent of electricity use in 2013, up from 39.9 per cent in 2012. September 26 September 27 The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth was launched on 27 September 1938. It was the largest passenger liner ever built at that time and was built at John Brown & Company in Glasgow, Scotland. September 28 September 29 September 30

October

October 1 October 2 October 3 United Kingdom (Scotland) conducted its first nuclear test in 1952. On October 3, 1952 Hurricane, first British atomic device, was detonated in a lagoon off the western shore of Timouille Island, Australia. United Kingdom was the third country in the world to successfully develop and test nuclear weapon. October 4 Scottish physicists David J. Thouless and J. Michael Kosterlitz jointly won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter. October 5 Scottish chemist Sir J. Fraser Stoddart jointly won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the design and synthesis of molecular machines. October 6 October 7 October 8 Scientists Peter W. Higgs from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and François Englert from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium jointly won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. October 9 October 10 According to a study published by scientists from the University of St Andrews on 10 October 2013 in the journal Current Biology, Elephants are able to recognize human gestures without any sort of training in a way most other animals do not. Cigarette vending machine ban to go ahead in Scotland as the Scottish Government's legislation to outlaw the machines was reinforced by appeal court judges on 10 October 2012 against a tobacco giant's bid. October 11 October 12 The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for 2015 was awarded to Scottish economist Angus Deaton for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare. October 13 October 14 October 15 October 16 October 17 October 18 The world's first floating wind farm Hywind Scotland started operations off the coast of Scotland on 18 October 2017. The 30MW wind farm is located 25 kilometers offshore Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland and will power approximately 20,000 households. On October 18, 2011 archaeologists revealed they have discovered the remains of a Viking chief buried with his boat, ax, sword and spear on a remote Scottish peninsula — one of the most significant Norse finds ever uncovered in Britain. October 19 October 20 October 21 October 22 October 23 October 24 October 25 October 26 Scottish tennis star Andy Murray won the 2014 Valencia Open beating Spaniard Tommy Robredo 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (10-8). October 27 October 28 October 29 October 30 October 31

November

November 1 November 2 November 3 November 4 November 5 November 6 November 7 Scottish Government announced a £50m green energy scheme on 7 November 2012 to be spent on green energy projects to help power homes across Scotland. November 8 Russell Knox became the first Scotsman ever to win a World Golf Championships event by winning the 2015 World Golf Championships-HSBC title in Shanghai. November 9 November 10 The Scottish cabinet voted to ban smoking in enclosed public places on November 10, 2004. November 11 November 12 November 13 November 14 Scotland's Preston Mommsen was named Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year on 14 November 2014. November 15 November 16 November 17 November 18 The remains of what is believed to be one of Scotland's earliest homes have been uncovered in a field at Echline, South Queensferry, dates from the Mesolithic period, around 10,000 years ago, as first reported on 18 November 2012. November 19 November 20 Scotland's Andy Murray beat five-time champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 to win his first ATP World Tour Finals title on 20 November 2016 and ended 2016 as the world number one. November 21 November 22 November 23 Susan Boyle, an amazing Scottish singer, released her first album “I Dreamed a Dream,” on 23rd November 2009. Her debut album smashed many records, such as, fastest selling debut album by a female artist in the UK and the oldest artist to reach number one with a debut album in the UK Albums Chart. Boyle's rapid rise to fame started in Britain's Got Talent, a British television show, in 2008. November 24 November 25 The level of recorded crime in Scotland has reached its lowest level in 40 years, falling by 1% in the past year, according to the official figures released on 25 November 2014. Archaeologists from Scotland, Nepal and England have uncovered evidence of a structure at the birthplace of the Buddha in Nepal dating to the sixth century B.C. This is the first archaeological material linked the life of the Buddha to a specific century according to their study published on 25 November 2013 in the journal Antiquity. November 26 November 27 Researchers at the University of Edinburgh analyzing a 90-million-year-old fossil skull of an extinct reptile announced that snakes lost their legs when their ancestors evolved to live and hunt in burrows, which many snakes still do today. The findings, published in the U.S. journal Science Advances on 27 November 2015, show snakes did not lose their limbs in order to live in the sea, as was previously suggested. Karina Atkinson of Scotland, who is developing a scientific research center at a biologically rich reserve in Paraguay and using community outreach to educate the surrounding impoverished communities about the value of conservation, was announced as one of the 2012 Rolex Young Laureates. November 28 November 29 November 30 The Stone of Scone, Scotland's coronation stone, was returned to Scotland and installed in Edinburgh Castle on 30 November 1996, 700 years after King Edward I took it to England as a war prize. The world's first official international soccer match was played on November 30, 1872. It was played between Scotland and England. The match kicked-off in Scotland and ended in a goalless draw.

December

December 1 Scottish researchers have discovered hundreds of dinosaur footprints and handprints, made by plant-eating sauropods around 170 million years ago, on the Isle of Skye. The discovery - which is the biggest dinosaur site yet found in Scotland - was announced on 1 December 2015. December 2 December 3 December 4 December 5 A new law banning smoking in cars when carrying children came into force in Scotland on 5 December 2016. Long-distance telephone call, without the help of an operator, was inaugurated in United Kingdom on December 5, 1958. The first call was made by the Queen to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Scotland from the central telephone exchange in Bristol, England. December 6 December 7 December 8 December 9 December 10 December 11 December 12 Scottish astronomers Professor James Dunlop and Dr. Ross McLure at Edinburgh University’s Institute for Astronomy have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to reveal a population of primitive galaxies that formed more than 13 billion years ago, when the Universe was less than 4% of its present age, as revealed on 12 December 2012. December 13 December 14 December 15 Scottish tennis star Andy Murray was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2013 after becoming first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years since Fred Perry in 1936. December 16 December 17 December 18 Scottish tennis star Andy Murray was voted the 2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year for a record third time. December 19 Scientists from Scotland and their international colleagues have discovered several new species of fish at record-breaking depths of 8145 meters in the Mariana Trench - the deepest place on Earth, as reported on 19 December 2014. December 20 December 21 December 22 December 23 December 24 December 25 December 26 December 27 A huge colony of an elusive and brightly coloured shellfish species has been discovered in coastal waters in the west of Scotland, as first reported on 27 December 2012. December 28 December 29 December 30 December 31 Scottish tennis champion Andy Murray on 31 December 2016 received a knighthood in the Queen's New Year Honours list.

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