Sir Alexander Fleming

Have you ever heard of “Penicillin”, the drug that every day saves hundreds and thousands of lives? Of course you have, Penicillin is general knowledge among with Sir Alexander Fleming, the biologist who discovered this magnificent drug. Although Fleming is widely known, a lot of people is not aware that he is actually Scottish.

Alexander Fleming was born on the sixth of August 1881 at a farm near Darvel. During World War One, Fleming served as captain in the medical force. Watching soldiers down in the trenches die from infections, Fleming decided to find a way to cure infected wounds. Working as biologist at St. Marys Hospital, his laboratory were messy and the equipment dirty. So as he left for holiday, all of his beakers were stacked in the corner. As he returned, some of them had turned into some sort of fungi, which could heal these infection-injuries. In 1945 he awarded the Nobel prize in medicine.

Fleming was in 1955 struck by a heart attack. He died at his home 11. of March, but his discoveries will live on, saving lives, even today!    

Scotlands History

Scotland was once known as Caledonia, and was mainly ruled by the war mongeling Pictish-tribes whose language and origin is unknown. The midland valley of Scotland marks the furthest the Roman Empire extended to the north during their conquering of England. Here you can se the Antonine Wall that was built between the rivers Forth and Clyde. In the 5th century, the modern "Scots" traveled from their homes on Ireland to the western parts of Scotland and settled several kingdoms but in the year 843 Robert MacAlpin gathered the kingdoms and renamed the land Scotland. After almost 300 year in the 1120's Scotland began to divide into two Cultural and geographic groups the Southern Lowland Scots who spoke mainly English due to the influence of their southern neighbors and the Northern Highland Scots who still practiced a clan system. Some of these clans had a lot of power and ruled their area independently whilst the lowlands implemented the feudal system of England. During the wars of Scottish independence (1290-1363), when King Edward I tried to impose English rule over Scotland, as he had successfully done in Wales, the people rose up against him, first under the command of Sir William Wallace, who was captured by the English and executed in London. Later, under the lead of Robert the Bruce they won a battle against the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. In 1603 King James VI inherited the throne of England from his cousin Elizabeth I, and became James I of England.  In 1707, the Scottish and English Parliaments signed a Treaty of Union, which effectively transferred all powers to London. Succeeding monarchs were not as friendly as James had been. This sparked two new "civil wars" between the scots and the Englishmen in 1715 and 1745. The second one lead to a mass migration of scots to the rest of the world. In May 1999 gained Scotland a new Scottish parliament, which governs the area of its domestic matters, whilst The United Kingdom’s parliament governs its defenses and international affairs and certain other areas.

Do you know what the national animal of Scotland is?... Make a guess.

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It's the Unicorn!

Edinburgh, the home of Cultural experiences

Even though Scotland is a part of the UK, it is still governed as  an independent country, with its own government. Scotland required therefore a capital, which at some point in history, was chosen to be Edinburgh, a city located where the river Forth meets with the fjord Firth. This is at the east coast of Scotland at the central belt. The city houses more than 482 000 inhabitants, which makes it the second largest city in Scotland, after Glasgow. Edinburgh was for a long time the head of state, but when Scotland became a part of the UK, all of the political        power was moved south to London. This happened around the 17th century. Historically, Edinburgh was founded due to the Edinburgh Castle, a royal/military fortress build on the “Castle Rock”, a cliff in central Edinburgh. Settlements on this cliff have actually existed since the early Iron Age, but as the castle gave protection, the city grew larger. Even today, the Edinburgh Castle serves as a military fortress, but is also opened for public, being the most popular tourist-attraction in Scotland. But Edinburgh is not all about old castles and architecture. The city houses businesses and institutions such as The Edinburgh University, National Museum of Edinburgh and the Scottish parliament. The city is widely known to be a centre of education and festivals. Some parts of the city are in fact listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site. Due to all of these historical and cultural sights, Edinburgh is the second most visited destination in the UK, with approximately 1 million visitors every year. So if you are one of those who might like to spend your vacation in a museum or perhaps a festival, Edinburgh could be the place to visit!

Your everyday Scot

Map of Scotland and it's capital, Edinburgh

Scotland

Edinburgh

Guide to the beautiful country called Scotland.