Not for nothing is it called the City of Discovery. Dundee was one of the earliest supporters of journalists reporting from overseas which gained prominence after William Russell made his name in 1854 with his Times despatches from the Crimean… Read More ›
As the Second World War was reaching is destructive climax, the holy grail of medical research was finally found – in Gothenburg. Tuberculosis (TB) had wreaked havoc on humankind for millennia. Huge efforts were made to find a cure after… Read More ›
Welcome to my first newsletter of 2024… it takes the theme of unheard voices and unsung heroes…. Old Bill Old Bill (left) and Thomas Rafferty (right) He was one of the best-known British characters from World War One. Artist Bruce… Read More ›
Whoever thought it up deserves a medal. Few catchphrases last a century and still resonate with the public. “Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases” originated in the 1918 influenza pandemic to support a US Public Health Service campaign. It was tagged… Read More ›
The first public statue for a woman in Britain turns up in an unlikely place. Walsall is an industrial town in the Black Country north of Birmingham. I have a lot of affection for it – it’s where I did… Read More ›
Update (October 2022): An updated version of this story appears here in HealthandCare Scotland. Every woman who now undergoes an elective Caesarian section owes a debt to these wee Glasgow wifies. They weren’t the first by any means. But they… Read More ›
Three examples from the golden age of political caricature featuring Henry Dundas, the first Viscount Melville…. This one satirises the five-strong Commission of Naval Enquiry quizzing Dundas and the Navy paymaster Alexander Trotter (the guys in kilts). The Commission’s dogged… Read More ›
I really don’t understand why Edinburgh continues to blithely trample on the memory of Elsie Inglis. It’s more through ignorance and indifference but the blundering shows no signs of abating. Last month did bring official recognition with the naming of… Read More ›
Number three of the great tapestries to come out of Prestonpans is the one stitched by the Scottish communities across the world. As such, the Diaspora Tapestry offers a very different historical perspective than the previous two – for the… Read More ›
Man walks into jewellers and writes cheque for £100,000. Leaves with nothing and is very happy. This was the unlikely beginning of the Usher Hall in Edinburgh in 1896. The man was whisky distiller Andrew Usher and the jeweller was… Read More ›
The History Company 