Scotland

29 July 1946 saw the birth of Bill Forsyth, Scottish film director and screenwriter.

Born in Whiteinch in 1946, the son of a plumber, Forsyth wrote the script of Gregory's Girl (1981) to showcase the talents of Glasgow Youth Theatre. Lack of funding prompted him to make That Sinking Feeling (1979) instead, the success of which led to him being given the go-ahead to make Gregory's Girl. The quirky and touching tale of teenage love became one of the true classics of Scottish cinema, and Forsyth received the British Academy Award for Best Screenplay. He further explored his distinctive style of gentle, character-driven humour in the internationally acclaimed Local Hero (1983).

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On 28 July 1683, Queen Anne Stuart married Prince George of Denmark.

Anne was the second daughter of the catholic King James II, Duke of York (1685-88), but was raised a protestant under the guidance of her uncle, King Charles II. Her marriage to George was devoted but politically unremarkable. Of her 18 pregnancies between 1683 and 1700, five children were born alive and only one, a son, outlived infancy, but he did not survive to take the throne, and she remained heirless.

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27 July 1689 saw the Battle of Killiecrankie.

The battle occurred when the government sent north an army to deal with Viscount Dundee and his newly formed Jacobite army in its Atholl heartland. However, at Killiecrankie the Jacobites delivered a crushing blow to the government troops under General Mackay, but at the loss of Dundee. Without Dundee's leadership, the uprising foundered after meeting strong resistance from Cameronians at Dunkeld. During the battle, one of Mackay's soldiers, a Donald MacBean, is said to have jumped 18ft across the River Garry to safety at what is now known as the "Soldier's Leap".

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On 26 July 1513 James IV responded to pleas for assistance from France and declared war on England.

Aside from assisting the French, who had been invaded by an English army, James was also aggrieved at England's seizing of two Scottish ships and the non-payment of part of the dowry for his wife, Margaret Tudor. The war did not go to plan, however, and the Scots suffered probably their greatest military defeat at Flodden in September where James was killed.

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On this day in 2002 George Bruce, the Scottish poet, broadcaster and critic, died at the age of 93.

Bruce was one of the poets of the Scottish literary renaissance, initiated by Hugh MacDiarmid in the 1920s, which brought to prominence Sorley Maclean, Norman MacCaig, George Mackay Brown, Hamish Henderson and Iain Crichton Smith. He became well-known as the producer of Counterpoint, Scotland's first television arts programme.

In 1970 he left the BBC, becoming Glasgow University's first fellow in creative writing. As well as publishing poetry and anthologies, he was for 12 years a theatre and literary critic for The Sunday Times.

Over a period of 60 years he was to publish eight books of poetry in both English and Scots; he also edited six anthologies of poetry, and seven books on Scottish art and culture.

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• Wikipedia entry for 25 July (The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites)

24 July 1411 saw the Battle of Harlaw, near Inverurie.

The battle was fought between the Crown forces under the Earl of Mar and a Highland army led by Donald, Lord of the Isles. Heavy casualties were inflicted on both sides but victory went to the Royal forces as the Highlanders withdrew. The city of Aberdeen suffered heavy losses with the death of Provost Robert Davidson and many of the City Burgesses fighting on the Crown side.

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On July 23 1637 Jenny Geddes threw a stool at the Dean of St. Giles Cathedral, sparking the movement to the Covenant.

Geddes was objecting to the use of the new prayer book authorised by Charles I, her immortal words being "Dost thou say Mass in my lug?" There is a lot of doubt as to the veracity of the story, although it is true that the prayer book, as with all of Charles' attempts to introduce Episcopacy ino Scotland, made him hugely unpopular and led to the signing of the National Covenant in 1638.

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Today in 1298 the Battle of Falkirk took place.

King Edward I of England defeated the Scots under Sir William Wallace. The defeat caused Wallace, the "Guardian of Scotland", to leave the country in self-imposed exile while the English continued to exercise overlordship.

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• Wikipedia entry for 22 July (The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites)

On 21 July 1796 Robert Burns died in Dumfries.

Burns was aged only 37 at his death. The cause of death appears to have been heart failure, probably brought on by the hard physical work done in his youth. His widow, Jean Armour, gave birth to a son on the day of her husband's funeral. However, Maxwell, named after Burns's doctor, died in infancy.

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On this day in 1811 James Bruce, the 8th Lord Elgin, Scottish Liberal statesman and diplomat, was born.

During his career he served as Governor-General of Canada, 1847-54, and India, 1862-63, and was also special envoy to China and Japan. During a visit to China he burnt down the emperor's famous Summer Palace in Beijing, destroying thousands of priceless works of art, in order to intimidate the Chinese emperor and force him to sign an unratified treaty.

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• Wikipedia entry for 20 July (The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites)

On 19 July 1896 AJ Cronin, the Scottish novelist, was born.

Cronin is most fondly remembered as the creator of the hugely popular character, Dr.Finlay. He also achieved acclaim as the author of the novels, The Keys to the Kingdom, The Stars Look Down and The Citadel.

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On 18 July 1593 King James VI was taken prisoner by the Earl of Bothwell at Holyrood.

The king remained as Bothwell's prisoner throughout July and August, as Bothwell enjoyed the support of Elizabeth of England. However, once James had managed to extricate himself from Bothwell's clutches, he determined to exact revenge, issuing a strong rebuke to Elizabeth for supporting his rival and crushing Bothwell's forces on the field of battle.

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On July 17 1790 economist, Adam Smith, died in Edinburgh.

Regarded as the father of the science of Economics and author of the pioneering work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of The Wealth of Nations, Smith was a leading exponenent of free-market economics, arguing that the "invisible hand" of self-interest guides the most efficient use of resources in an economy, and that unbridled market forces would bring about a balanced society.

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On 16 July 1832 31 Shetland "sixerns" and a total of 105 crewmen were lost in a storm.

The event is still remembered as "The Bad Day". A London Distress Fund was set up and raised the sum of £3000. The money was raised for the dependants of the crofter-fishermen lost. The crew of one boat did manage a lucky escape from the storm as they were picked up by a passing American sloop. However, the Captain of the American vessel refused to alter his course to Philadelphia and so, despite passing close to Orkney, the survivors had to cross the Atlantic and endure a further six months away from home before returning.

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On 15 July 1914 Gavin Maxwell, the Scottish novelist and naturalist, was born.

Maxwell was born into a family of minor aristocracy and grew up in rural Wigtownshire, where he acquired a lifelong love of nature. During the war, Maxwell served as a Commando instructor on Arisaig, which fired a love for the Highlands. Following the war he turned to writing, after the failure of a basking shark fishery. He is best known as the author of 'Ring of Bright Water', a touching tale of his attempts to establish an otter sanctuary in Sandaig.

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On 14 July 1820 John Gibson Lockhart, the Scottish biographer, was born.

Lockhart's first venture into the world of literature was as co-editor of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine which he transformed into one of the leading periodicals of its day. Son-in-law of the novelist, Sir Walter Scott, he himself was also a noted novelist, writing, among other works, a depiction of the temptation of a rural minister, Adam Blair. However, he is best known as a biographer, particularly of his father-in-law, Walter Scott, although he also wrote noted biographies of Burns and Napoleon.

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On this day in 1249 Alexander III, King of Scots, was crowned at Scone.

Crowned at the age of eight, Alexander ruled Scotland for 35 years. His reign became known as "The Golden Age" as it was a largely peaceful and prosperous time for the Scots, with only a minor conflict with Norway over the Inner Hebrides to mar it. The end to his reign was a disaster for the nation, however, as he died without issue, and the subsequent infighting amongst the nobility led to English overlordship.

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• Wikipedia entry for 13 July (The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites)

On July 1 1803 Rev Thomas Guthrie, founder of the Ragged Schools, was born.

After founding a savings bank at his first parish in Angus, Guthrie, shocked by the poverty surrounding his new charge in Edinburgh's old town, founded a "Ragged School", a privately funded school intended to give the poor a good education on Protestant lines. This model was succesfully copied across the country and provided the basis for the state industrial schools. Guthrie was also active during the Disruption, becoming a leading light in the new Free Church and serving as its moderator in 1862.

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• Wikipedia entry for 12 July (The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites)

On 11 July 1274 Robert the Bruce was born in Turnberry Castle, Ayrshire.

The heir of the Earl of Carrick, Bruce's father was one of Scotland's leading nobles and his grandfather was one of the leading contenders to the throne left empty by the death of Margaret of Norway. After the death of William Wallace, Bruce led the campaign to regain Scottish independence, culminating in his stunning victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314.

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On 10 July 1989 Glasgow Rangers signed Maurice Johnston.

One of the last bastions of Scottish Protestant sectarianism, Rangers shocked many of its supporters when the club, under manager Graeme Souness, signed Maurice Johnston from the French club, Nantes, for £1.5m. Johnston had not only played for arch-rivals Celtic, but was the first well-known Roman Catholic player to sign for Rangers in modern times.

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