Scotland's crown jewels sink in Firth of Forth
Piper Alpha explosion kills 167 + Edinburgh-born Sherlock Holmes author dies + Glasgow Cathedral consecrated
Death of Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle
Edinburgh-born author Arthur Conan Doyle, died this week in 1930. Doyle is best remembered as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, the private detective who took up residence at 221b Baker Street, London. He sold the rights to his first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, in 1886, and he famously began to tire of his creation as Holmes’ fame grew. In 1893’s The Final Problem, Doyle ‘killed’ Holmes in a fall down the Reichenbach Falls. The public was furious, and Holmes was, perhaps inevitably, resurrected.
Piper Alpha explosion kills 167
The Piper Alpha oil platform, located 120 miles from Aberdeen, was destroyed by an explosion and fire this week in 1988. 167 workers were killed, of whom 30 bodies were never discovered. A further 61 escaped. The disaster occurred when gas pressure built up in a pump that had been partially dismantled for maintenance, escaped and ignited. This blew a hole in the wall of the control room, which had to be abandoned. This meant that nobody was able to activate the fire suppression system manually.
Scotland’s crown jewels sink in Firth of Forth
There’s a large horde of royal treasure at the bottom of the Firth of Forth. It sank this week in 1633 on the Blessing of Burntisland, a ferry that plied the five-mile crossing between Burntisland and Leith. The ferry had been caught in a storm, in which 33 of the 35 onboard drowned. As it went down, it took with it not only the passengers, but up to five tons of silver and gold belonging to Charles I, which would today be worth the equivalent of half a billion pounds.
Glasgow Cathedral consecrated
Glasgow Cathedral was consecrated this week in 1136, in the presence of King David I. That particular building only lasted around 60 years before being replaced by a larger one, the development of which continued for several centuries, during which it was expanded and improved several times. The cathedral is named after St Mungo, Glasgow's patron saint, who is said to have built a church on the site where the cathedral now stands.
Find out more about Glasgow Cathedral
Maggies Centres founder
Dumfriesshire-born garden designer Maggie Keswick Jencks founded Maggies Centres, to support cancer patients and their families. She was herself diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 47 and received treatment, which was initially successful. However, her cancer returned five years later and she died this week in 1995, aged 53. The first of a growing community of Maggies Centres opened in Edinburgh the following year.
Read more about Maggie Keswick Jenks
Euro champion Winnie Ewing born in Glasgow
Winnie Ewing, known to many as Madame Ecosse, was born in Glasgow this week in 1929. She was president of the Scottish National Party between 1987 and 2005, MSP for the Highlands and Islands, an MP at the House of Commons between 1967 and 1979, and a member of the European Parliament between 1979 and 1999. As SNP member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, Ian Blackford, told the House of Commons on her 90th birthday, that made her the only parliamentarian to have sat in all three legislative bodies. She was also the first to speak in the new Scottish Parliament when it held its inaugural debate in 2004.
Click for more about Madame Ecosse
Birth of Robert the Bruce
Robert the Bruce was born this week in 1274. He led Scotland through much of the First War of Scottish Independence, having come to the throne after the 1306 murder of John Comyn, for which Robert was excommunicated. He was married twice and had at least six children -- and probably more. Upon his death in 1329, his body was split between Dunfermline, Melrose Abbey and Dumbarton.
Read more about Robert the Bruce
Glasgow train hits buffers
A train from Glasgow Central crashed through the buffers and ticket office at Largs station this week in 1995. A significant part of the station was demolished, and the train ended up on the road. Less than an hour later, a different train hit the buffers at Liverpool Lime Street Station.
Queen’s Park FC founded
Queen’s Park FC, which was founded this week in 1867, is the oldest association football club in Scotland, and provided all of the team members for Scotland's first international match, when it played England in 1872.
Scottish broadcasting pioneer dies
Richard Findlay, who died this week in 2017, was the first voice heard on Forth Radio. He eventually became the station's chief executive, but that was just the start of an impressive media career, which saw him set up the National Theatre of Scotland, take the role of chairman of STV, and set up a publishing business. Eventually he oversaw 45 weekly newspapers across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.