Great Scots!
25/02/2008
The new DK Eyewitness guide to Great Britain claims Scotland has “produced a disproportionately high number of Britain’s geniuses” which it puts down to “resourcefulness”.
“The Scots can be dour but equally they can flash with inspiration,” according to the DK Eyewitness Scotland guide, which goes on to outline the great Scottish inventions which include continuous electric light, Penicillin, and the telephone.
“Despite its relatively small size and population, Scotland has produced a remarkable number of inventors over the centuries” the guide states. “Their revolutionary ideas and experiments produced inventions that have shaped our modern progressive society.”
Indeed when you look at the list of just some of the things the Scots have invented, it is hard to imagine what life today might be like without them:
The rotative steam engine (1782) designed by James Watt became the driving force behind the Industrial Revolution in Britain. Watt’s success led to his name being given to the modern unit of power.
Continuous electric light (1834) was invented by James Bowman Lindsay using galvanic cells in a revolutionary design.
The bicycle (1839), originally known as a velocipede was invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan.
Antiseptic (1865) Joseph Lister discovered that applied to wounds and sprayed around theatre, carbolic acid helped to prevent germs and infection.
The telephone (1876) Alexander Graham Bell revolutionized the way the world communicated, introducing the transmission of sound by electricity.
The pneumatic tyre (1887) was originally patented by RW Thomson then developed by John Dunlop for use on bicycles, and later, cars.
The first television (1926) or ‘televisor’ invented by John Logie Baird was black and white and unable to produce sound and pictures together, but it was nevertheless hailed as a monumental invention.
Penicillin (1928) The discovery by Alexander Fleming changed the face of medicine. Fleming’s brainchild was the first antibiotic drug to treat diseases, and by 1940 was being used to save the lives of wounded soldiers.
The radar receiver (1935) was in use long before World War II, since Robert Watson-Watt’s team had built the first working radar defence system by 1935. Radar is an acronym for ‘radio detection and ranging’
Dolly the cloned sheep (1996) was developed by a team of scientists at Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute. The first successful clone of an adult animal, she gave birth in 1998.
New editions of DK Eyewitness Travel: Scotland (£12.99) and DK Eyewitness Travel: Great Britain (£16.99) are both published in February.