Tartan Day

On April 6^th, 1320 the Scottish Declaration of Independence was signed by the assembled Scottish nobility in Arbroath Abbey. The Declaration was an inspiration for future generations and became the basis of the American Declaration of Independence.

The idea of setting aside one day each year to honor the Scots of Canada was put forward in the 1980s by Mrs. Jean Watson of Nova Scotia. A Private Member’s Bill was finally passed on December 19, 1991 and April 6^th became Tartan Day in Canada.

Tartan Day was officially recognized by the US Senate for the first time in USA on April 6^th, 1997 giving Scots/Americans the chance to celebrate their heritage with festivals and social gatherings.

6 years later, Tartan Day has grown in popularity and is celebrated with events all over Canada and USA including 10,000 pipers and drummers marching in the streets of New York.

Some notable Scots who immigrated and made a difference to USA and Canada include:

John Witherspoon (1723 - 1794) & James Wilson - (1742-1798) - Both signed the American Declaration of Independence

Alexander Graham Bell (1847 - 1922) - Invented the telephone

James Craik - (1731-1814) Physician and surgeon of the whole US army

John Muir (1834 - 1914) - Founder of the U.S. National Park system

James Naismith (1861 - 1939) - Invented basketball

Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1918) - Steel magnate who also funded the establishment of 2,811 libraries in the US, Canada and the UK. He also gave New York the famous Carnegie Concert Hall

George Brown (1818 - 1880) - Politician and a founding father of Canada

John Paul Jones (1747 - 1792) - Established the USA Navy

Allan Pinkerton (1819 - 1884) - Head of the U.S. Secret Service

Sir John Alexander MacDonald (1815 - 1891)
- First Prime Minister of Canada

Scots have played their part in the political history of the United States.

*   Of the 56 signatories of the Declaration of
     Independence, nine were directly or indirectly
    descended from Scots.

* 35 US Supreme Court Justices have been Scots.

* 9 out of 13 Governors of the newly created United
States were Scots or of Scottish descent.

*   James Pollock (1810-90) responsible for putting "In
     God We Trust" on the US coinage, was of Scottish
     descent.

Other Scottish inventors and inventions worth celebrating for:

John Logie Baird - Television

James Clerk Maxwell - Color photography

James Young Simpson - Anaesthesias including chloroform

Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt - Radar

Sir James Dewar - Thermos flask

Joseph Lister - Antiseptics

Hubert Booth - Vacuum cleaner

Sir Alexander Flemming - Penicillin

James Chalmers - Adhesive postage stamp

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Copyright 2002. Maggie Halliday is the founder and owner of International Woman, the magazine connecting women around the world. Visit her website at http://www.internationalwoman.net to find recipes, weddings, articles and much more!

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