For such a small nation, the Scots have truly made their impact on the world. Alphabetically listed:

Saint Andrew (c. 5 A.D. - c.50 A.D.)
Fisherman and Disciple of Jesus Christ. Although not Scottish and never having any connection with the country while alive, St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland. Some of his relics lie in Scotland.

John Logie Baird (1888 - 1946)
Engineer. Inventor of the television and later developed ideas such as colour, 3-D and large screen television. Also took out a patent on fibre-optics, a technology now used to carry many telephone calls and traffic on the internet.

Arthur James Balfour (First Earl of Balfour) (1848 - 1930)
Politician. British Prime Minister between 1902 and 1906. The "Balfour Declaration" of 1917 promised the Zionists a home in Palestine.

Sir James Barrie (1860 - 1937)
Author and Playright. Best known for the creation of Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up.

Alexander Graham Bell (1847 - 1922)
Born in Edinburgh. Having emigrated to Canada and later the USA, Bell became the inventor of the telephone in 1876.

Rev. Patrick Bell (1800 - 1869)
Invented the reaping machine which was a direct precursor of the modern combine harvester.

Joseph Black (1728 - 1799)
Chemist. Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry in Glasgow University (1756) and then Professor of Medicine and Chemistry in Edinburgh (1766). Developed the concept of "Latent Heat" and discovered Carbon Dioxide ("Fixed Air"). Regarded as the Father of Quantitative Chemistry.

Lord John Boyd-Orr (1880 - 1971)
As Director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Boyd-Orr was the architect of food policies aimed at helping starving nations, for which he was awarded a Nobel Peace prize in 1947.

Sir David Brewster (1781 - 1868)
Physicist and Principal of St. Andrews (1838) and then Edinburgh University (1859). Worked with polarised light. Invented the kaleidoscope and suggested it might be useful for designing carpets.

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane (1773 - 1860)
Soldier and Astronomer, born in Largs, Ayrshire. Governor-General of the Australian colony of New South-Wales. Set up an observatory and catalogued more than 7000 stars. The city of Brisbane (Australia) is named after him.

James Bruce (1730 - 1794)
Explorer, born in Stirlingshire. Discovered the source of the Blue Nile in 1770. Was congratulated by the French, but the English did not believe him.

Robert the Bruce (1274 - 1329)
Crowned King of Scotland in 1306, he defeated the english king Edward II at Bannockburn in 1314. He is supposed to have been encouraged towards perseverance and eventual victory by watching a spider build a web in the cave in which he was hiding.

Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Poet and Writer. Amongst many other works he wrote "Auld Lang Syne" which is now sung world-wide at the end of functions and particularly at the end of the year. The Scots celebrate "Burn's Night" on the 25th January.

Sir William Burrell (1861 - 1951)
An eccentric shipowner and compulsive collector of art and antiques. In 1944 he presented 8000 items to the City of Glasgow which form the Burrell Collection, now housed in Pollock Park. He also gave 42 paintings to Berwick-upon-Tweed Art Gallery.

Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1918)
U.S. iron and steel magnate and great philanthropist. Born in Dunfermline, in Fife. Gave a considerable proportion of his fortune to the benefit of Scotland, including substantial educational endowments and 10,000 church organs.

Willie Carson (1942 - )
Champion jockey, born in Stirling. The first "Jockey to the Queen" in 1977.

James Chalmers (1782 - 1853)
Dundee Inventor, Bookseller and Newspaper publisher. Invented the adhesive postage stamp, which made Rowland Hill's Penny Postal service a practical proposition.

James (Jim) Clark (1936 - 1968)
Twice world champion racing driver and won seven Grand prix races in a row, twenty-five in all, breaking the previous record of twenty-four.

Sir Dugald Clerk (1854 - 1932)
Engineer and inventor of the two-stroke Clerk Cycle Gas Engine (1877). An authority on internal combustion engines, he led engineering research during the First World War.

George Cleghorn (1716 - 1794)
Army surgeon who discovered that quinine bark acted as a cure for Malaria, a form of which was endemic in Britain at that time.

Saint Columba (c. 521 - 597)
An Irish missionary who founded a monastery on the Island of Iona in 563 in an attempt to convert the Picts. Regarded as Scotland's second Patron Saint after St. Andrew.

Billy Connolly (1942 - )
Glasgow-born comedian and TV personality known as "The Big Yin". Appeared in the U.S. situation-comedy "Head of the Class".

Sean Connery (1930 - )
Actor. Perhaps best known as James Bond, but more recent roles have included "The Untouchables", for which he won an Oscar and the "Hunt for Red October". Also an accomplished amateur golfer.

David Dale (1739 - 1806)
Millowner and Philanthropist. With Richard Arkwright (the Englishman who pioneered industrial spinning) built cotton mills across Scotland. His son-in-law, Robert Owen, who became the eutopian pioneer of the co-operative movement, partnered him in running his most famous mill at New Lanark, the new-town experiment in social engineering which Dale created in 1785.

Kenny Dalglish (1951 - )
Perhaps Scotland's most successful football player. Born in Glasgow, he joined Jock Stein's Celtic team in 1967, moving to the English team Liverpool in 1977 for a record transfer fee. Won League and European Cups on several occasions and became successful player-manager. One of Scotland's greatest internationalists, playing in successive World Cup championships, and capped 102 times.

Sir Hugh Dalrymple (Lord Drummore) (1700 - 1753)
Invented hollow-pipe drainage. This innovation allowed the drying of water-logged land, bringing large areas into agricultural production.

Sir James Dewar (1842 - 1923)
Physicist and Chemist, born in Kincardine, Fife. Inventor of the vacuum flask.

Robert Dinwiddie (1693 - 1770)
Born near Glasgow, was the Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia. He insisted that the colonies should raise money for their own protection. Discovered George Washington's talents and sent him to resist the French. Thus he was an important figure in American History and has been called the "Grandfather of the United States".

David Douglas (1798 - 1834)
Adventurous Botanist. Born in Scone (Perthshire). Discovered more than 200 new plant species in North America, including the Douglas Fir. Died from injuries received from wild bull having fallen into bull pit in Hawaii.

Sir John Sholto Douglas (8th Marquis of Queensberry) (1844 - 1900)
Devised the "Queensberry Rules" for boxing in 1867. Was tried for libelling the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde, who was said to be having a homosexual relationship with Douglas' son, Lord Alfred. This action led to Wilde's disgrace and imprisonment.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930)
Author. Creator of the detective Sherlock Holmes. He graduated from Edinburgh University in medicine and practised in Edinburgh, aboard ship and in the Boer War.

Thomas Drummond (1797 - 1840)
Surveyor and Politician. Invented the "Drummond Light", somewhat similar to the heliograph, which enabled observation of far-distant points (more than 60 miles). This he adapted for use in Lighthouses. Served as Secretary of State for Ireland, during which time he made clear to the absentee landlords that "property has its duties as well as its rights". Also pioneered railway devlopment in Ireland.

John Boyd Dunlop (1840 - 1921)
Inventor. Developed the pneumatic tyre which was to improve the comfort of cyclists and later motorists. Contrary to popular opinion, Dunlop did not invent the pneumatic tyre, it was actually invented by Robert William Thomson.

Sir William Fairbairn (1789 - 1874)
Born in Kelso, he became an engineer. He developed the idea of using tubular steel as a construction material, which was much stronger than solid steel.

Adam Ferguson (1723 - 1816)
Born in Logierait, Perthshire, he became Professor of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh. He introduced the method of studying humankind in groups and is father of the subject now called "Sociology".

Sir Alexander Fleming (1881 - 1955)
Born in Ayrshire, he discovered the world's first antibiotic drug - Penicillin. This was as a result of an "accident" where mould was allowed to grow on a bacterial culture. Fleming was knighted and received the Nobel Prize in 1944.

Alistair Forbes-Mackay (1878 - 1914)
Navy surgeon who reached the Magnetic South Pole (as part of Shackleton's expedition) in 1909, three years before Amoundsen and Scott reached the Geographic South Pole.

Rev. Alexander Forsyth (1769 - 1848)
Inventor of the percussion cap. Fond of game shooting, he realized the major problem with the flint-lock gun was its unreliability in damp conditions. The percussion cap ignited an enclosed charge when struck by a hammer. This was later developed into the modern bullet.

Sir Patrick Geddes (1854 - 1932)
Regarded as the father of town planning; Living in Edinburgh, he did much of his pioneering work in Edinburgh's Old Town. Planned building and cities in many countries including India and Palestine. Born in Ballater, Geddes also excelled in Botany and became Professor of Botany in Dundee. Spent the last eight years of his life in France.

Thomas Blake Glover (1838 - 1911)
Born in Aberdeenshire, Glover went first to Shanghai in China and then to Nagasaki as agent of the Jardine Matheson trading company. He was awarded the highest "Order of the Rising Sun" for his contribution to modernising Japan, through industrialisation and smuggling Japanese students abroad to gain a better education. He may have provided the model for Puccini's 1904 Opera "Madame Butterfly".

James Gregory (1638 - 1675)
Inventor of the reflecting telescope, which was developed three years later by the Englishman Sir Isaac Newton.

David Hume (1711 - 1776)
Philosopher, agnostic and leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. Hume wrote on human nature, politics and introduced the concept of social history.

James Hutton (1726 - 1797)
Father of modern Geology. His theory of Uniformitarianism was the basis of the explanation of the geological history of the earth, which had in his words "no vestige of a beginning, no concept of an end". Published his "Theory of the Earth" in 1785.

Elsie Inglis (1864 - 1917)
A leading surgeon and suffragette. She improved maternity facilities and fought for better healthcare for women in Scotland. She set up a maternity hosptial in Edinburgh staffed only by women. During the First World War, she set up hospitals for the troops in Serbia and Russia.

James VI (1566 - 1625)
Son of the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, who had been brought up a Prestbyterian. In 1603, on the death of Queen Elizabeth I, he acceded to the English throne as James I. Although this "Union of the Crowns" resulted in James being King of both countries, the countries remained separate for another 104 years.

John Paul Jones (1747 - 1792)
Born in Dumfriesshire, he joined the navy and spent time in Russia and France during the French Revolution. Most notably he established the U.S. Navy.

William Kidd (Captain Kidd) (1645 - 1701)
Infamous pirate and privateer, born in Greenock, Renfrewshire. He traded a small merchant fleet from New York. Fought as a privateer to protect Anglo- American trade routes in the West Indies and in 1691 was rewarded by New York City. Employed by the British Navy to stamp out piracy in the Indian Ocean, but instead became one of them. Surrendered in Boston in 1699, transported to London, tried and hanged.

John Knox (1505 - 1572)
Churchman and father of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, whereby the Roman Catholic church was replaced by a disestablished, democratic, presbyterian Church of Scotland, founded on Calvanist principles. Bitterly opposed by the catholic Mary Queen of Scots.

Eric Henry Liddell (1902 - 1945)
Record-breaking athlete who won Gold and Bronze Medals in the 1924 Paris Olympic Games. His life is remembered in the 1981 film "Chariots of Fire".

James Lind (1716 - 1794)
Naval Physician. Rediscovered the cure for scurvy (citrus fruits) and ensured that the British Admiralty systematically applied it.

Sir Thomas Lipton (1850 - 1931)
Grocer and entrepreneur. Born in Port Glasgow, Lipton revolutionized the retail grocery trade, developing many marketing techniques which are used by supermarkets today. He ensured supplies by buying, for example, tea plantations in Sri Lanka. He quickly became a millionaire, enabling him to challenge consistently but unsuccessfully for the Americas Cup (yachting), he also started the World Cup in football (soccer) in 1910. He left a substantial benefaction to the City of Glasgow.

Joseph Lister (1827 - 1912)
A surgeon who pioneered the use of antiseptics and thereby dramatically reduced the number of post-opertive deaths due to infection.

David Livingstone (1813 - 1873)
Explorer and medical missionary. First white man to travel the length of Lake Tanganyika, discovered Victoria Falls and set out to discover the source of the Nile, but died before acheiving his aim. When Henry Stanley was sent to look for Livingstone, he uttered the famous greeting "Dr Livingstone, I presume".

John McAdam (1756 - 1836)
Surveyor and builder of roads. Developed the process of "Macadamisation" which involves covering a road with small broken stones to form a hard surface. This led to tarmacadam (or tarmac), which is still used to cover roads today.

Sir Robert McAlpine (1847 - 1934)
Known as "Concrete Bob", he as an entrepreneur built up a large building and civil engineering firm. McAlpine was also a pioneer in the use of concrete and labour-saving machinery. He left school at 10 to work in a coal mine, but went on to build roads and public buildings including Wembley Stadium in London.

Lord MacBeth (c.1005 - 1057)
The last of Scotland's Gaelic Kings. Grandson of Malcolm II. Although best known as the character in William Shakespeare's play of the same name, in reality he could not have been more different from this villainous portrayal.

Flora MacDonald (1722 - 1790)
Native of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, she helped Bonnie Prince Charlie to safety following the failed rebellion of 1745. She later emigrated to North Carolina and was active recruiting Scots to fight for the British in the American War of Independence.

Kirkpatrick Macmillan (1813 - 1878)
Inventor. Invented the bicycle, but never patented it and it was therefore widely copied.

Rob Roy MacGregor (1671 - 1734)
Notorious cattle thief and Jacobite Guerilla. Walter Scott much exaggerated MacGregor's fame, painting him as a defender of the Highland way of life.

Charles Mackintosh (1766 - 1843)
Inventor and Entrepreneur. By applying naptha to rubber sheeting strengthened by cloth he invented the fabric for the rain-coat which bears his name.

Mary, Queen of Scots (1542 - 1587)
Last Roman Catholic monarch of Scotland. Although remembered as a heroic figure, she was a poor ruler, lacking the political acumen of her cousin Queen Elizabeth I of England. After religious disputes with John Knox and political intrigue involving her nobles, she was imprisoned and forced to abdicate in 1567 in favour of her son James VI. She was eventually executed for treason.

James Clerk Maxwell (1831 - 1879)
Mathematician and Physicist. Contributed significantly to the study of electro-magnetism and prepared the way for quantum physics. Ranks along with Newton and Einstein as one of the World's greatest physicists.

Andrew Meikle (1719 - 1811)
Inventor of the threshing machine.

Alexander Monro (Secundus) (1733 - 1817)
Anatomist. Succeeded his father as Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh. Discovered the lymphatic systems, established the structure and function of the nervous system and noted the physiological effects of drugs.

John Muir (1834 - 1914)
Naturalist and Conservationist, born in Dunbar. Founder of the U.S. National Park system and regarded as the father of the modern environmental movement.

John Napier (1550 - 1617)
Mathematician and Astronomer. Devised "Napier's Rods" or "Napier's Bones" which permitted easy multiplication by addition, and this led to him defining the concept of logarithms. Also invented the decimal point.

James Nasmyth (1808 - 1890)
Born in Edinburgh and youngest son of the emminent landscape artist, Alexander Nasmyth. Started a foundry business and became a pioneer in the design and building of steam-powered machine tools, such as the steam hammer, planing machine, pile-driver, steam lathe etc.

James Beaumont Neilson (1792 - 1865)
Invented the hot blast oven, which was a great advance in the iron industry. His process reduced the amount of coal needed to produce iron, and greatly increased efficiency to satisfy the demands of the railway and shipbuilding industries.

Saint Ninian (c. 360 - 432)
The first known Christian missionary in Scotland. Perhaps born in Northumbria (England) he lived on the shores of the Solway Firth, where he founded a mission.

Richard Noble (1946 - )
Holder of the world land speed record. Born in Edinburgh. Noble became the fastest man on earth in 1983 in the Nevada desert reaching 633 mph. He went on to lead the Thrust SSC team, which broke the speed of sound reaching 763 mph in 1997.

Mungo Park (1771 - 1806)
Explorer. He mapped large areas of the interior of Africa for the first time, determined the course of the Niger and died trying to find its source.

James Paterson (1770 - 1840)
Born and lived in Musselburgh. Paterson developed the process which is still used to make fishing nets by machine.

Saint Patrick (c. 410 - c.450)
The Patron Saint of Ireland. He is said to have been born near Kirkpatrick on the River Clyde. Went to Ireland in 432.

Allan Pinkerton (1819 - 1884)
U.S. detective, born in the Gorbals, Glasgow. Left Scotland hurriedly in 1842, following his involvement in left-wing protests. In 1852, he formed the first detective agency, in Chicago, which solved a series of train robberies. In 1861, he foiled an assassination plot in Baltimore, while guarding Abraham Lincoln (the U.S. President) on his way to his inauguration. Head of the U.S. Secret Service 1861 - 1862.

Sir William Ramsay (1852 - 1916)
Chemist. Ramsay was born in Glasgow and became Professor of Chemistry at Bristol and then University College, London. Chiefly responsible for the discovery of the rare gases Helium, Argon, Neon, Krypton and Xenon. Also worked in radio-activity. He spread scientific interest to other parts of the British Empire, including setting up the Indian Institute for Science at Bangalore.

Lord Reith (1889 - 1971)
Engineer and Broadcasting Pioneer, born in Stonehaven. First general manager of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1922. Built the BBC into the world-respected institution it remains today. Went on to be MP for Southampton in 1940, and Minister of Works (1940-42).

John Rennie (1761 - 1801)
Engineer, born in Phantassie, East Lothian. Began his career in agricultural land improvement. Went on to build docks from Wick to Torquay, including the London and East India docks. Also in London, the Southwark, Waterloo and London Bridges (the latter is now re-erected in Arizona). Buried in St. Paul's Cathedral.

Sir James Clark Ross (1800 - 1862)
Antarctic Explorer. Claimed Antarctica for Queen Victoria in 1841. Named the twin Antarctic volcanoes after his ships Erebus and Terror. Gave his name to the Ross Sea, Ross Island, Ross Ice Shelf and Ross Dependency.

Sir Walter Scott (1771 - 1832)
Great Scottish patriot, writer and poet. Educated at the Old High School in Edinburgh, he then studied Law at the University of Edinburgh and became an advocate. He did much towards identifying and nurturing a Scottish cultural identity. His literary works include the Waverley Novels, but also he was a translator, biographer (of Napoleon) and passionate collector of all things Scottish. He was buried in the ruins of Dryburgh Abbey.

Sir James Young Simpson (1811 - 1870)
Obstetrician, and son of a baker. Pioneer in the use of anaesthetics, particularly chloroform, developing its use in surgery and midwifery. He championed its use against medical and religious opposition. Queen Victoria used chloroform during child-birth, and this brought general acceptance. Also pioneered obstetric techniques and responsible for much reform of hospital practice.

Mary Slessor (1848 - 1915)
A Dundee mill girl who became a great missionary in West Africa. Called 'Great Mother' by Nigerians, she provided healthcare and education and stamped out barbaric tribal practices such as human sacrifice.

James Small (1730 - 1793)
Inventor of the iron plough, replacing the existing cumbersome and less robust wooden ploughs.

William Smellie (1740 - 1795)
Printer. Published the first edition of the "Encylopaedia Britannica" (1768) and the Edinburgh edition of Robert Burns' Poems (1787). He also prepared the ground for the publication of the first Statistical Account of Scotland.

Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819 - 1900)
Astronomer Royal for Scotland. Instigated Edinburgh's "One O'Clock Gun". Realised that cities were not the ideal place for astronomical observations, and thus founded an observatory on the site of what is now Las Palmas Observatory in the Canary Islands.

Jackie Stewart (1939 - )
Racing car driver, who won the World Championship three times, turned Olympic clay pigeon shooter. In 1997, together with his son, he launched his own Formula One motor racing team. He was born in Dumbarton.

Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) (1720 - 1788)
The "Young Pretender", grandson of James VII of Scotland (James II of England), who was exiled by William of Orange. The french-backed Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 was intended to restore him to the throne, but ended in disarray and bloody defeat at Culloden (in 1746). He escaped to France with the help of Flora MacDonald and lived comfortably in exile. He died, despondent and a drunk, and is buried in St. Peter's, Rome.

William Symington (1763 - 1831)
Engineer. Developed the first steam-powered marine engine used to power the world's first paddle steamer.

Robert William Thomson (1822 - 1873)
Invented the vulcanised rubber pneumatic tyre. He patented his invention in 1845, which was successfully tested in London, however it was abandoned because it was thought too expensive for common use. The tyre was re-invented by John Dunlop in 1888. Thomson's invention is commemorated by a plaque in his native Stonehaven. He also patented the fountain pen (1849) and a steam traction engine (1867).

William Thomson (Lord Kelvin of Largs) (1824 - 1907)
Mathematician and Physicist. Brought up in Scotland, although born in Ireland, he is perhaps best known for the absolute temperature scale which takes his name (Kelvin).

William Wallace (1274 - 1305)
Outlaw and defender of Scottish independence. Defeated the army of Edward I at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Shortly after Wallace's execution, Robert the Bruce was able to re-establish Scotland's independence.

Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt (1892 - 1973)
Physicist, born in Brechin. Developed and introduced RADAR during World War II.

James Watt (1736 - 1819)
Developed the steam engine into a practical source of power and invented the governor as a control device.

George Wishart (1513 - 1546)
Lutheran Reformer and Martyr. Burned at the stake for his faith in St. Andrews by Cardinal David Beaton. Role model for John Knox. Commemorated by, for example, the Wishart Arch in Dundee, from which he used to preach.

James Young (1811 - 1883)
Chemical Engineer. Developed the process of refining oil and created the world's first oil industry based on the Oil Shales of West Lothian, close to Edinburgh.

I AM SCOTTISH!
Did you know that two-thirds of the Irish & Scottish immigrants to America settled in the Appalachian mountains? I think this is because of how much the scenery looks much like Scotland.

If you are Scottish and would like to find where your ancestory is from, click the link below:

http://www.ancestralscotland.com/

Known once as "The Athens of the North", Edinburgh traces it's beginnings back to around 900A.D. establishing itself as truly one of the fascinating cities of the world. Below are some video links that will allow you to see the sites of this beautiful city. We are honored to work among it's people!

http://www.ed.ac.uk/explore/city/video/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swjtKUBV8ls
http://www.cometoscotland.com/cgi-bin/videos.cgi?6 - scrolldown

John Knox
Through his dynamic preaching and powerful influence, John Knox helped bring the Reformation to Scotland and helped bring Scotland back to the pure Gospel. Whereas many other Reformers preached and expounded on the doctrine of justification by faith alone, Knox emphasized the ‘idolatry of the Mass’ in most of his sermons, in his many encounters with Roman Councils and before Mary Queen of Scots. By the time John Knox was born in 1515 at Haddington, Scotland, the winds of Reformation had been blowing since the early fifteenth century with the preaching of John Wycliffe. When he died on November 26, 1572, at Edinburgh, reform was firmly fixed in Scotland.

The Man who Changed His Life
While at the University of St. Andrews, he met a man who would change his entire life and ministry: George Wishart. Wishart was under duress from the throne for his preaching of the gospel. While employed to tutor Wishart’s sons, Knox - still a Catholic priest - also became his bodyguard to protect him from the fierce persecutions. Soon Wishart was arrested on heresy. In March 1546, he was charged and burned at the stake under the direction of Cardinal Beaton. The martyrdom of Wishart was the trigger that set the Scottish reformation in powerful motion.

This event brought Knox to the point of renouncing Catholicism and embracing the Protestant teachings. It was then that when the tensions were so very high and good judgment was quite low, he and other followers of Wishart stormed St. Andrew’s Castle, stabbed Cardinal Beaton to death, and displayed his corpse from the castle window for all to see.

Knox’s Call to Preach
It was while in this castle that Knox, a wanted man by the authorities, received the call to preach. He remained in the St. Andrew’s Castle teaching the young boys there. John Rough, the preacher of the group, noticed Knox’s ability and called upon him to take the “preaching place” upon him. Knox said no. Yet, Rough and the council prevailed upon Knox who, though he burst “into abundant tears,” submitted to the call. Soon, however, this ministry would be put on hold. Knox, Rough, and a number of other followers were imprisoned by the French as galley slaves for nineteen months. Never once, even while aboard a Papist ship did he recant his faith --- in fact, it grew stronger.

Knox’s Ministry in Europe
He received word that Edward VI was dying and that Mary Tudor of Roman Catholic faith - later known as “Bloody Mary” for her fierce persecutions against the Protestants - would soon come to the throne in England. This caused Knox to withdraw from England and venture to Geneva, Switzerland. While there, he learned from the great Reformer, John Calvin and there learned about the Reformation movement in England. These lessons would serve him well when he returned back to his beloved Scotland.

While in Geneva, he completed a number of treatises to help encourage his former parishioners back in England and Scotland. He would receive news periodically that those churches were gaining strength during the persecutions and the work of the Reformation was strengthening as well.

Knox continued to minister and accepted an invitation with the council of Calvin to pastor an English congregation at Frankfurt, Germany – whose members were those also in exile from England. However, due to much adversity from others in the church who leveled false charges against him to the emperor, he resigned in 1555 and returned to Geneva where was asked to minister to an English congregation who were also exiles. Many of these exiles were supporters of Knox while at Frankfort.

A Visit Back to Scotland
In August 1555, Knox traveled back to Scotland. When he noticed that most of the Protestants were attending Mass, he once again preached the Reformed doctrine and also against the Mass. He was able to preach with a great amount of freedom due to the advances the Reformation movement made during his absence.

Feeling that it was the “clear duty of Christian princes and magistrates” to embrace the Reformation church, he wrote a letter to Mary Stuart (Mary Queen of Scots) who likely for political reasons seemed to show favor to the Protestants. Knox, who never possessed the tact of a politician, wrote to her in no uncertain terms:

“Unless in your regiment, and in using of power, your grace if found different from the multitude of princes and head rulers, that this preeminence wherein you are placed shall be your dejection to torment and pain everlasting.”

While Knox was in Geneva in 1558, he wrote another petition to Mary Queen of Scots that could not be as easily dismissed as the first time. The Council summoned him to appear and when he failed to show for his trial, he was condemned.

Back to Scotland For Good
When Knox arrived back in Edinburgh in 1559, he was deemed an outlaw by the authorities, but he also deemed by the Reformers as their leader. Again, Knox preached a powerful sermon on the “idolatry” of Catholicism --- specifically, the Mass.

Civil war was brewing due to the Regent of Scotland’s new policy to subject Scotland to the French throne, so tensions were high. When Knox finished preaching this sermon, a priest who came to spy uncovered the altar and was about to perform the Mass. A small boy objected and kicked the priest. The priest slaps the boy. The boy threw a rock and a riot ensued. The mob wanted to destroy all the idols and the monasteries --- and so did Knox.

Nevertheless, the Reformed worship and discipline were soon ratified into law in Scotland in August 1560. The Roman rite could not be administered in Scotland. Yet, when Mary, Queen of Scots came back in 1561 --- already against Knox --- she swore not to advance Catholicism, but was permitted to practice the Mass in her private chapel.

She celebrated her first one with her French cohorts. Knox, calling her the “new Jezebel,” preached the following Sunday from the pulpit of St. Giles that one Mass was more fearful to him than 10,000 men “landed in any part of the realm, of purpose to suppress the whole religion.” When summoned by Mary, he answered her objections plainly. He stated, “If princes exceed their bounds, and do against that wherefore they should be obeyed, there is no doubt that they may be resisted even with power.”

Knox had four such encounters with Mary between 1561-1563 with subjects ranging from the celebration of the Mass on Easter throughout the land (unlawful, but not enforced) to his sermon against her fiancé, Protestant persecutor Don Carlos of Spain. Yet, even through tears and threats, Knox held his ground until he was finally acquitted by the entire council.

The Scottish Confession of Faith and Knox’s Book of Discipline
In 1560, Knox drew up a Scottish confession of faith in response to a request from the Scottish Parliament. In it, it read:
For God we take to record in our consciences, that from our hearts we abhor all sects of heresy, and all teachers of erroneous doctrine; and that, with all humility, we embrace the purity of Christ’s evangel, which is the only food of our souls; and therefore so precious to us, that we are determined to suffer the extremity of worldly danger, that than that we will suffer ourselves and be defrauded the same.

This was adopted immediately. However, Knox’s Book of Discipline, which proposed that all the lands of the Roman church be turned over to the Reformed church, was not received as quickly. Much money was at stake for the aristocracy, so a compromise was reached. Two-thirds would go to the ejected Roman clerics while the rest would be spilt between the Parliament and the Scottish Reformed church. Knox quipped, “I saw two parts freely given to the devil, and the third divided between God and the devil.” Yet, it does show that the Scottish Reformed church was gaining some measure of notice.

Knox’s last few years saw the church continue to grow and prosper. As he approached the end of his ministry and life, he was very weak. Knox died on Wednesday, November 26, 1572, and was buried in the churchyard at St. Giles. Many, including the aristocracy, attended the funeral. The eulogy was spoken by the newly-elected Regent Morton, who stated: “Here lies one who neither flattered nor feared any flesh.”

Knox once said, “I love to blow my Master’s trumpet.” Knox may have seen himself as a simple preacher, his conviction and his fiery personality brought the Gospel back to Scotland. Over 400 years since his death, Knox still inspires many today to stand for the truth of the Gospel regardless of adversity or cost. May that be true of all who aspire to the preaching ministry.

This is an amazing picture of the United Kingdom and the wonderful country of Scotland. There are over 5 million people that live in Scotland.

Hebrides Revival
The Hebrides Revival is considered one of the greatest revivals of all time. In fact, it is the favorite revival outpouring of Tommy Tenney. Listen HERE to Duncan Campbell speaking to the students at The Faith Mission Bible School in Edinburgh concerning his experience with the Revival: http://www.ywammadison.org/map/audio/DuncanCampbell-TheHebridesRevival-32k.caa82e41-37bd-422b-86b6-2f96632a2ccf.mp3

The Hebrides is a chain of small islands off the north west coast of Scotland. Following the trauma of World War II, spiritual life was at low ebb in the Scottish Hebrides. By 1949 Peggy and Christine Smith (84 and 82) had prayed constantly for revival in their cottage near Barvas village on the Isle of Lewis, the largest of the Hebrides Islands in the bleak northwest of Scotland. God showed Peggy in a dream that revival was coming. Months later, early one winter's morning as the sisters were praying, God gave them an unshakable conviction that revival was near.

Peggy asked her minister James Murray Mackay to call the church leaders to prayer. Three nights a week the leaders prayed together for months. One night, having begun to pray at 10 p.m., a young deacon from the Free Church read Psalm 24 and challenged everyone to be clean before God. As they waited on God his awesome presence swept over them in the barn at 4 a.m.

Mackay invited Duncan Campbell to come and lead meeting’s. He replied that he could not come until the following year. However; God had intervened and changed Duncan's plans and commitments and within 10 days he was on the island of Lewis. At the close of his first meeting in the Presbyterian church in Barvas the travel weary preacher was invited to join an all night prayer meeting! Thirty people gathered for prayer in a nearby cottage. Duncan Campbell described it:

"God was beginning to move, the heavens were opening, we were there on our faces before God. Three o'clock in the morning came, and GOD SWEPT IN. About a dozen men and women lay prostrate on the floor, speechless. Something had happened; we knew that the forces of darkness were going to be driven back, and men were going to be delivered. We left the cottage at 3 am to discover men and women seeking God. I walked along a country road, and found three men on their faces, crying to God for mercy. There was a light in every home, no one seemed to think of sleep."

GOD LED THEM IN
When Duncan and his friends arrived at the church that morning it was already crowded. People had gathered from all over the island, some coming in buses and vans. No one discovered who told them to come. God led them. Large numbers were converted as God's Spirit convicted multitudes of sin, many lying prostrate, many weeping. After that amazing day in the church, Duncan pronounced the benediction, but then a young man began to pray aloud. He prayed for 45 minutes. Again the church filled with people repenting and the service continued till 4 am the next morning before Duncan could pronounce the benediction again.

TIME STANDS STILL
Even then he was unable to go home to bed. As he was leaving the church a messenger told him, "Mr. Campbell, people are gathered at the police station, from the other end of the parish; they are in great spiritual distress. Can anyone here come along and pray with them?" Campbell went and what a sight met him. Under the still starlit sky he found men and women on the road, others by the side of a cottage, and some behind a peat stack -- all crying to God for mercy. The revival had come. Duncan Campbell states:

"That went on for five weeks with services from early morning until late at night -- or into the early hours of the morning. Then it spread to the neighboring parishes. What had happened in Barvas was repeated over and over again. His sacred presence was everywhere.”

That move of God in answer to prevailing prayer continued in the area into the fifties and peaked again on the previously resistant island of North Uist in 1957. Meetings were again crowded and night after night people cried out to God for salvation.

THE SECRET OF THE LORD
But before leaving Peggy and her sister, another story must be told which further illustrates the holy intimacy of this woman with her Lord. When the movement was at its height Peggy sent for Duncan, asking him to go to a small, isolated village to hold a meeting. The people of this village did not favor the revival and had already made clear their policy of noninvolvement. Duncan explained the situation to Peggy and told her that he questioned the wisdom of her request. "Besides," he added, "I have no leadings to go to that place." She turned in the direction of his voice; her sightless eyes seemed to penetrate his soul. "Mr. Campbell, if you were living as near to God as you ought to be, He would reveal His secrets to you also." Duncan felt like a subordinate being reprimanded for defying his general. He humbly accepted the rebuke as from the Lord, and asked if he and Mr. MacKay could spend the morning in prayer with them. She agreed, and later as they knelt together in the cottage, Peggy prayed:

"Lord, You remember what You told me this morning, that in this village You are going to save seven men who will become pillars in the church of my fathers. Lord, I have given Your message to Mr. Campbell and it seems he is not prepared to receive it. Oh Lord, give him wisdom, because he badly needs it!"

"All right, Peggy, I'll go to the village," said Duncan when they had finished praying. She replied, "You'd better!" "And God will give you a congregation." Arriving in the village at seven o'clock they found a large bungalow crowded to capacity with many assembled outside. Duncan gave out his text: "The times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." When he had finished preaching, a minister beckoned him to the end of the house to speak again to a number of people who were mourning over their sins - among them, Peggy's seven men!

The Scottish Reformation
The Government tries to stop Lutheran Books
During 1517, Martin Luther's doctrinal ideas were influencing Scotland. At the very beginning, the Scottish Parliament forbid the importation of Lutheran books in hopes of suppressing 'his heresies or opinions' throughout Scotland. However, this attempt by the government was unsuccessful.

Patrick Hamillton - The 1st Protestant Martyr
The Martyrs' Monument at St. Andrews, commemorates those Scot’s executed before the Reformation, including Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart. In 1528, the nobleman Patrick Hamilton, influenced by Lutheran theology while attending the Universities of Wittenberg and Marburg, became the first Protestant martyr when he was burned at the stake for heresy, outside St. Salvator's College at Saint Andrews.

Hamilton’s martyrdom increased interest in the new ideas among the Scots. So much so that he Archbishop of St Andrews was warned against any further such public executions as "the reek of Master Patrick Hamilton has infected as many as it blew upon". Many more people were executed and tried for heresy during the 1530’s and 40’s.

By 1535, the English king, Henry VIII, had broken with Rome and had been excommunicated. He had also permitted the reading of the Bible in the native tongue. These 'English heresies' were an additional influence on events in Scotland.

As the Reformation was picking up speed in Scotland, the Parliament passed further laws protecting the honor of the Mass, prayer to the Virgin Mary, images of the saints, and the authority of the pope. This all took place in 1541. Private meetings of 'heretics where there errors are spread' were prohibited, informers were rewarded, and Protestant sympathizers were barred from royal office. All this was a testimony to the growing attraction of new Protestant ideas.



GEORGE WISHART MARTRYDOM – The Trigger
In 1546, George Wishart was burned at the stake. Wishart was a preacher who came under the influence of John Calvin in Geneva. His martyrdom was the trigger that set off the Scottish Reformation into full speed. Retribution quickly followed. A group of rebels seized Beaton's castle at Saint Andrews, and murdered Beaton. These 'Castelians' who, after the murder, were joined by a renegade priest, and student of Wishart's, named John Knox. They held out in the castle for a solid year before surrendering to a French squadron. Some were imprisoned, some taken as galley slaves. English forces arrived too late to save them, but nevertheless, having defeated the Scots at Pinkie, occupied southeast Scotland as far north as Dundee. This occupation (1547-49) by the English encouraged the Reformation to take root. Also, English Bibles were circulated freely, and several earls pledged themselves 'to cause the word of God to be taught and preached'.

REFORMATION PARLIAMENT 1560
The Scottish Parliament met in Edinburgh on July 10 1560. 182 individuals met for over 3 weeks establishing a Reformed Confession of Faith (the Scots Confession), and on 24 August it passed three Acts that destroyed the old faith in Scotland. The committee recommended a condemnation of transubstantiation, justification by works, indulgences, purgatory, and papal authority. Further it recommended restoring the discipline of the early Church, and redistributing the wealth of the Church to the ministry, schools and the poor. On 17 August, Parliament approved Under these, all previous acts not in conformity with the confession were annulled; the sacraments were reduced to two - to be performed by reformed preachers alone, and the celebration of the Mass was made punishable by a series of penalties - ultimately death. Papal jurisdiction in Scotland was repudiated.

Aside from approving the confession, the Scottish parliament showed little interest in plans for the reformation of the church. Significantly, although the traditional functions of the old clergy had been terminated, the clerical estate remained legally intact and, more importantly, in possession of the revenues of the old church. What shape the new church was to take was left open, and indeed was not finally settled until 1689. Moreover, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the Queen declined to endorse even the acts that Parliament had passed, which were not officially ratified until the first parliament of James VI in 1567. Nevertheless, from this point on, Scotland was, in effect, a Protestant state.

Support/Partnering

Thank you for having an interest in our lives and our ministry. We are empowered to change lives through your prayers, financial gifts and encouraging support. We need you and so does He. "How shall they hear unless someone preaches to them? How shall they preach unless someone sends them?” Through your monthly gifts of $10, $20, $50, $100 per month, His Kingdom is being advanced and Jesus is becoming famous. Thanks Again for considering Partnering with us.

Click here to Partner with Us.