X-Nico

32 unusual facts about Edinburgh


99 Flake

One claim is that it was coined in Portobello, Scotland when Stephen Arcari, who opened a shop in 1922 at 99 Portobello High Street, would break a large 'Flake" in half and stick it in an ice cream.

Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll

On 12 March 1678, he married Elizabeth Tollemache (daughter of Elizabeth and Lionel Tollemache, 3rd Baronet of Helmingham) at Edinburgh, Scotland.

Archibald I, Lord of Douglas

Between 1214 and 1226, Archibald acquired the use of the lands of Hermiston and Livingston, with Maol Choluim I, Earl of Fife as his feudal superior.

Charlotina

The argument for the establishment of Charlotina first appeared that same year in a pamphlet entitled "The Expediency of Securing our American Colonies by Settling the Country Adjoining the River Mississippi, and the Country upon the Ohio, Considered', which was published in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Colin Lauder

The son of Dr George Lauder (1712–1752) a surgeon and fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, by his spouse Rosina Preston (d.1786), Colin Lauder was the great-great-grandson of Sir John Lauder, 1st Baronet, of Fountainhall and the grandson of Surgeon Dr John Lauder (1683-1737) deacon of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

David Burn

He failed to qualify for a land grant returned to Edinburgh in 1829, divorcing his wife there.

David Dumbreck

Dumbreck, the only son of Thomas Dumbreck, collector of inland revenue at Glasgow, by Elizabeth, youngest daughter of David Sutherland of the same service, was born in Aberdeenshire in 1805 and educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated M.D. in 1830, having previously, in 1825, passed as a licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh.

Defence Science and Technology Organisation

1997 - ESRL complex rationalised and new "Knowledge Systems Building" in Edinburgh, South Australia, (the newly renamed part of Salisbury containing DSTO), officially opened.

Drummond Street

Drummond Street, Edinburgh, a street in the Old Town of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Fishing industry in Scotland

The SFF lobbies for the interests of Scottish fishermen at national and international levels in Edinburgh, London and Brussels.

French Institute for Scotland

The French Institute is located in Randolph Crescent in Edinburgh's West End.

Jane Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch

McNeill's marriage to Lord Dalkeith on 10 January 1953 at St. Giles's Cathedral, Edinburgh, attracted media attention, as Dalkeith had earlier been expected to marry Queen Elizabeth II's sister Margaret.

John Lessels

Important commissions included the Walker Estate, the area of the western New Town developed from the 1850s, and his appointment as architect to the City Improvement Trust, with David Cousin, in 1866, which oversaw the redevelopment of parts of the Old Town.

Lady Margaret Sackville

In 1922 she published "A Masque of Edinburgh." This was performed at the Music Hall, George Street, Edinburgh, and depicted the history of Edinburgh in eleven scenes from the Romans to a meeting between the poet Robert Burns and the writer Sir Walter Scott.

Lizie Lindsay

A highland Laird courts Lizie Lindsay in Edinburgh, sometimes after his mother had warned him not to hide his highland origins.

Michael Proffitt

Raised in Edinburgh, Proffitt attend the University of Oxford, where he studied English language and literature.

New York High School

It opened in March 1825 under the leadership of educator John Griscom, and was modeled on Edinburgh high school in Scotland.

Niddrie, Victoria

By 1871, Stevenson had built a house he named Niddrie, after his birthplace of Niddrie, a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland.

North Britain

The North British Railway operated from 1846 to 1923, leaving a later legacy in the name of the North British Hotel in Edinburgh, which was renamed ‘The Balmoral Hotel’ in the 1980s.

Penfield railway line

The line then went north west and then turned north through Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) in Edinburgh.

Portman Estate

The present grid layout of streets was established when the Estate was developed in the 18th Century and it is characterised by Georgian architecture, similar to Edinburgh's New Town.

Rannoch School

Other schools that carry out this practice include Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh.

Roderick Ross

He retired to Portobello, Edinburgh and died on 6 March 1943 after a short illness in a nursing home at 19 Great King Street, Edinburgh.

Sighthill Stadium

Sighthill Stadium was a proposed stadium to be located in the Sighthill district of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Simon Kassianides

At the University of Edinburgh he was the producer and executive producer of a sold out run of Grease at the George Square theatre.

St. Mary's College of Engineering and Technology

Apart from the regular undergraduate program the college also has an International Center that offers dual degree programs in collaboration with Napier University, Edinburgh, and Marist College, New York.

Stanley Park, Liverpool

It includes the 1899 Gladstone Conservatory (recently restored and renamed the Isla Gladstone Conservatory), a Grade II listed building built by Mackenzie & Moncur of Edinburgh.

Treaty of Vincennes-Edinburgh

Michel, F.X., Les Écossais en France, les Français en Écosse II vols.

Tyrrell 003

The vehicle is currently on display at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.

University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences

The institutes of Ecological Sciences and Earth Science are located at the King's Buildings, whilst the Institute of Geography is located on Drummond Street in the Central Area.

Vioearth Holdings

Vioearth Holdings is a computer energy tracking and efficiency management company based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Westminster Bubble

More recently, in Scotland, there has been a development of a "Holyrood bubble", as the Scottish Parliament is in the Holyrood district of Edinburgh.


20 March 2003 anti-war protest

The Edinburgh demo saw 500 people at midday march to the foot of The Mound, the rally was addressed by MSPs Tommy Sheridan and Lloyd Quinan.

A Fictional Guide to Scotland

This reading tour visited places as far and wide as Wigtown, Ullapool, Inverness, Edinburgh, Stirling, Lanark and Glasgow and was supported by the Scottish Arts Council.

Andrew Combe

Early in 1836 he received the appointment of physician to King Léopold I of Belgium, with Dr. James Clark's recommendation, and moved to Brussels ; but his health again failed, and he returned to Edinburgh in the same year.

Andrew MacBeath

Andrew G W MacBeath, a Scottish preacher associated with the Keswick Convention, was younger brother of John MacBeath; studied at Edinburgh University, the Baptist College in Glasgow, and New College, Edinburgh.

Bootham Crescent

The ground is located just over a mile away from York railway station, which lies on the East Coast Main Line between London's King's Cross station and Edinburgh's Waverley Station.

Buckfast Tonic Wine

In February 2013, J. Chandler & Company applied to the Court of Session in Edinburgh to stop Strathclyde Police from marking bottles of Buckfast so they could trace where under-age drinkers bought them.

Clan Kerr

Newbattle Abbey or Newbattle Castle near Edinburgh became a secular lordship for the last commendator, Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian (Ker) in 1587.

Cordelia Fine

Born in Toronto, Fine spent her childhood in the United States and Edinburgh.

Cyril Aldred

He died peacefully at his home in Edinburgh in 1991 but is remembered as one of the leading characters in improving archaeology in Scotland at the Burrell Collection in Glasgow.

David E. Muller

After a brief stay in Madrid and Paris, in September 1937, Hermann moved to Edinburgh, where he married Dorothea Kantorowicz in May 1939.

David Wilde

He has recorded for HMV, Decca Oiseau Lyre, Lyrita Saga and CRD, and now records exclusively for Delphian Records of Edinburgh, who have already issued a recordings of music by Dallapiccola, Busoni, and Liszt, Schumann and Brahms.

Demography of Scotland

Around 70% of the country's population live in the Central Lowlands — region stretching in a northeast-southwest orientation between the major cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and including major settlements such as Paisley, Stirling, Falkirk, Perth and Dundee.

Duncan Cameron

Duncan Inglis Cameron (1927–2006), founding secretary of Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

Duncan Inglis Cameron

He served as justice of the peace for several decades and was a highly respected session clerk of St Ninian's Church in Corstorphine, Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Institution

Stewart's Melville College, formerly Edinburgh Institution for Languages and Mathematics

Edwin C. May

His technical expertise is well respected, and he has given presentations at the famous World War II site Bletchley Park (UK), Harvard University, the Universities of California at Los Angeles and at Davis, Stanford University, the University of Edinburgh, Trinity College Cambridge, Eötvös Loránd University, the University of Stockholm, Imperial College London and others.

Erik Routley

He was chaplain of Mansfield from 1948 to 1959 and then held appointments as minister in Edinburgh and Newcastle before becoming Professor of Church Music at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey in 1975.

Festival Cup

As Edinburgh's twin cities include Munich, Florence and Kiev, the local media speculated that a globally recognised team such as FC Bayern Munich, ACF Fiorentina or Dynamo Kiev may play in Scotland's capital.

George Ernest Gibson

He worked with Otto Lummer at the University of Breslau where he received his Ph.D in 1911, and stayed there as lecturer for two additional years before returning to the University of Edinburgh in 1912.

Glitters Like Gold

'Glitters Like Gold' featured throughout the February and March 2012 tour at venues in London, Edinburgh, Brighton and Leeds, and opens fifth LP In the Belly of the Brazen Bull.

Gordon Castle

Eventually the commission fell to the lesser-known Edinburgh architect, John Baxter, who rebuilt it in 1769 for Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon.

Guy Warrack

Guy Warrack (6 February 1900, Edinburgh - 12 February 1986, Englefield Green) was Scottish composer and conductor.

Henry Bickersteth, 1st Baron Langdale

By the advice of his uncle, Dr. Robert Batty, in October 1801, he went to Edinburgh to pursue his medical studies, and in the following year was called home to take his father's practice in his temporary absence.

History of Lothian Buses

Traditionally, Edinburgh Corporation, Lothian Regional Transport (LRT) and Lothian Buses had a livery of madder (a dark red) and cream (white), with matching madder leatherette seating.

Holy Cross Church, St Helens

Fr Thomas Seed, the head of the Jesuits in Britain, who also founded Sacred Heart Church in Edinburgh laid the foundation stone of the church on 3 May 1860, what was then Feast of the Finding of the True Cross.

J. K. Annand

Born at Edinburgh to plumber William Annand and his wife Maggie Gold, educated at Broughton Secondary School, he graduated from Edinburgh University in 1930 and later taught at schools in Edinburgh and Whithorn.

JANET

The core point of presence (Backbone) sites in SuperJanet4 were Edinburgh, Glasgow, Warrington, Reading, Bristol, Portsmouth, London and Leeds.

Jesse Moren Bader

From 1937 onwards he attended all the major ecumenical gatherings related to the formation and establishment of the World Council of Churches including Oxford and Edinburgh (1937), Amsterdam (1948), Evanston (1954), New Delhi (1961) and the annual meetings of the World Council of Churches executive committee once it was set up in 1948.

John Lazar

Born in Edinburgh, Lazar came to Sydney in 1837 where he worked as an actor and theatre manager.

Jonathan Manson

Born in Edinburgh, he studied cello with Jane Cowan and later went on to the Eastman School of Music in New York, where he studied with Steven Doane and Christel Thielmann.

Joseph Ebsworth

In 1828 he opened an "English and foreign dramatic library and caricature repository" at 23 Elm Row, at the head of Leith Walk, Edinburgh, and for fifteen years maintained it successfully as the main bookseller's shop for periodical literature.

King Creosote

Anderson also contributed to the Cold Seeds collaborative album along with Frances Donnelly of Animal Magic Tricks, and Neil Pennycook and Pete Harvey from Meursault; which was released on the Edinburgh-based indie label Song, By Toad Records.

Lawrence Macdonald

In about four years he returned to Edinburgh, and there produced busts of Professor John Wilson and George Combe, the phrenologist.

Leaderfoot Viaduct

The viaduct was opened on 16 November 1863 to carry the Berwickshire Railway, which connected Reston (on the East Coast Main Line between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh) with St Boswells (on the Edinburgh to Carlisle "Waverley Line"), via Duns and Greenlaw.

Liverpool poets

Other related poets include the Londoner Pete Brown (who wrote lyrics for Cream), Pete Morgan and Alan Jackson (both associated with the 1960s Edinburgh poetry scene), Tom Pickard and Barry MacSweeney (both from Newcastle), Spike Hawkins, Jim Bennett, Heather Holden, Mike Evans, Pete Roche and Henry Graham.

Mayfield Park

Mayfield Park, Edinburgh, a recreational area in Edinburgh, Scotland (see Hibernian F.C.)

Multrees Walk

Multrees Walk, Harvey Nichols and Edinburgh Bus Station (which sits below 'Multrees Walk' and is accessed by escalators from St Andrew Square or from Elder Street) was designed by Edinburgh architects CDA

Osadia

Tollwood Festival, Munich / Sydney Mardi Gras, Australia / Trafalgar Square Festival, London, UK / Juste pour rire/Just for laughs, Montreal, Canada / The Esplanade Festival, Singapore / NZ International Festival, Wellington, New Zealand / Kleines Fest im Grossen Garten, Hanover / Daidogei World Cup, Shizuoka, Japan / Hogmanay, Edinburgh, Scotland / Festes de la Mercè, Barcelona

Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council

Its head office was at Polaris House in Swindon, Wiltshire, but it also operated three scientific sites: the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) in Edinburgh, the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) in La Palma and the Joint Astronomy Centre (JAC) in Hawaii.

Paulo Sérgio Bento Brito

On 19 May 2012, Sérgio and Hearts won the 2011–12 Scottish Cup – the eighth Scottish Cup victory for the club and the first in six years – after a 5–1 victory against fellow Edinburgh side Hibernian.

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

The Royal Hospital for Sick Children located in Edinburgh is to be rebuilt on the Little France site beside the Infirmary.

Salem Ramaswami Mudaliar

Ramaswami halted at Edinburgh on way to Aberdeen to listen to the speech of the liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone while he regarded the speech given by John Bright at Birmingham as the best he had ever listened to in life.

Samuel Manuwa

He then proceeded to study at the University of Edinburgh where he received a bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Medicine in 1926.

Scottish Enterprise

Scottish Enterprise has approximately 1,100 staff and operates from 13 offices - Aberdeen, Bellshill, Clydebank, Dundee, Dumfries, Edinburgh, two in Glasgow, Glenrothes, Kilmarnock, Paisley, Selkirk and Stirling.

Stuart McQuarrie

McQuarrie trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow and soon became a highly popular actor amongst Edinburgh theatre goers before moving to London where he has played prominent roles in more controversial, new dramas by playwrights such as Sarah Kane and Anthony Neilson, amongst others.

Tony Law

He also appeared in a series of television adverts for Gala Bingo and has had TV exposure on Edinburgh & Beyond and Comedy Cuts.

Totally Jodie Marsh

Totally Jodie Marsh: Who'll Take Her Up the Aisle? was a British reality television show, which saw glamour model Jodie Marsh audition a potential husband in London, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bournemouth.

Trinity Academicals RFC

Trinity Academicals RFC, nicknamed "Trinity" or "Trinity Accies" is a rugby union based in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, originally for the former pupils of Trinity Academy, Edinburgh.