August 23 in Scottish History

On this day in 1305 Sir William Wallace was executed in London. Wallace was captured after being betrayed by Sir John de Menteith and was transported to London. King Edward I had devised a new method of execution for one of his arch-enemies, and Wallace became the first person to endure the agonies of being hanged, drawn and quartered.

On 23 August 1813 Alexander Wilson, the Scottish poet and ornithologist, died. Born in Paisley, Wilson worked as a weaver in the town, but inspired by Burns, he quickly turned his attentions to poetry. However his attempts here were not overly successful and at the age of 27 he emigrated to the United States. In America, he became interested in ornithology and it was through this that he was to achieve immortality, his 'American Ornithology' being regarded as the founding work of the science in the new continent.

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