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May 23 in Scottish History

On this day in 1701 Captain William Kidd, the notorious Scottish pirate, died. Born, probably in Dundee, around the year 1645, Kidd became one of the best known pirates of his age. Commissioned by King William III to attack pirates in the Indian Ocean, but secretly allowed to attack French merchantmen, Kidd was disowned by the establishment at his trial. Kidd was hanged on Execution Dock, in London's docklands on the banks of The Thames. Kidd became a legendary figure, largely because nobody ever discovered what had happened to the rest of his treasure - if there really was any more to be found. Its value multiplied as time went by and treasure hunters have searched for his loot from the Americas to the South China Sea, but so far in vain.

On 23 May 1718 William Hunter, the Scottish physician and obstetrician, died. Hunter made several important studies of the pregnant human uterus. His work, 'The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus, Established in Figures', is considered an anatomical classic, and Hunter is considered the founder of the modern science of gynaecology. On his death he bequeathed his large collection of manuscripts to Glasgow University, which formed the original collection of the Hunterian Museum.