September 18 in Scottish History

This day in 1818 saw the pioneering Theatre Royal, Glasgow, become the first theatre in Britain to be lit by gas. The Gas Company had been incorporated in June, 1817, and was ready to supply gas, but had much difficulty in finding customers. The Queen Street Theatre's consent to be "illuminated with sparkling gas" in the presence of a large and fashionable audience was a significant advance.

On this day in 1959 forty seven miners were killed in Scotland's worst pit disaster of the century at Auchengeich Colliery, Chryston, Lanarkshire. The smoke from a fire caused by electrical fault 1,000 ft below the surface engulfed the bogies carrying the miners to work. Only one man escaped. Rescue workers were unable to reach the trapped men because of the persistence of the fire, and later that evening the decision was taken to flood the pit.

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