Statues Galore!

This week I'm going to show pictures of the many, many statues I see every day as I walk to and from school, or just around the neighborhood. Some of them are quite, quite famous people, and all but one of them is, I believe, Scottish. I'll try to find Wikipedia articles about them as I go.

This first one is a man named Adam Black. He lived in the 1800s, and was twice Lord Provost of Edinburgh, which, as I understand it, is like the Chief Justice type of thing. This, and most of these, were taken on an awesome, cloudy day, so you can see them in the background. it's great.

And this is Adam Smith. Anyone who has ever taken an economics class ever knows who he is: author of "The Wealth of Nations," he is the father of modern economics. I've also been to the cemetary here in Edinburgh where he is burried, but I didn't take pictures, 'cause graveyards freak me out. And he's Scottish; this country produced a lot of great minds.

Alright, neither this guy, nor the horse, are Scottish. They are both, in fact, ancient Macedonians...this is Alexander the Great and his horse, Bocephalus. I'm not sure why these statues are here in Edinburgh (they're up by what I think is city hall), but hey, I'm a big fan of ancient Greeks. And just as an example of what I do with my time: Alexander is a compound of two Greek words, and the name means something like "Defender of Men." Bocephalus, the name of his horse, is also a compound of two Greek words, and means something like "Head of an Ox," or "Ox Head"...possibly "Thick Head," but there's a distinct Greek word for thick (pachys, like in Pachyderm, which means "thick skin").

This is just an awesome shot of a statue of Allan Ramsay. The cloud break behind it is fantastic, so I included it.

Here's Allan Ramsay from the other side, so you can see him better. From Wikipedia, I'm lead to believe that this is Allan Ramsay, the Scottish poet, and not Allan Ramsay, the Scottish painter, because a portrait of the poet shows him with the weird turban thing on his head.

Ah, yes, another one that most people have heard of: David Hume, the father of modern philosophy. It is almost impossible to take an introductory Philosophy course and not at least discuss Hume, if not study him outright. He is a very easy to read, accessible philosopher, and is also Scottish. I'm told by some that "H-U-M-E" is not how he originally spelled his name, but no one from England could pronounce his name properly the way it was originally spelled, so he started spelling it phonetically.

This fine gentleman is James Braidwood. Born in Edinburgh, he founded the world's first municipal fire service in 1824. So that's cool. His statue is just off the Royal Mile, near St. Giles' Cathedral.

And here is John Knox, a Scottish clergyman. In the 1500s, he was a leader in the Protestant Reformation. The statue here, which is in the courtyard of New College, and thus seen by me everyday, shows him in a classic stature of proclamation. Ah, Protestant preachers.... Heh.

This is a statue of a man named John Wilson. Though it's hard to see him (I chose this shot, again, because of the awesome sky behind the statue...man, it's gorgeous here), I believe he was a Scottish writer in the 1800s.

And this is King George IV, who reigned in the United Kingdom from 1820-1830. He followed his father, King George III, to the throne, and was followed in turn by his younger brother, who reigned as William IV. There's a bridge here named for George IV (George IV Bridge, how creative), and I walk across it to and from New College sometimes.

This fine Scotsman is none other than Dr. David Livingstone, an explorer in the 1800s, and is the "Dr. Livingstone" mentioned in the famous line "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?", said by H.M. Stanley when they first met. Livingstone explored parts of Africa.

This is just a monument that I found in the gardens below the castle. I didn't go look at what it's for, because I was getting hungry and had stuff to do. But this shot was too beautiful not to stop and take, and then share.

As you can see on the plinth on which this statue stands, this man's last name is Pitt. A little research reveals that it is, in fact, William Pitt the Younger who, in 1783 at the age of 24, became Britain's youngest Prime Minister. I'm now 27, and have not done anything near as accomplished as that. But, then again, my life expectancy is much higher than his. So there.

This is a monument to the Royal Scots Grey, a regiment of the British military (the army, I believe). Again, awesome sky behind it, so I didn't try for another shot of it.

And this is a monument on the side of North Bridge here, dedicated to Scottish soldiers who died in wars before WWI (at least, I assume as much, the latest date on the monument was 1902).

There is no inscription to go with this statue, but it's still a cool statue. This is in the gardens below the castle, also; two children are being helped, and helping, a woman of some kind.

This is Sir Walter Scott, the famous Scottish author. Some of his famous works include Ivanhoe, The Lady of the Lake, and the Heart of Midlothian. There is a giant tower built around this statue, visible from far away. The Scots are quite proud of this man.

This is Arthur Wellesley. Name doesn't sound familiar? How about Wellington? Yes, that's right, this is the 1st Duke of Wellington, the same Duke of Wellington who fought and defeated Napolean at Waterloo. He's not Scottish, though; he was born in Ireland.

And the last statue in today's tour is of William Chambers, the Scottish publisher and politician. This statue is just outside the Scottish National Museum (I think that's the official title...maybe the National Museum of Scotland), and is right in the middle of, appropriately, Chambers Street.

Actually, one more. This is Greyfriar Bobby. Behind him, you can see a sign that says (if you could see the whole thing) "Greyfriar Bobby's Bar." And behind the bar is a cemetary and an abbey, both called Greyfriar as well; that was the name of the church and the graveyard. The dog, Bobby, actually existed. When his master died, the dog followed the body in the funeral procession to the graveyard, and stayed at the graveyard, near its master's grave, being fed by locals, until it died several years later. If you watch Futurama regularly, you'll notice similarities between Bobby and Fry's dog, Seymour; that story was, apparently, based on this true story. So, there, playing with your heartstrings.

Vocab!!

I just have one today: Touch wood. We in the States would say "knock on wood," and then, for good luck in whatever we're talking about, we would knock (usually three times) on a wooden surface. Not so here in Britain. Here, they say "Touch wood," and then just reach out and touch the nearest wooden surface. Ours is way better, in that it involves a little more effort, has three syllables, and three thumps on the wooden surface. And, with that done, I'm going to go check on my laundry.