William speirs bruce,the ben nevis observatory,and antarctic meteorology

Following his participation in an expedition to the Weddell Sea (1892–1893), William Speirs Bruce determined to undertake further polar research and sought training and experience in such techniques and methodologies as might prove useful to him in securing opportunities to participate in future expeditions. During 1895–1896 he worked at the Ben Nevis Observatory gaining experience of meteorological research. The experience he gained in the design and operation of an observatory in a harsh environment he was later to apply when he established an observatory on Laurie Island, South Orkneys. This paper draws on a recently discovered archival source (Swinney (2001) to re‐examine Brace's involvement with the Ben Nevis Observatory.     

The Scottish national Antarctic expedition (1902–04) and the founding of Base Orcadas

The history of the establishment of the scientific research station on Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands, is recounted. Its founding by the Scottish National Antarctic (Scotia) Expedition (1902–04) and the subsequent operation by Argentina resulted in it becoming the first all‐year‐round permanently‐staffed research facility in Antarctica. The networks of government and non‐government personnel involved in the rivalry between British and Scottish interests and aspirations and the transfer of the Laurie Island facility from the Scottish expedition to Argentine government control are investigated. The narrative is set against the background of the centennial celebrations of that transfer.     

From the Arctic and Antarctic to ‘the back parts of Mull’: The life and career of William Gordon Burn Murdoch (1862–1939)

Published and archival sources are examined to elucidate the career of William Gordon Burn Murdoch, artist, bag‐piper, explorer, geographer, hunter, Scottish nationalist, traveller, whaler and writer. Burn Murdoch's diverse contributions to geography are discussed, as are the roles he played in the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and other Scottish scientific and literary societies. A preliminary list of his extant original works of art is included.     

Edward Forbes (1815-1854) and the exhibition of natural order in Edinburgh

The roles, affordances and social agency of natural history museums are discussed in relation to the writings of Edward Forbes. These signal a motivation, in the mid-nineteenth-century, to naturalize the established social order through the systematic arrangement and display of natural history specimens. The perceived importance of the embodied messages of social order, as an antidote to radicalism and revolution, overrode concerns about temperance and abstinence and immediate fears for the physical safety of collections. The tensions between temperance, and the broader concerns about social order, were played out over the matter of the museums themselves being licensed premises.