December 15 1263 King Haakon of Norway (which at that time included Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles) died on Orkney at midnight on 15/16 December. Alexander 3rd King of Scots had claimed the Western Isles in 1262, and Haakon invaded in 1263. Haakon, weary of delay, attacked, only to encounter a terrific storm which greatly damaged his ships. The Battle of Largs (October 1263) proved indecisive, but Haakon turned east.

Håkon IV also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263, and his son Magnus, from Flateyjarbók (c. 1294). King Haakon is Listed as ancestor [Great Uncle] to HM George 1st (12th GU, clan Stewart), PM Churchill (22nd GU, clan Montgomery), PM Cameron (21st GU, clan Cameron), US President Monroe (20th GU, clan Munro). (fabpedigree.com)

1567 Queen Mary Stewart marries Bothwell (TG32-123).

Bothwell Hepburn 1245 2Montgomerie2Blair 2Cochrane2Miller2Simmons2Choate zoe ToaG

1567 Archibald Douglas 8th Earl Angus, ‘the good Earl’ carried crown at meeting of 1st parliament of King James the 6th Stewart. Anderson Scot’s History v. 2/p. 47.

Douglas 1036 2Stewart 2Ruthven 2Kinchin 2Jared 2Simmons 2Choate – Douglas 2Montgomberie 2Blair 2Cochrane 2Miller 2Simmons 2Choate – Douglas 2Hamilton 2Stewart 2Miller 2Simmons 2Choate – Douglas 2Carlyle 2Semple 2Montgomery 2Cochrane 2Miller 2Simmons 2Choate

1574, Kirk session of Edinburgh appointed an 8 days fast for the plague threatening the whole realm. December. A History of Epidemics in Britain from A.D. 664 to the Extinction of Plague Charles Creighton, M.A. M.D. Demonstrator of Anatomy University of Cambridge. 1891

1644 – Marquis of Argyle was residing at his castle of Inverary, in the most perfect confidence that the enemy could not approach him; for he used to say, he would not for a hundred thousand crowns that any one knew the passes from the eastward into the country of the Campbells. [TG43-1]

Campbell Earl of Argyll 1010 2Montgomery2Blair 2Cochrane2Miller 2Simmons2Choate to zoe TOAG

Inverary Castle Since the early 1400s, was the official seat of the Dukes of Argyll. There are multiple tales of hauntings within Inverary, most notably the harpist of the first duke caught sneaking looks at the dukes wife through a keyhole and subsequently hung. Upon rumors a ghost ship would sail over sea and land to steal the life of a chieftain at the castle, one chieftain was so convinced it was his life to be taken, he imbibed poison so as not to dismay the supernatural galleon. Official home of the Clan Cambell. www.destination360.com/europe/uk/haunted-scotland-castles

1649 – Accused of witchcraft, was a sister of Sir John Henderson of Fordel, and wife to the Laird of Pittardo, in Fife [Margaret Henderson]. Notwithstanding her honourable birth and connexions, this unfortunate matron was, in the year 1649, imprisoned in the common jail of Edinburgh, from the month of July till the middle of the month of December 1649, when she was found dead, with every symptom of poison. [TG47-139]  Another Henderson, ‘Fanny,’ is noticed on August 22nd. The Great Scottish witch hunt of 1649-50 was one of 5 major witch hunts, with the most executions in a single year.

False witch-pricking bodkins from Reginald Scott’s Discovery of Witchcraft, 1584. Pricking their skin with needles, pins and bodkins – daggerlike instruments for drawing ribbons through hems or punching holes in cloth. This pricking derived from the belief that all witches and sorcerers bore a witch’s mark that would not feel pain or bleed when pricked. Hollow wooden handles and retractable points have been saved from these finders, which would give the appearance of an accused witch’s flesh being penetrated to the hilt apparently without mark, blood, or pain. Meaning if you screamed in pain and had blood pouring out of the wounds, you were not a witch. Each witch discovery was worth 20 shillings, to the professional witch hunter or pricker, so dozens of covens were soon discovered. Of course this incentive would create a fake or fraud pricking, painless and bloodless, used to convict the accused witch. Once discovered the new witch’s pain could be real, but it was too late. Witches were usually low social status women, the Henderson Lady being an anomaly.

John Kincaid, a professional witch pricker, was active in 1649 and before he was caught as a fraud, had been the fraudulent cause of death for 220 witches – women in Scotland and England. This was the Presbyterian tradition.

1661 ROBERT MILLER I, (cir 1630-1685) Robert was admitted to University of Glasgow, 15 Dec. 1661, and was minister of Ochiltree, Ayr, Scotland. Robert’s ministry will reflect the religious and political turmoil for the next 3 decades.

1683 Izaak Walton, the author of “The Compleat Angler”, died on December 15, 1683.  Walton lived a long life; 90 years. Sir Walter Scott provided an unsigned preface and notes to an edition of Walton’s work published in 1821.  Sir Walter said: “Walton’s practice was entirely confined to bait-fishing…’’’ The Izaack Walton League of America was founded in 1922 and provides conservation education. Located in Gaithersburgh Maryland on Conservation lane, sponsors Boy Scout Troops, such as Troop 1137 in Centreville Virginia. http://www.troop1137.org/

On August 22nd and 23rd 1877, Wilford Woodruff, later reported that three knights, among others, Sir Walter Scott ‘called upon me, as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights, and demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the House of God for them.’ A privilege indeed!

1696 month of December. Failed harvest, severe famine, 5-15 percent starved to death. Last year of the seven ill years was a period of national famine in Scotland in the 1690s, by four years of failed harvests (1695, 1696 and 1698–99). The period is named after the Biblical famine in Egypt predicted by Joseph ben Jacob in the Book of Genesis. So many poor beggars arrived in Edinburgh in search of relief in December 1696 that the town council had to erect a “refugee camp” in Greyfriars kirkyard to house all of them. Other towns reacted by enforcing severe punishments for beggars. Wikipedia.

1750 Alexander McGillivray, (December 15, 1750 – February 17, 1793), Creek (Muscogee brigadier general of the U.S. (from 1790) and chief was a principal chief of the Upper Creek (Muscogee) towns from 1782. Alexander’s father was Lachla McGillivray, a Scottish trader (of the Clan MacGillivray chief’s lineage), and his mother was Creek of the Wind Clan. In 1777, the revolutionary governments of Georgia and South Carolina confiscated the property of his Loyalist father, who returned to Scotland. He attended the conference for the 1790 Treaty of New York. The first treaty negotiated after ratification of the U.S. Constitution, established the Altamaha and Oconee rivers as the boundary between Creek lands and the United States. Two of his maternal nephews, William Weatherford and William McIntosh, who were also born into the powerful Creek Wind Clan, became the most important Muscogee leaders in the early 19th century.

1791 – The United States Bill of Rights (1st 10 Amendments) becomes law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly. Named after the 1688 Scots and English Bill of Rights. The Claim of Right Act was passed by the Parliament of Scotland in April 1689 set out freedom of speech in Parliament, the requirement for regular elections to Parliament and the right to petition the monarch without fear of retribution. It reestablished the liberty of Protestants to have arms for their defence within the rule of law, and condemned James II of England for “causing several good subjects being Protestants to be disarmed at the same time when papists were both armed and employed contrary to law”.

Portions read like the American Declaration of Independence. Spelling preserved from the 17th century.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aosp/1689/28/paragraph/p2

Claim of Right Act 1689

The Declaration of the Estates of the Kingdom of Scotland containing the Claim of Right and the offer of the Croune to the King and Queen of England.

Wheras King James the Seventh Being a profest papist did assume the Regall power and acted as King without ever takeing the oath required by law wherby the King at his access to the government is obliged to swear To maintain the protestant religion and to rule the people according to the laudable lawes And Did By the advyce of wicked and evill Counsellers Invade the fundamentall Constitution of this Kingdome And altered it from a legall limited monarchy to ane Arbitrary Despotick power and in a publick proclamation asserted ane absolute power to cass annull and dissable all the lawes particularly arraigning the lawes Establishing the protestant religion and did Exerce that power to the subversion of the protestant Religion and to the violation of the lawes and liberties of the Kingdome

By Erecting publick schooles and societies of the Jesuites and not only allowing mass to be publickly said But also inverting protestant Chappells and Churches to publick Mass houses Contrair to the express lawes against saying and hearing of Mass.

By allowing popish bookes to be printed and dispersed by a gift to a popish printer designeing him Printer to his Majesties househould Colledge and Chappell Contrair to the lawes.

By takeing the children of Protestant Noblemen and gentlemen sending and keeping them abroad to be bred papists makeing great fonds and dotationes to popish schooles and Colledges abroad bestowing pensiones upon preists and perverting protestants from ther Religion by offers of places preferments and pensiones.

By Dissarmeing protestants while at the same tyme he Imployed papists in the places of greatest trust civil and military such as Chancellor Secretaries Privie Counsellors and Lords of Sessione thrusting out protestants to make roome for papists and Intrusting the forts and magazins of the Kingdome in ther hands.

By Imposeing oathes Contrair to law.

By Giveing gifts and grants for exacting money without consent of Parliament of Conventione of Estates

By levying or Keeping on foot a standing army in tyme of Peace without Consent of Parliament which army did exact localitie free and dry quarters.

By Imploying the officers of the army as Judges through the Kingdome and Imposeing them wher ther were heretable offices and jurisdictiones by whom many of the leidges were put to death summarly without legall tryall jury or record.

By imposeing exorbitant fines to the value of the pairties Estates exacting extravagant Baile and disposeing fines and forefaultors befor any proces or Conviction.

By Imprisoning persones without expressing the reasone and delaying to put them to tryall.

By Causeing persue and forefault severall persones upon stretches of old and obsolete lawes upon frivolous and weak pretences upon lame and defective probationes as particularly the late Earle of Argyle to the scandal and reproach of the justice of the Natione

By Subverting the right of the Royal Burghs The third Estate of Parliament imposeing upon them not only magistrats But also the wholl toune Councill and Clerks contrary to their liberties and express chartours without the pretence either of sentence surrender or consent so that the Commissioners to Parliaments being chosen by the magistrats and Councill The King might in effect alswell nominat that entire Estate of Parliament and many of the saids magistrats put in by him were avowed papists and the Burghes were forced to pay money for the letters Imposeing these illegall magistrats and Councils upon them

By Sending letters to the chiefe Courts of Justice not only ordaining the Judges to stop and desist sine die to determine causes But also ordering and Commanding them how to proceed in cases depending befor them Contrair to the express lawes and by chainging the nature of the Judges gifts ad vitam aut culpam and giveing them Commissions ad beneplacitum to dispose them to complyance with arbitrary Courses and turneing them out of their offices when they did not comply.

By granting personall protectiones for civill Debts contrair to Law.

All which are utterly and directly contrairy to the knoune lawes statutes and freedomes of this realme.

Therfor the Estates of the kingdom of Scotland Find and Declaire That King James the Seventh being a profest papist Did assume the Regall power and acted as king without ever takeing the oath required by law and hath by the advyce of Evill and wicked Counsellors Invaded the fundamentall Constitution of the Kingdome and altered it from a legall limited monarchy To ane arbitrary despotick power and hath Exercised the same to the subversione of the protestant religion and the violation of the lawes and liberties of the Kingdome inverting all the Ends of Government wherby he hath forfaulted the right to the Croune and the throne is become vacant. Etc. Etc.

And the saids Estates being now assembled in a full and free representative of this Nation Takeing to their most serious Consideratione the best meanes for attaining the ends aforesaid Do In the first place as their ancestors in the like cases have usually done for the vindicating and asserting their antient rights and liberties Declare

[the previous lists of facts are contrary to law.]

1830 Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Fayette, New York. (clans Huntley, Hamilton, Mackenzie, Mack of Inverness, Malcolm King of Scots), Doctrine and Covenants 35. Sometime in December. ‘For I am God, and mine arm is not shortened; and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name.’

1899 The Battle of Colenso. The Boer War. Colenso on the Tugela River in Northern Natal, South Africa. 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers: now the Royal Highland Fusiliers.
1st Gordon Highlanders: now the Highlanders. 2nd Scottish Rifles: disbanded in 1966. The Mounted Brigade (the Earl of Dundonald – clan Cochrane). Thorneycroft’s Horse:
Natal Carabineers:
Imperial Light Horse:
The Mounted Infantry: On the right Lord Dundonald with the mounted brigade was to take the hill of Hlangwane. Towards the end of the day it became clear that Dundonald could make no headway against the Boer positions on Hlangwane and fell back, leaving the British centre exposed to a Boer flank attack.

2016 President Trump sets December 15 announcement for exit from family businesses. Jamie Dupree November 30, 2016.

President-Elect Donald Trump says he will make an announcement in mid-December on how he will shift away from direct control of his businesses interests, in order to “fully focus” on being President of the United States.

“I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses,” said President Trump in a series of posts on Twitter this morning.

“The Presidency is a far more important task!” Mr. Trump added. He did not say who would be running his businesses while he is in the White House.

The news conference by President Trump on December 15 would be his first since winning election, and the first since late July.

 

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2017 Trump Policy analysts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta were told of the list of forbidden words at a meeting Thursday with senior CDC officials who oversee the budget, according to an analyst who took part in the 90-minute briefing. The forbidden words are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.” They disclosed this enormous secret under condition as they were not to discuss such state secrets. Trump is U.S. President. (clans MacQueen, Macaulay, MacLeod, of Aberdeenshire and

Outer Hebrides),

 

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