On This Day
1707 – The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain.[11]
The Acts of Union (Scottish Gaelic: Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries. By the two Acts, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland—which at the time were separate states with separate legislatures, but with the same monarch—were, in the words of the Treaty, “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain”.[2]
The two countries had shared a monarch since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne from his double first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I. Although described as a Union of Crowns, and in spite of James’s acknowledgement of his accession to a single Crown,[3] England and Scotland were officially separate Kingdoms until 1707 (as opposed to the implied creation of a single unified Kingdom, exemplified by the later Kingdom of Great Britain). Prior to the Acts of Union there had been three previous attempts (in 1606, 1667, and 1689) to unite the two countries by Acts of Parliament, but it was not until the early 18th century that both political establishments came to support the idea, albeit for different reasons.
The Acts took effect on 1 May 1707. On this date, the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament united to form the Parliament of Great Britain, based in the Palace of Westminster in London, the home of the English Parliament.[4] Hence, the Acts are referred to as the Union of the Parliaments.
Born On This Day
1882 – Margaret Wilson, American author (d. 1973)
Margaret Wilhelmina Wilson (January 16, 1882 – October 6, 1973) was an American novelist. She was awarded the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for The Able McLaughlins.
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FYI
By Bobby Finger, Eater: Who’s Really Behind Joanna Gaines’s Perfect Peanut Butter Brownies? The New York Times credits the “Fixer Upper” star for this transcendent peanut butter and chocolate combination, but both the comment section and Gaines herself say otherwise
By Andy Greene, Rolling Stone: Me and the Monkee: A Final Visit With Michael Nesmith As one ‘Rolling Stone’ writer got to know Nesmith over the past decade, the Reluctant Monkee surprised him again and again. By the very end of his life, the man who was legendarily disgruntled over the Monkees’ prefab ways had come to love the band as much as anyone
The Passive Voice, Andrew Marvel, To His Coy Mistress: But at my back I always hear Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near
PG’s Note: In 1641, two years after Marvel completed his BA at Cambridge, his father drowned in “the Tide of Humber”—the estuary at Hull made famous by To his Coy Mistress.
The Passive Voice, From The Millions: The Hotel of the Idle Moon
By Alex Tanzi, Bloomberg News: ‘Great Retirement’ in U.S. Is Driven by Older Female Baby Boomers
By Greg Vanourek: What Leads to Happiness?
By Harry Baker, Live Science: Hungry badger accidentally unearths hundreds of ancient Roman coins in Spain The coins came from multiple locations across the Roman Empire.
By Patrick Pester, Live Science:n Enormous sea dragon fossil from 180 million years ago discovered in England It’s the biggest and most complete fossil of its kind ever discovered in the U.K.
By Mita Mallick, Harvard Business Review: When Being Indispensable Backfires
Recipes
Homemade on a Weeknight: Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken
RecipeTinEats
- 2024 Ultimate Christmas menu planning guide December 12, 2024Here’s a handy list of my Christmas recipes, organised by make-ahead and reheating suitability, and those best made fresh. Perfect for menu planning, especially alongside the new Christmas recipe index! I thrive on holiday menu planning. It’s like the Olympics of cooking – except less athleticism and more butter! The goal, as always, is a... […]Nagi
- Easy Christmas Cheesecake Slab – no bake! December 6, 2024This no bake Christmas cheesecake is designed for sizzling Aussie summers – no sweating over a hot oven! Designed to serve a crowd, it’s the easiest cheesecake recipe I know yet it still captures all the hallmarks of a beautiful classic baked cheesecake. Decorate with whipped cream, berries and rosemary sprigs for an effortless, pretty... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for December 21 December 21, 2024Picture of the day The Padum-Pibiting Road from Karsha to Padum (elevation 3,500 m (11,500 ft)) which is nestled at the base of the Zanskar range. The mountains of this Trans-Himalayan range tower 2,400 m (7,900 ft) above Padum. Zanskar, Ladakh, India.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for December 20 December 20, 2024Picture of the day Frost-covered lifebuoy attached to a dolphin, captured on Lake Siskiyou in Northern California
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Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
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