![]() ![]() As a direct consequence of the 1696 Act, it became a legal requirement for each Parish in Scotland to establish a school and to pay the salaries of teachers. The political force behind this act was the Kirk, where the aim was to bring the written scriptures to the population as a whole. This came about when the Scottish Parliament introduced an “Act for Setting Schools” in 1696. ![]() Is it not surprising that Scotland, considered to be western Europe’s poorest country, and with such a small population, should have such a dramatic impact upon the rest of the world? To understand how that came about it is necessary to look back at Scottish history and to realise that Scotland was the first European country to achieve general literacy among its population. Other famous Scots include John Witherspoon, a presbyterian minister from Paisley who became the father of the American educational systems William Patterson of Dumfries who founded the Bank of England John Paul Jones of Kirkbean who founded the US Navy John MacDonald as the first Prime Minister of Canada John Muir the pioneer of modern conservation programmes ……and the list goes on! We could mention John Chalmers of Dundee who invented adhesive postage stamps. ![]() We could talk about John MacAdam from Ayr who discovered the ideal road surface materials or John Boyd Dunlop, of Dreghorn for his invention of motor car tyres. ![]()
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