Great Edinburgh inventions

WE HAVE crippling debts, rising unemployment, a tarnished banking system and an economy in turmoil. It could be said there are few reasons to be terribly proud to be a Scot these days.

But even though the future might look grim, a glance at our past could be all that's needed to raise spirits once more.

With perfect timing, a new book sheds a fascinating spotlight on the ingenuity and inventiveness that helped make Scotland a world- beating nation when it came to life-changing ideas.

Invented in Scotland casts a captivating look at the remarkable achievements Scots, many right here in Edinburgh, have made in the world.

For every well-known achievement - who could forget that Scots gave the world the television and the telephone - there are just as many lesser known but almost as vital inventions to make us proud. Few, for example, might consider the Edinburgh origins of one of the nation's most popular tea break treats, never mind our role in creating the car speedometer, courtesy of Sir George Keith Elphinstone, or the Lothian contribution to one of the planet's most impressive musical instruments, the grand piano.

Indeed, in the world of music, few names carry such prestige as that of John Broadwood. He was born in Oldhamstocks, East Lothian, in 1732, the son of a humble carpenter. Aged 29, he was ready to seek his fortune in London.

He walked most of the 400 miles south, where he found work with notable Swiss-born harpsichord maker Burkat Shudi, yet soon made his own stamp by perfecting his design for the grand piano in 1777.

The world of medicine has much to be grateful for thanks to Scots, from the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming to the Roslin Institute's "eureka" moment when Dolly the Sheep became two.

It's perhaps less exciting these days, but when Edinburgh's James Lind discovered the vaccine against scurvy in the 1750s, his breakthrough saved countless lives. Similarly, George Cleghorn is hardly a household name, yet the farmer's son from Granton is responsible for discovering quinine's use as the principle weapon of attack against the deadly malaria.

Many know that James Young Simpson, the son of a baker from Bathgate, brought relief from pain thanks to anaesthesia, but who was Alexander Wood? We've all encountered his invention - the New Town doctor gave the world the hypodermic syringe in the 1850s.

Some may want to give thanks to William Hog, who introduced the world to the notion of a bank overdraft after persuading RBS to give him 1000 more than he had in his account. However, few schoolchildren will want to offer praise to the former headmaster of the Royal High School in the 1800s, James Pillans, who invented the blackboard.

The world of construction would barely operate these days without James Porteous' clever invention - the East Lothian millwright moved to America and in 1883 created the forerunner to today's earth-moving machines, bulldozers and excavators.

Our local citizens gave the world national parks, through Dunbar's John Muir, possibly one of the world's first environmental conservationists, and the picture postcard when Edinburgh's George Stewart and Co. became the first private stationary firm to print them in 1894.

All of which is thirsty work, so thanks should go to 19th century Leither Lachlan Rose, whose concentrated lime juice is still on sale today.

What better to have with it than a trusty digestive biscuit? McVitie & Price Ltd was established in 1830 on Rose Street and, in 1892, Alexander Grant perfected his recipe for the crumbly delight.

So while we might well be facing turbulent times, economic stormy seas and uncertain futures, it could be worse. We might never have invented whisky.

Invented in Scotland by Allan Burnett is published by Birlinn, priced 12.99