Book Description

Here is the first-ever celebration of all things—and all people—of Scottish descent. While relatively few in number, the Scots have certainly made their mark on the world: · More the seventy-five percent of all American presidents have had Scottish ancestors, although fewer than five percent of the American population is of Scottish descent. · Almost eleven percent of all the Nobel Prizes ever awarded have involved Scots and their descendants—even though fewer than one half percent of the people of the world can claim Scottish ancestry · At least five of the twelve astronauts who have walked on the moon were descended from Scots. Today there are almost 28 million people of Scottish ancestry in the world, over 12 million of whom reside in the United States, about 4 million in Canada, and about 5 million in Scotland. Scottish accomplishments throughout history in every field of endeavor—from science to the arts to politics and exploration—rival those of even the largest ethnic groups: · Scots have been significant in most of the major inventions of the past three centuries, including the steam engine, the telegraph, the telephone, radio, television, the computer, transistor, and the motion picture · People as diverse as Sir Isaac Newton, Charles de Gaulle, Katharine Hepburn, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Taylor, Immanuel Kant, Sir Laurence Olivier, Elvis Presley, Edvard Grieg, John D. Rockefeller, and Ty Cobb could claim Scottish ancestry · Warsaw, Madrid, La Paz, and Stockholm have all had mayors of Scottish Descent. The Mark of the Scots contains thousands of facts and is fully annotated. It is a comprehensive and readable book that deserves a place on the shelve of every genealogist, Scottish-American, and history buff.