On 11th July…

138 - Antoninus Pius became Emperor of Rome after Hadrian died. Antoninus ordered the construction of the Antonine Wall which is further north in Scotland than the wall Emperor Hadrian had ordered to be built. The Antonine Wall stretched between the rivers Clyde and Forth. It was a 36-mile long barrier attempting to keep the Northern tribes including the Picts from invading the Roman ruled lands. Unlike Hadrian’s Wall it was not built of stone but was constructed out of layers of turf reaching up to 3 metres in height and had a huge ditch along the northern edge. The ditch was 5 metres deep in places and the earth that was dug out of the ditch was thrown into a pile which created a second, outer mound. The wall was guarded by 6,000 - 7,000 soldiers who were stationed in 17 main forts and additional smaller ‘fortlets’ along the 36-mile barrier.

1274 - Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland was born. He defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn and re-established an independent Scottish monarchy. He is also known as King Robert I of Scotland.

On 12th July…

 On 13th July…

On 14th July…

On 15th July…

On 16th July…

1969 - Apollo 11 was launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida, USA on its journey carrying the first men to the moon. Those astronauts were Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

On 17th July…

924 - Saxon king Edward the Elder of Wessex, England died. He was a son of Alfred the Great and by the time of his death he ruled the vast majority of England including lands held by the Vikings.

1918 - The Romanov royal family of Russia were executed by a Bolshevik firing squad. Tsar Nicolas II, his wife, their five children and some of their loyal servants were shot dead whilst under house arrest during the Russian Revolution.