PHOTO RAMBLINGS: FAMOUS MEN & WOMEN COMMEMORATED IN STONE

Statues, monuments and plaques are a natural focus for my camera. So take a look here at men and women commemorated for posterity in stone.

This statue of the DUKE OF WELLINGTON, victor against Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, shows him on his favourite horse Copenhagen. The statue was erected in 1852, outside the building that houses the National Records of Scotland, a "must visit" destination if you are researching Scottish family history.

WILLIAM WALLACE was the Scottish Patriot during the Wars of Independence when he defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge and became Guardian of Scotland until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. He was captured In 1305, handed over to Edward I of England who had him summarily hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason.

Wallace's statue near Dryburgh Abbey in the Scottish Borders looks across to the distant Eildon Hills. Commissioned by the Earl of Buchan, it was the first monument to be raised to Wallace in Scotland. In red sandstone and 21.5 feet high, it was placed on its pedestal in 1814.

This statue of ABRAHAM LINCOLN is thought to be the only monument to the American Civil War outside the USA. It was erected in the Old Carlton Burial Ground. Edinburgh in 1898 in memory of the Scottish soldiers who fought in the American Civil War on the side of the Union. It features a freed slave and one of Lincoln’s famous quotations "To preserve the jewel of liberty in the framework of freedom". A bronze shield bears the old US flag, and is wreathed in thistles to the left, and cotton to the right to signify the two countries.

Calton Cemetery just off Princes Street, was opened in 1718 as a non-denominational burial ground and is the resting place of prominent merchants and other notable worthies of the city.

U.S. PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT maternal ancestors are remembered in this plaque at the Murray Aisle in the Old Kirkyard, Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. Roosevelt's mother was a Murray with Border connections.

The plaque also pays tribute to Scottish patriot William Wallace.

SIR WALTER SCOTT (1771-1832) was born in Edinburgh, but grew up in the Scottish Borders and later made his home at Abbotsford on the banks of the River Tweed, near Melrose. He was internationally renowned as a historical novelist, poet, playwright and historian. The Scott Monument (below) is a prominent feature in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh and believed to be the second largest monument to a writer in the world.

WILLIAM CHAMBERS (1800-1883) was born in Peebles in the Scottish Borders and moved to Edinburgh in 1814 to work in the book-selling trade. He soon branched out into publishing, founding in 1832 with his brother Robert the firm of W. & R. Chambers. He was a keen advocate of popular education, and the firm became known in particular for its dictionaries.

The business prospered, and William was made Lord Provost of the capital city. He was responsible for many city developments including the restoration of St. Giles Cathedral. His statue is in in street that bears his name, by Edinburgh University and The National Museum of Scotland. He also gifted to his native town of Peebles the Chambers Museum and Library.

CATHERINE SPENCE was born in Melrose in the Scottish Borders, the fifth child of a family of eight - daughter of lawyer David Spence, who, faced with bankruptcy and financial ruin, emigrated with his family to Australia in 1839. David Spence became Adelaide's first town clerk.

Catherine was the first woman in Australia to stand as a political candidate, the first woman journalist and novelist, a battler for women's suffrage and social reform, and a lifelong campaigner for proportional representation. She played a a key role in settingp a children's court system. wrote the first legal studies textbook to be published in in Australia and helped to transform South Australia into a respected, progressive colony. She is commemorated in Adelaide by the Spence Archive of her papers and writings and by a statue. The 5$ baknote celebrating the centenary of the federation of Australia features her image.

Another women pioneer in her field MARIA SKLODOWSKA CURIE (1867-1934)

Marie was born in Warsaw, and left to study in Paris. She became a co-founder of a new branch of science - radioactivity - with her husband Pierre Curie. She discovered two new elements - radium and polonium (named after her home country). In 1903 she became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Physics and in 1911 for chemistry. This plaque is outside her home in Warsaw which now features a museum on her life and achievements.

To end on a lighter note, remembering two of the world's most popular composers - first waltz king JOHANN STRAUSS (1825-1899) who spent his summers in the spa town of Bad Ischl in Austria.