One rainy Sunday, we wondered aimlessly around Edinburgh and found ourselves taking shelter from an exceptionally heavy downpour under an outdoor archway at the University of Edinburgh.

As our eyes adjusted to the gloom, we began to notice that the entire interior of this 15 by 20 foot archway was lined in commerative plaques. I began snapping pictures. This one is about the establishment of the Polish School of Medicine in Edinburgh to preserve the work of all the Polish Professors who died in concentrations camps.

A plaque to honor Dr. James Lind, the Edinburgh doctor who first made the connection between Vitamin C deficiency and scurvy. Interestingly, the plaque was donated by the Sunkist company. I guess they figured they owed their existance to him.

Women will especially appreciate this plaque. It honors Sir James Young Simpson, the doctor who pioneered the use of anaesthetics in childbirth.

And, of course, I don’t need to explain this plaque. Except to say, I guess I never realized that he was affiliated with the University of Edinburgh.

This was one of my favorites. It details some names that are familiar to Americans. And I learned that the founders of the first medical school in North America were Scots.

This one wasn’t a surprise. And needs no introduction, does it?

And finally, a plaque dedicated to a good brewery guy….who paid for the construction of one of the university’s major buildings. I guess you could say he bought himself some immortality.

Thanks to the typical Edinburgh weather, we were treated to something we would have never known about, or considered seeking out.