The Statesboro Regional Library will celebrate National Tartan Day on Tuesday with special displays of materials related to the contributions of Scottish Americans.

    In 2005, the United States House of Representatives set aside April 6 as a day to recognize the contributions that were made by Scottish-Americans to the development of the United States.  April 6 was chosen because it also commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, which asserted Scotland’s sovereignty over English territorial claims, and which was an influence on the American Declaration of Independence.

    From the founding fathers to the first man on the moon, Scottish-Americans have contributed greatly to the fields of the arts, science, politics, law, and more.  Georgia’s first governor, Archibald Bulloch, the namesake of Bulloch County, was of Scottish descent.

    Other famous Scottish-Americans include Neil Armstrong, John Paul Jones, Andrew Carnegie, Alexander Graham Bell, John Muir, and many of our presidents including Andrew Jackson, James Polk and William McKinley.