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Article: The genius Scot hailed a hero in Japan but forgotten in his homeland - until now
- Article from:
- The Scotsman
- Article date:
- September 12, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Scotsman. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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GRATEFUL Japanese fans sing Scottish folk songs and lay flowers
at his tomb on the anniversary of his death, yet he is barely known
in his home nation.
William Kinninmond Burton is lauded in Japan for transforming the
country into a leading industrial nation by revolutionising
sanitation and creating its first skyscraper.
And now - 110 years after his death - the engineer is finally to
be recognised in Scotland with a memorial in the garden of his
childhood home, now part of Edinburgh Napier University's campus.
Mr Burton, who was born in Edinburgh in 1856, designed clean
water systems for the Far East nation's cities, as well as helping
to create Japan's tallest building at the time.
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