On this day in 1736 the poet and playwright Allan Ramsay opened Scotland's first public theatre in Carrubber's Close, Edinburgh.

Unfortunately the strict Presbyterian Kirk's disapproval was swiftly felt as magistrates declared Ramsay's theatre illegal soon after it opened, forcing its closure. The theatre was not reopened until 1767 when David Ross, a London actor, managed to fulfil Ramsay's dream. As well as theatre, Ramsay had a passion for books, and indeed was responsible for providing Edinburgh residents with the world's first lending library from his bookshop on the Royal Mile.

Today in 1866 Ramsay MacDonald, Britain's first Labour Prime Minister, died. He passed away while on holiday aboard the ocean liner Reina del Pacifico. McDonald was from very humble beginnings and had no secondary education, but was a rousing speaker. In January 1924 he formed Labour's first administration in coalition with the Liberals. His appointment of Red Clydesider and fellow Scot John Wheatley as Health Minister raised hopes of social change.

Wheatley's 1924 Housing Act attempted to introduce a programme of slum clearance and subsidised housing, but it died with the Conservative victory in the October General Election. Fear of Bolshevism played a large part in the downfall of MacDonald's first government. MacDonald returned to power in 1929, but when he sided with Conservatives in 1931 over planned spending cuts he lost the support of his party.

Today's recipe: cool in more ways than one, baked Alaska is a retro classic.