Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Kidd in the news

Friend and colleague Noel Young, a Boston-based journalist who reports on doings in the US for various Scottish newspapers, has co-authored a fascinating article which was published in the August 1 Daily Mail about Kidd's birth in Dundee and modern efforts to re-evaluate the "notorious pirate's" place in history.

The article reveals new information about Kidd's birth, taken from a baptismal certificate never before examined, which was unearthed through Young's diligent research. The story quotes both Dan Hamilton and Chris Macort and is part of renewed interest in Scotland about its famous "son."

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Kidd makes modern headlines

Chris and Dan are quoted extensively in a June 7 article published in the Sunday Post of Scotland.

The story is headlined: "Capt. Kidd could be cleared after 300 years" and it tells how the Fraternity of Masters and Seamen is pursuing an appeal of the trial in 1701 which scapegoated Kidd and convicted him of murder and piracy.

The Dundee-based organization - Dundee is Kidd's birthplace - wants to put the case in front of a Criminal Case Review Commission, which could send the case to the Court of Appeal in London.

The BBC is also reporting on the story, noting that Scottish Member of Parliament Bill Kidd (no relation, he says) is urging legislators to support the idea of exonerating Capt. Kidd.

We are also on the verge of opening up discussions with a new and well-placed agent, so stay tuned.