It was washed up on the rocks below the cliffs of Rothiesholm in 1808 and if it was a basking shark then it was fifteen feet longer than anything that has ever been recorded. Archive documents found in Edinburgh suggest that the story may have had an impact much further away, with information reaching Lord Byron in Geneva in the gloom of 1816, ‘The Year Without a Summer. Dr Howie Firth describes the work of Dr Yvonne Simpson in opening up clues to the mystery and the implications of the new developments for literature as well as science.

This event will also be livestreamed.

A new website is under development to feature Dr Simpson’s work.