If a Montgomery Scott really is born in the 23rd century, a town claimed to be the birthplace of one of "Star Trek's" most famous characters already expects to have plenty to honor him.
Linlithgow, a town in Scotland's West Lothian region, has laid claim as being the birthplace, albeit the fictional one, of Capt. Montgomery Scott, the character played by the late James Doohan affectionately known as Scotty. With that claim, the town expects to set up a memorial and even a museum focused on the Enterprise engineer they hope will become a tourist attraction, according to the Daily Record Linlithgow won the battle of where Scotty was born that started soon after Doohan's death in 2005. Two other Scotland communities, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, also claimed to be where Scotty was born. However, D.C. Fontana, a writer for the original series, told Linlithgow's government that they were the fictional birthplace, and could make the claim.
The memorial will begin with an exhibition being designed to honor Scotty at the Annet House Museum in Linlithgow that will include the character's Starfleet uniform as well as other items donatedby Doohan's family, along with a six-foot model of the USS Enterprise.
Publicizing such a fictional event is expected to be a tourist boom to the community, officials said, similar to what Riverside, Iowa, did to declare itself the birthplace of Capt. James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner. What's interesting is that Shatner, like Doohan, was born in Canada.
Doohan, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease before his death, appeared in the original "Star Trek" series as well as seven movies and an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
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Michael Hinman is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha and the entire BlipNetwork. He owns Quantum Global Media Inc., the parent corporation of the BlipNetwork. He's a print journalist by day, and lives in Tampa, Fla.
