The first patents for a fax machine were by Alexander Bain, an Edinburgh Clockmaker, in 1843. Bain also invented electric clocks, synchronised clocks and various improvements to the electric telegraph.
https://twitter.com/jlindy77/status/1458666613239128066
Bain was the son of a Caithness crofter. He learned clockmaking as a trade but was largely self educated. Sir Charles Wheatstone tried to steal his ideas, but Bain persisted and won in the House of Lords
The Bainfield student housing in Fountainbridge is *not* named after him, but the Wetherspoons in Wick is.
The National Museum of Scotland has an early Bain electric telegraph, possibly from the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway who installed such a system in 1845. The needle points to the letter in the message being received (picture © NMS nms.ac.uk/explore-our-co…) 
The Hunterian collection of the University of Glasgow has a very early Bain electric clock. It had a pendulum powered by an "earth battery" and could act as a master clock, regulating the time of others connected to it (pic © Hunterian gla.ac.uk/hunterian/coll…)
There's a great video here describing the clock and how it works.
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