James I reigned as king of Scotland from 1424 until 1437. He was born on the 25th of July, 1394, the son of Robert III. He had an eventful childhood. In 1402 his elder brother, Charles was starved to death in prison at Falkland in Fife and so, upon the death of his father in 1406 James was sent to France for safety, while his uncle remained as Regent. Unfortunately, he never made it to France. On the way he was captured by English pirates and handed over to Henry IV of England who imprisoned him and demanded a ransom. His uncle was in no hurry to pay for his release, so for the next 18 years, he languished imprisoned in the Tower of London.
After the death of his uncle, the ransom of £40,000 was finally paid and in 1424, James returned to Scotland to find a country in chaos. He immediately took strong actions to regain authority and control. Naturally his actions, though effective, upset many people and in January, 1437, he was assassinated while staying in Perth for Christmas.