Events from the year 1780 in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Incumbents

Law officers

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...

–

Henry Dundas Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British Prime Minister William Pitt and the most powerful politician in Scotland in the late 18t ...

; *

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

– Alexander Murray

Judiciary

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

– Lord Arniston, the younger *

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

– The Viscount Stormont *

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord ...

– Lord Barskimming

Events

* 31 May – James Watt

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

s a copying machine. * 18 December – the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

is formed. *

Dalmally Dalmally (Scottish Gaelic: ''Clachan an Dìseirt'' or ''Dail Mhàilidh'') is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is near the A85 road and is served by Dalmally railway station. Former Labour Party leader John Smith was born in Dalmally ...

Bridge built. * Böd of Gremista built in Lerwick. * Approximate date ** James Small produces a two-horse swing plough using

Carron Company The Carron Company was an ironworks established in 1759 on the banks of the River Carron near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, Scotland. After initial problems, the company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. T ...

iron. ** Kilcalmonell Parish Church at

Clachan, Kintyre Clachan is a small village in North Kintyre, Argyll & Bute, Scotland. Clachan is the site of an old church, which was the principal church for the North Kintyre area. The church is surrounded by carved stone statues of the Chiefs of the Clan Ala ...

, is rebuilt.

Births

* 26 February – Alexander Allan, shipowner (died

1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The ...

) * 17 March –

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...

, Free Church leader (died

1847 Events January–March * January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government. * January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California. * January 16 – John C. Frémont ...

) * 3 April –

Walter Newall Walter Newall (3 April 1780 – 25 December 1863) was a Scottish architect and civil engineer, born at Doubledyke in the parish of New Abbey in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was the leading architect in the Dumfries a ...

, architect and civil engineer (died

1863 Events January–March * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaim ...

) * 10 October – John Abercrombie, physician and philosopher (died 1844) * 16 November –

Robert Archibald Smith Robert Archibald Smith (1780–1829) was a Scottish musical Ronantic composer, known for his collection ''Scotish Minstrel'', which began to appear in 1821. Life He was born on 16 November 1780.Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland ...

, composer (died

1829 Events January–March * January 19 – August Klingemann's adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' premieres in Braunschweig. * February 27 – Battle of Tarqui: Troops of Gran Colombia and Peru battle to a draw. * Marc ...

) * 5 December –

Patrick Sellar Patrick Sellar (1780–1851) was a Scottish lawyer, factor and sheep farmer. In 1811, he was employed as factor by the Sutherland Estate in a joint (but subordinate) position with William Young. The estate had started some clearances, integral t ...

, lawyer,

factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

and sheep farmer instrumental in the Highland Clearances (died 1851) * 26 December – Mary Somerville, née Fairfax, mathematician (died 1872 in Naples) *

David Buchan David Buchan (1780 – after 8 December 1838) was a Scottish naval officer and Arctic explorer. Family In 1802 or 1803, he married Maria Adye. They had at least three children. Exploration In 1806, Buchan was appointed as a lieutenant in ...

, naval officer and Arctic explorer (lost at sea 1838) * Colquhoun Grant, British Army officer (died 1829 in Aachen) * William Laird, shipbuilder (died 1841 in Birkenhead) * Robert Pinkerton, Bible missionary (died 1859 in Reigate) * Andrew Wilson, landscape painter (died

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

)

Deaths

* 7 October –

Patrick Ferguson Patrick Ferguson (1744 – 7 October 1780) was a Scottish officer in the British Army, an early advocate of light infantry and the designer of the Ferguson rifle. He is best known for his service in the 1780 military campaign of Charles C ...

, British Army officer and designer of the

Ferguson rifle The Ferguson rifle was one of the first breech-loading rifles to be put into service by the British military. It fired a standard British carbine ball of .615" calibre and was used by the British Army in the American Revolutionary War at the Battle ...

(born

1744 Events January–March * January 6 – The Royal Navy ship ''Bacchus'' engages the Spanish Navy privateer ''Begona'', and sinks it; 90 of the 120 Spanish sailors die, but 30 of the crew are rescued. * January 24 – The Dag ...

; killed in

Battle of Kings Mountain The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took pla ...

) * 26 November – Sir James Steuart Denham, economist (born

1712 In the Swedish calendar it began as a leap year starting on Monday and remained so until Thursday, February 29. By adding a second leap day (Friday, February 30) Sweden reverted to the Julian calendar and the rest of the year (from Saturda ...

)

Sport

* Royal Aberdeen Golf Club founded as the 'Society of Golfers at

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

References

{{Years in Scotland , state=collapsed Years of the 18th century in Scotland

1780s in Scotland