Events from the year 1856 in Scotland.

Incumbents

Law officers

* Lord Advocate – James Moncreiff * Solicitor General for Scotland – Edward Maitland

Judiciary

* Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Colonsay * Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Glencorse

Events

4 January Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army. 1601–1900 *1649 – Engli ...

– Faculty of Actuaries established. * February – an oak and a

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

tree associated with William Wallace at his reputed birthplace of

Elderslie Elderslie may refer to one of the following locations: * Elderslie, Scotland, a village in Renfrewshire, west central Scotland * Elderslie, New South Wales Elderslie is a suburb of the Macarthur Region of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, ...

are blown down in a storm. *

1 April Events Pre-1600 * 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held. * 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. *1081 – Alexios I Kom ...

– Aberdeen Waterloo railway station opens to serve the Great North of Scotland Railway main line to

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

. * November – James Clerk Maxwell takes up an appointment as Professor of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College, Aberdeen. *

31 December It is known by a collection of names including: Saint Sylvester's Day, New Year's Eve or Old Years Day/Night, as the following day is New Year's Day. It is the last day of the year; the following day is January 1, the first day of the followin ...

– Lord Brougham's Act requires at least one party to a marriage contracted after this date to have been resident in Scotland for 21 days, putting a curb on Gretna Green marriage. * Trinity College, Glasgow, established as a Church College of the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

. *

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

claims city status in the United Kingdom by historical usage; the status is never officially recognised. *

William McEwan William McEwan () (16 July 1827 – 12 May 1913) was a Scottish politician and brewer. He founded the Fountain Brewery in 1856, served as a member of parliament (MP) from 1886 to 1900, and funded the construction of the McEwan Hall at the Univ ...

opens

McEwan's McEwan's is a brand of beer owned by Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company. It was originally brewed by William McEwan's Fountain Brewery in Edinburgh, Scotland. The McEwan's brand passed to Heineken in 2008 after their purchase of Scottish & New ...

Fountain Brewery at Fountainbridge in Edinburgh. * The iron

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

''Thomas'' is built for service on the Forth and Clyde Canal, origin of the Clyde puffer. * The Clyde Model Yacht Club, a predecessor of the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club, is established.

Births

30 May Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres ...

– James Pittendrigh Macgillivray, sculptor and poet (died

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

) *

5 July Events Pre-1600 * 328 – The official opening of Constantine's Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius. * 1316 – The Burgundian and ...

–

Ion Keith-Falconer Ion Grant Neville Keith-Falconer (5 July 1856 – 11 May 1887) was a Scottish missionary and Arabic scholar, the third son of the 8th Earl of Kintore. Keith-Falconer was born in Edinburgh. After attending Harrow School and studying at the Unive ...

, road racing cyclist, Arabic scholar and missionary (died 1887 in Aden) *

15 August Events Pre-1600 * 636 – Arab–Byzantine wars: The Battle of Yarmouk between the Byzantine Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate begins. * 717 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik begins the Second Arab Siege of Const ...

– Keir Hardie, socialist and labour leader (died

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

) *

13 September Events Pre-1600 *585 BC – Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victories over the Sabines, and the surrender of Collatia. *509 BC – The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Rome's Capitoline Hill ...

–

Henry Halcro Johnston Colonel Henry Halcro Johnston CB CBE DL FRSE FLS (13 September 1856 – 18 October 1939) was a Scottish botanist, physician, rugby union international and Deputy Lieutenant for Orkney. As a member of Edinburgh University RFC he represent ...

, botanist, army physician and rugby union international (died

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

) *

27 November Events Pre-1600 *AD 25 – Luoyang is History of the Han dynasty#Reconsolidation under Guangwu, declared capital of the Eastern Han dynasty by Emperor Guangwu of Han. * 176 – Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son Commodus the rank o ...

–

Matthew Stirling Matthew Williams Stirling (August 28, 1896 – January 23, 1975) was an American ethnologist, archaeologist and later an administrator at several scientific institutions in the field. He is best known for his discoveries relating to the Olmec ...

, locomotive engineer (died 1931 in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

) *

1 December Events Pre-1600 * 800 – A council is convened in the Vatican, at which Charlemagne is to judge the accusations against Pope Leo III. *1420 – Henry V of England enters Paris alongside his father-in-law King Charles VI of France. * ...

– Malcolm Smith, Liberal politician (died

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

) *

William W. Naismith William Wilson Naismith (1856 – 27 September 1935) was a Scottish accountant and Mountaineering, mountaineer. He was a key founder of the Scottish Mountaineering Club and created the eponymous Naismith's rule, used to determine to the time neces ...

, mountaineer (died

) * William Robertson, industrialist (died

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

)

Deaths

* August –

James Bremner James Bremner (25 September 1784 – August 1856), a notable Scottish naval architect, harbour builder and ship-raiser. Life and work James, the youngest of the nine children of Janet and James Bremner, was born in Stain, near Keiss, in the p ...

, shipbuilder and salvor (born

1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Brit ...

) *

30 August Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Titus ends the siege of Jerusalem after destroying Herod's Temple. *1282 – Peter III of Aragon lands at Trapani to intervene in the War of the Sicilian Vespers. *1363 – The five-week Battle of Lake Po ...

– John Ross, naval officer and Arctic explorer (born

1777 Events January–March * January 2 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of the Assunpink Creek: American general George Washington's army repulses a British attack by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, in a second ...

) *

20 September Events Pre-1600 * 1058 – Agnes of Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to negotiate about the border territory of Burgenland. *1066 – At the Battle of Fulford, Harald Hardrada defeats earls Morcar and Edwin. * 1187 – Saladin ...

–

Samuel Morison Brown Samuel Morison Brown (February 23 1817 – 20 September 1856), Scottish chemist, poet and essayist. Life Brown was born at Haddington, East Lothian, the fourth son of Samuel Brown, the founder of itinerating libraries, and grandson of John B ...

, chemist, poet and essayist (born

1817 Events January–March * January 1 – Sailing through the Sandwich Islands, Otto von Kotzebue discovers New Year Island. * January 19 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, starts crossing the ...

) * 23/24 December – Hugh Miller, geologist, by suicide (born

1802 Events January–March * January 5 – Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, begins removal of the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens, claiming they were at risk of destruction during the Ot ...

) *

25 February Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. * 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. ...

– George Don, botanist (born

1798 Events January–June * January – Eli Whitney contracts with the U.S. federal government for 10,000 muskets, which he produces with interchangeable parts. * January 4 – Constantine Hangerli enters Bucharest, as Prince of Wa ...

)

The arts

McLellan Galleries The McLellan Galleries are a major exhibition space in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, situated behind a frontage of shops and offices in Sauchiehall Street. History As part of the city's expansion on Blythswood Hill spearheaded by William ...

opened in Glasgow.

References

{{Years in Scotland Years of the 19th century in Scotland Scotland 1850s in Scotland