Events from the year 1916 in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Incumbents

* Secretary for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal –

Thomas McKinnon Wood Thomas McKinnon Wood PC (26 January 1855 – 26 March 1927) was a British Liberal politician. Regarded as a liberal with "sound Progressive credentials," he served as a member of H. H. Asquith's cabinet as Secretary for Scotland between 1912 a ...

until 9 July; Harold Tennant until 5 December; then Robert Munro

Law officers

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

– Robert Munro; then James Avon Clyde *

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 ...

–

Thomas Brash Morison Thomas Brash Morison (21 November 1868 – 28 July 1945) was a Scottish politician and judge. In March 1922 he was created a Senator of the College of Justice with the title of Lord Morison. Life Morison was born in Edinburgh. He studied law ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

– Lord Strathclyde *

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 Dickson *

Chairman of the Scottish Land Court The Scottish Land Court is a Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies, and matters related to crofts and crofters. The Scott ...

–

Lord Kennedy 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 ...

Events

6 January Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eve ...

– sinks off Cape Wrath, having struck a mine laid by ; all but one of the crew survive. *

15 February Events Pre-1600 * 438 – Roman emperor Theodosius II publishes the law codex Codex Theodosianus * 590 – Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia. * 706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios ...

– 27-year-old Edinburgh-born

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

John Docherty is shot at dawn at

Mazingarbe Mazingarbe (; pcd, Mazingarpe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. History The village was known as Masengarba in 1046, Masengarbe in 1232 and Mazengarbe in 1558. Mazingarbe's first inhabitan ...

abattoir on the

Western Front (World War I) The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of impor ...

for

desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ar ...

, the first Kitchener's Army volunteer executed. * 2– 3 April –

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

s bomb

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

and Edinburgh, killing 13. * 30 May – World War I: Ships of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the ...

put out from

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...

to engage with the

High Seas Fleet The High Seas Fleet (''Hochseeflotte'') was the battle fleet of the German Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet (''Heimatflotte'') was renamed as the High Seas ...

; the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

is joined next day. *

5 June Events Pre-1600 *1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights. * 1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles of Salerno. *1288 ...

– HMS ''Hampshire'' sinks off

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, probably having struck a German mine, with the loss of 650 lives – including Lord Kitchener and his staff – and only 13 survivors. * 25 July – North of Scotland Special Military Area declared, restricting access by non-residents to everywhere north of the

Great Glen The Great Glen ( gd, An Gleann Mòr ), also known as Glen Albyn (from the Gaelic "Glen of Scotland" ) or Glen More (from the Gaelic ), is a glen in Scotland running for from Inverness on the edge of Moray Firth, in an approximately straight ...

. * c. 23 August–

25 October Events Pre-1600 * 285 (or 286) – Execution of Saints Crispin and Crispinian during the reign of Diocletian, now the patron saints of leather workers, curriers, and shoemakers. * 473 – Emperor Leo I acclaims his grandson Leo II ...

–

Dyce Work Camp Dyce Work Camp was set up in August 1916 at quarries north-west of Aberdeen, Scotland, to accommodate conscientious objectors who had been in prison for refusing military service in World War I. These men, mostly from England, had been released ...

for

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

s working in the granite quarries operates. *

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 ...

–

Douglas Haig Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionar ...

is promoted to

Field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. * The

white-tailed sea eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diurnal raptor ...

last breeds in the UK, on

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

(prior to reintroduction).

Births

* 11 May – Edward Boyd, screenwriter (died 1989) *

20 May Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. * 491 – Empress Ariadne (empress), Ariadne marries Anastasius I Dicorus, Anastasius I. The widow ...

– John McIntyre, theologian and

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

minister (died

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

) * 16 June –

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...

, actor (died 1996) * 10 July –

Harry Gourlay Harry Philip Heggie Gourlay (10 July 1916 – 20 April 1987) was a Scottish Labour Party politician. Gourlay was educated at Kirkcaldy High School and was a vehicles examiner. He served as a councillor on Kirkcaldy Town Council and Fife Count ...

, Labour MP from 1959 (died

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

) *

11 August Events Pre-1600 * 3114 BC – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya, begins. * 2492 BC – Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and found ...

– Benny Lee, comedy actor and singer (died

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

) * 18 October – Anthony Dawson, actor (died

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

) * 22 October – Peter Brodie, Church of Scotland minister, Moderator of the General Assembly (died 1996) * 28 October – Jessie Kesson, born Jessie Grant McDonald, writer and radio producer (died

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

) *

21 November Events Pre-1600 *164 BCE – Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, rededicates the Temple in Jerusalem, an event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah. (25 Kislev 3597 in the Hebrew calendar.) * 23 ...

–

David Syme Russell David Syme Russell (21 November 1916 – 8 November 2010) was a British theologian and author, former Principal of Rawdon College, Leeds, and General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. Early life and career David Syme Russell wa ...

, theologian and author (died 2010 in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

) *

7 November Events Pre-1600 * 335 – Athanasius is banished to Trier, on the charge that he prevented a grain fleet from sailing to Constantinople. * 680 – The Sixth Ecumenical Council commences in Constantinople. * 921 – Treaty of ...

– Ian Niall, born John McNeillie, author (died 2002 in England) * 18 December – Douglas Fraser, union leader (died 2008 in the United States) *

Angus McPhee Angus McPhee or MacPhee (1916–1997) was a Scottish Outsider Artist, who lived as a young man in the community of Eochar (Sc.Gaelic: Iochdar) on the island of South Uist, part of the Outer Hebrides. He made his art by weaving found vegetation ...

outsider art Outsider art is art made by self-taught or supposedly naïve artists with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrates e ...

ist (died

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

)

Deaths

* 21 January – David Finlay, soldier, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

; killed in action in Mesopotamia (born

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

) *

6 March Events Pre-1600 *12 BCE – The Roman emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the emperor. * 632 – The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. * 845 &n ...

– Sir

James Key Caird Sir James Key Caird, 1st Baronet (7 January 1837 – 9 March 1916) was a Scottish jute baron and mathematician. He was one of Dundee's most successful entrepreneurs, who used the latest technology in his Ashton and Craigie Mills. Caird was noted ...

, jute manufacturer and benefactor (born

1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February – Charles Dickens's ...

) *

6 April Events Pre–1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus. * 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia. * 1 ...

– Andrew Ross, Scotland rugby union international and merchant seaman; killed in action in France (born c. 1880) * 3 May – William Hardie, classical scholar, Professor of Humanity at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

from 1895 (born

1862 Events January–March * January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria. * January 6 – French intervention in Mexico: French, Spanish and British forces arrive in Veracruz, Mexico. * January ...

) *

27 May Events Pre-1600 *1096 – Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens. At least 600 Jews are killed. *1120 – Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death. *1153 – ...

–

William Leiper William Leiper FRIBA RSA (1839–1916) was a Scottish architect known particularly for his domestic architecture in and around the town of Helensburgh.1839) *

1 July Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...

– James Youll Turnbull, soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross; killed in action in France (born

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

) * 23 July –

William Ramsay Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous element ...

, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 (born

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

) * 3 October – James Burgess, archaeologist active in India (born 1832) * 26 November – Alexander Robertson MacEwen, writer, minister, professor and Moderator of the

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...

(born 1851)

The arts

*July–October – during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

on the

, Cameron Highlander

Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna (Red Donald of Coruna; 9 July 1887 – 13 August 1967), legally Donald MacDonald or Dòmhnall MacDhòmhnaill, was a Scottish Gaelic Bard, North Uist stonemason, and veteran of the First World War. Literary historian Rona ...

composes the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

love song A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order ...

'' An Eala Bhàn'' ("The White Swan") in the

oral literature Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used vary ...

tradition. *c. November – the

Incorporation of Architects in Scotland The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) is the professional body for architects in Scotland. History Previously the (lapsed) Architectural Institute of Scotland, it was re-founded in 1916 as the Incorporation of Architects in ...

is founded in Edinburgh. * Joseph Lee's ''Ballads of Battle'' is published.

References

{{Year in Europe, 1916

Years of the 20th century in Scotland 1910s in Scotland