Events from the year 1697 in the Kingdom of Scotland.

Incumbents

* Monarch – William II * Secretary of State – John Murray, Earl of Tullibardine, jointly with

James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Findlater James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Findlater and 1st Earl of Seafield, (11 July 166419 August 1730) was a Scottish politician. Life Findlater was the 2nd son of James Ogilvy, 3rd Earl of Findlater and Lady Anne Montgomerie, a daughter of Hugh Montgome ...

Law officers

* Lord Advocate – Sir James Stewart * Solicitor General for Scotland – Sir Patrick Hume

Judiciary

* Lord President of the Court of Session – ''vacant??'' * Lord Justice General – Lord Lothian * Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Ormiston

Events

8 January Events Pre-1600 * 307 – Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying. * 871 – Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an inv ...

– student

Thomas Aikenhead Thomas Aikenhead ( bapt. 28 March 1676 – 8 January 1697) was a Scottish student from Edinburgh, who was prosecuted and executed at the age of 20 on a charge of blasphemy under the Act against Blasphemy 1661 and Act against Blasphemy 1695. ...

becomes the last person in Great Britain to be executed for

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

when he is hanged outside Edinburgh. *

10 June Events Pre-1600 * 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock (water clock, clepsydra) called ''Rokoku''. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu, Shiga, Ōtsu. *1190 – Th ...

– the last mass execution for witchcraft in western Europe when five

Paisley witches The Paisley witches, also known as the Bargarran witches or the Renfrewshire witches, were tried in Paisley, Renfrewshire, central Scotland, in 1697. Eleven-year-old Christian Shaw, daughter of the Laird of Bargarran, complained of being torment ...

are hanged and then burned. * Famine in the Borders leads to continued

Scottish Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

migration from Scotland to Ulster. * Icelandic-Norwegian historian and professor Th. Torfæus (Þormóður Torfason), publishes his work on the

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 ...

Islands, ''Orknøerne''.

Births

23 January Events Pre-1600 * 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. * 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. *1264 &ndas ...

–

James Fisher James Fisher may refer to: Politics *James Fisher (physician) (died 1822), Scottish-born physician and politician in Lower Canada *James Hurtle Fisher (1790–1875), South Australian lawyer, first mayor of Adelaide *James Fisher (Wisconsin politic ...

, a founder of the

Secession church The First Secession was an exodus of ministers and members from the Church of Scotland in 1733. Those who took part formed the Associate Presbytery and later the United Secession Church. They were often referred to as seceders. The underlying ...

(died

1775 Events Summary The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement being the April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's now-legendary ride. The Second Continental Congress t ...

) *

5 February Events Pre-1600 * 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy. * 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion. * 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians ar ...

– William Smellie, obstetrician (died

1763 Events January–March * January 27 – The seat of colonial administration in the Viceroyalty of Brazil is moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. * February 1 – The Royal Colony of North Carolina officially creates Meck ...

) *

19 September Events Pre-1600 * 85 – Nerva, suspected of complicity of the death of Domitian, is declared emperor by Senate. The Senate then annuls laws passed by Domitian and orders his statues to be destroyed. * 634 – Siege of Damascus: Th ...

– Alexander Monro, physician and founder of

Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. It was esta ...

(died

1767 Events January–March * January 1 – The first annual volume of ''The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris'', produced by British Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, gives navigators the ...

) *

23 September Events Pre-1600 *AD 38, 38 – Julia Drusilla, Drusilla, Caligula's sister who died in June, with whom the emperor is said to have an incestuous relationship, is deified. *1122 – Pope Callixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, Hol ...

–

Andrew Plummer Andrew Plummer FRCP (1697–1756) was a Scottish physician and chemist. He was professor of chemistry at the University of Edinburgh from 1726 to 1755. He developed ideas on the attractive and repulsive forces involved in chemical affinity, wh ...

, physician and chemist (died

1756 Events January–March * January 16 – The Treaty of Westminster is signed between Great Britain and Prussia, guaranteeing the neutrality of the Kingdom of Hanover, controlled by King George II of Great Britain. *February 7 & ...

) *

2 November Events Pre-1600 * 619 – A qaghan of the Western Turkic Khaganate is assassinated in a Chinese palace by Eastern Turkic rivals after the approval of Tang emperor Gaozu. *1410 – The Peace of Bicêtre suspends hostilities in the A ...

– James Douglas, 3rd Marquess of Queensberry, nobleman, described as 'violently insane'; slaughters, roasts and eats a

scullion Scullion may refer to: * The Irish surname derived from 'Ó Scolláin' meaning 'descendant of the/a scholar' * a servant from the lower classes. Music * Scullion (group), an Irish folk rock band * ''Scullion'' (album) People with the surname ...

when just ten years old (died

1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

) * ''date unknown'' – Charles Hamilton, Lord Binning, nobleman, politician and poet (died

1732 Events January–March * January 21 – Russia and Persia sign the Treaty of Riascha at Resht. Based on the terms of the agreement, Russia will no longer establish claims over Persian territories. * February 9 – The Swedish ...

)

Deaths

–

, student and last person in Great Britain executed for

(born

1676 Events January–March * January 29 – Feodor III of Russia, Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia. * January 31 – Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, is fo ...

) *

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 ...

– John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (1692–96) (born

1625 Events January–March * January 17 – Led by the Duke of Soubise, the Huguenots launch a second rebellion against King Louis XIII, with a surprise naval assault on a French fleet being prepared in Blavet. * February 3 – ...

) * ''date unknown'' – Alexander Gordon, Royalist and pioneer in British North America (born

1635 Events January–March * January 23 – 1635 Capture of Tortuga: The Spanish Navy captures the Caribbean island of Tortuga off of the coast of Haiti after a three-day battle against the English and French Navy. * January 25 ...

)

The arts

* ''A Collection of several Poems and Verses composed upon various occasions'' by William Cleland is published posthumously.

References

{{Year in Europe, 1697 Years of the 17th century in Scotland 1690s in Scotland