Events from the year 1881 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 ...

– John McLaren until August; then John Blair Balfour *

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 ...

– John Blair Balfour; then

Alexander Asher Alexander Asher (27 January 1834 – 5 August 1905) was a Scottish politician and lawyer, who was elected as Member of Parliament for the Elgin Burghs constituency from 1881 until his death in 1905. He was also Solicitor General for Scotland o ...

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 Glencorse *

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 Moncreiff

Events

1 March Events Pre-1600 *509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocletian ...

– the Cunard Line's , the first steel

transatlantic liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

, is launched at J. & G. Thomson's shipyard at Clydebank. *

12 March Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. *1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Cath ...

– Andrew Watson of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

's Queen's Park F.C. (from a mixed Scottish/ British Guianese background) captains the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...

in a 6–1 victory against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, becoming the world's first black international Association football player. *

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 ...

– formation, under the Childers Reforms of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles),

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gord ...

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fus ...

and Seaforth Highlanders. * 20/21 July – 58 men, the crews of ten fishing boats (mostly

sixareen The sixareen or sixern ( non, sexæringr; no, seksring meaning "six-oared") is a traditional fishing boat used around the Shetland Islands. It is a clinker-built boat, evolved as a larger version of the yoal, when the need arose for crews to fi ...

s) from Yell, Shetland, are drowned in a sudden storm. * 25 August – Edinburgh Royal Review of Volunteers ("The Wet Review"): Large numbers of

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

s from all over Scotland parade before Queen Victoria in

Holyrood Park Holyrood Park (also called the Queen's Park or King's Park depending on the reigning monarch's gender) is a royal park in central Edinburgh, Scotland about to the east of Edinburgh Castle. It is open to the public. It has an array of hills, loc ...

on a day of prolonged heavy rainfall. * 14 October – the

Eyemouth disaster The Eyemouth disaster was a severe European windstorm that struck the south-eastern coast of Scotland on 14 October 1881. One hundred and eighty-nine fishermen, most of whom were from Eyemouth, were drowned. Many citizens of Eyemouth call the ...

("Black Friday"): a severe storm strikes the

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...

coast; 189 fishermen die. * 21 December – the

Aberdeen Line The Aberdeen Line was a shipping company founded in 1825 by George Thompson of Aberdeen to take sailing vessels to the St. Lawrence river, carrying some passengers and returning with cargoes of timber. The business flourished and grew to 12 sa ...

's SS ''Aberdeen'', the first oceangoing ship successfully powered by a

triple expansion A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...

steam engine, designed by Alexander Carnegie Kirk, is launched at

Robert Napier and Sons Messrs Robert Napier and Sons was a famous firm of River Clyde, Clyde shipbuilders and marine engineers at Govan, City of Glasgow, Glasgow founded by Robert Napier (engineer), Robert Napier in 1826. It was moved to Govan for more space in 1841. Hi ...

' yard at

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

. * The remains of Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (died 1880), are stolen from the family crypt on the Dunecht estate. * Memorial cairn erected at the site of the Battle of Culloden (1746). *

Bruichladdich distillery Bruichladdich distillery ( ; ) is a distillery on the Rhinns of the isle of Islay in Scotland. The distillery produces mainly single malt Scotch whisky, but has also offered artisanal gin. It is owned by Rémy Cointreau and is one of nine ...

established on the

Rinns of Islay The Rinns of Islay (Scottish Gaelic: Na Roinn Ìleach; alternative English spelling Rhinns of Islay) is an area on the west of the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It is a peninsula that is attached to the main body of the i ...

. * Clydebank Co-operative Society formed. *

Inverness Museum and Art Gallery Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

originally opened. * Fettesian-Lorettonian Club established as a joint sporting club of the two named Edinburgh public schools, primarily for the playing of

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

Births

29 March Events Pre-1600 * 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. *1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of V ...

– Charles Jarvis, soldier,

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 ...

recipient (died 1948) * 6 August – Alexander Fleming, biologist, pharmacologist and botanist (died 1955 in England) *

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 ...

– Tom Johnston, socialist politician (died 1965) *

6 November Events Pre-1600 * 447 – A powerful earthquake destroys large portions of the Walls of Constantinople, including 57 towers. * 963 – Synod of Rome: Emperor Otto I calls a council at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope John XII is d ...

– Alfred David McAlpine, civil engineering contractor (died

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

) *

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. * ...

–

Alastair Denniston Commander Alexander "Alastair" Guthrie Denniston (1 December 1881 – 1 January 1961) was a Scottish codebreaker in Room 40, deputy head of the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) and hockey player. Denniston was appointed operational he ...

, cryptanalyst (died 1961 in England) *

25 December Events Pre-1600 * 36 – Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China. * 274 – A temple to Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aurel ...

– Willie Gallacher, trade unionist and communist MP (died 1965)

Deaths

22 August Events Pre-1600 * 392 – Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. * 851 – Battle of Jengland: Erispoe defeats Charles the Bald near the Breton town of Jengland. *1138 – Battle of the Standard between Scotland ...

–

John Hill Burton John Hill Burton FRSE (22 August 1809 – 10 August 1881) was a Scottish advocate, historian and economist. The author of ''Life and Correspondence of David Hume'', he was secretary of the Scottish Prison Board (1854–77), and Historiograph ...

, advocate, historian and economist (born

1809 Events January–March * January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded. * January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean ...

) *

30 October Events Pre-1600 * 637 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Antioch surrenders to the Rashidun Caliphate after the Battle of the Iron Bridge. * 758 – Guangzhou is sacked by Arab and Persian pirates. *1137 – Ranulf of Apulia defeats Roger ...

–

William Brodie William Brodie (28 September 1741 – 1 October 1788), often known by his title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of a trades guild, and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a housebreaker, partly fo ...

, sculptor (born 1815) * 31 October – Alexander Macdonald, miner, trade unionist and Lib–Lab MP (born

1821 Events January–March * January 21 – Peter I Island in the Antarctic is first sighted, by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. * January 28 – Alexander Island, the largest in Antarctica, is first discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von B ...

)

References

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

1880s in Scotland