Events from the year 1908 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

* Secretary for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – John Sinclair

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 ...

– Thomas Shaw *

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 Ure

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 Dunedin *

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 Kingsburgh

Events

26 January Events Pre-1600 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. *1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. *1564 – The Council of Trent ...

– the 1st Glasgow Scout Group is granted the oldest Scout Group registration known. *

25 April Events Pre-1600 * 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion. * 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against th ...

– Kincardineshire by-election:

Arthur Murray Arthur Murray (born Moses Teichman, April 4, 1895 – March 3, 1991) was an American ballroom dancer and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name. Early life and start in dance Arthur Mur ...

holds the seat for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. *

9 May Events Pre-1600 * 328 – Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria. *1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. * 1386 – England and Portugal formally ra ...

– Dundee by-election:

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

holds the seat for the Liberal Party. * May – Ladies' Scottish Climbing Club formed. * 14 July – first ship launched from

Yarrow Shipbuilders Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also op ...

' new yard at Scotstoun, the first ''Pará''-class destroyer for the

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious war ...

. * 11–

12 August Events Pre-1600 *1099 – First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid forces led by Al-Afdal Shahanshah. This is considered the last engagement of the First Crusade. ...

: Sailing at the 1908 Summer Olympics: The 12-metre class is contested from

Hunters Quay Hunters Quay ( gd, Camas Rainich) is a village, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. Situated between Kirn, Argyll, Kirn to the south and Ardnadam to the north, Hunters Quay is the main base of Western Ferries, operatin ...

on the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

and won by Thomas C. Glen-Coats' ''Hera''. * St Mary's Episcopal Church in

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 ...

is raised to the status of St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow, within the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

. *

Walter Robberds Walter John Forbes Robberds (6 September 1863 - 16 August 1944) was an Anglican bishop. Life and ministry He was born in Baharampur. He was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond, and Keble College, Oxford. He was ordained deacon after studyi ...

, Bishop of Brechin, becomes

Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, styled "The Most Reverend the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church", is the presiding bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church. The current Primus is the Most Revd. Mark Strange who became primus on ...

, an office he will hold until

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

. *

Eskdalemuir Observatory The Eskdalemuir Observatory is a UK national environmental observatory located near Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built in 1904, its remote location was chosen to minimise electrical interference with geomagnetic instruments, wh ...

opened for geophysical and meteorological recording. *

West Highland White Terrier The West Highland White Terrier, commonly known as the Westie, is a breed of dog from Scotland with a distinctive white harsh coat with a somewhat soft white undercoat. It is a medium-sized terrier, although with longer legs than other Scot ...

first so named as a breed. * Perth Racecourse, the most northerly in Britain, opened for

National Hunt racing In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

Births

20 January Events Pre-1600 * 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution. * 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom. *1156 – ...

–

Ian Peebles Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

, cricketer (died 1980) *

28 January Events Pre-1600 * 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany. * 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of ...

–

Jimmy Shand Sir James Shand (28 January 1908 – 23 December 2000) was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion. His signature tune was "The Bluebell Polka". Life and career James Shand was born in East Wemyss ...

, accordionist and bandleader (died

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

) *

2 February Events Pre-1600 * 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths, promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (''Breviarium Alaricianum'' or ''Lex Romana Visigothorum''), a collection of "Roman law". * 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: Kin ...

– J. K. Annand, poet and founding editor of

Lallans Lallans (; a variant of the Modern Scots word ''lawlands'' meaning the lowlands of Scotland), is a term that was traditionally used to refer to the Scots language as a whole. However, more recent interpretations assume it refers to the dialects o ...

magazine (died

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

) * 15 April –

Denis Devlin Denis Devlin (15 April 1908 – 21 August 1959) was, along with Samuel Beckett, Thomas MacGreevy and Brian Coffey, one of the generation of Irish modernist poets to emerge at the end of the 1920s. He was also a career diplomat. Early life and ...

, Irish modernist poet and diplomat (died 1959 in Ireland) * 22 April –

Leonard Schapiro Leonard Bertram Naman Schapiro (22 April 1908 in Glasgow – 2 November 1983 in London) was the leading British scholar of the origins and development of the Soviet political system. He taught for many years at the London School of Economics ...

, scholar of Russian politics (died 1983 in London) * 27 April – Mary Docherty, Communist activist (died

) *

23 May Events Pre-1600 *1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction. *1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. *1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII ...

–

Duncan Black Duncan Black, FBA (23 May 1908 – 14 January 1991) was a Scottish economist who laid the foundations of social choice theory. In particular he was responsible for unearthing the work of many early political scientists, including Charles Lutw ...

, economist (died 1991 in

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

) * 5 June –

Bill Fraser William Simpson Fraser (5 June 1908 – 9 September 1987) was a Scottish actor who appeared on stage, screen and television for many years. In 1986 he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his stage role in the play '' ...

, stage and screen actor (died 1987 in Hertfordshire) * 7 June –

Thomas Cook Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was an English businessman. He is best known for founding the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was also one of the initial developers of the "package tour" including travel, accommodatio ...

, Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for constituencies in Dundee 1945–52; died

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

) * 10 June –

Russell Waters Russell Waters (born 10 June 1908, Glasgow, Lanarkshire – died 19 August 1982, Richmond, Surrey) was a Scottish film actor. Waters was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow. He began acting with the ...

, stage and screen actor (died 1982 in London) *

12 June Events Pre-1600 * 910 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors. *1240 – At the instigation of Louis IX of Fran ...

–

Ronnie Selby Wright Ronald William Vernon Selby Wright CVO TD JP FRSE FSAScot (12 June 1908, Glasgow – 24 October 1995, Edinburgh) was a Church of Scotland minister. He became one of the best known Church of Scotland ministers of his generation and served as ...

, Church of Scotland minister (died

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

) *

23 August Events Pre-1600 *30 BC – After the successful invasion of Egypt, Octavian executes Marcus Antonius Antyllus, the eldest son of Mark Antony, and Caesarion, the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt and only child of Julius Caesar ...

–

Hannah Frank Hannah Frank (23 August 1908 – 18 December 2008) was an artist and sculptor from Glasgow, Scotland. She was known for her art nouveau monochrome drawings until she decided to concentrate on sculpture in 1952. Background and education Frank's ...

, visual artist (died

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

) * 24 August –

Ian Garrow Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Grant Garrow DSO (24 August 1908 - 28 March 1976) was a British army officer with the Highland Light Infantry. He was the founder of the Pat O'Leary Line in Marseilles which helped Allied soldiers and airmen escape Nazi- ...

, army officer (died

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

) *

19 October Events Pre-1600 *202 BC – Second Punic War: At the Battle of Zama, Roman legions under Scipio Africanus defeat Hannibal Barca, leader of the army defending Carthage. * 439 – The Vandals, led by King Gaiseric, take Carthage in N ...

–

Sydney MacEwan Canon Sydney Alfred MacEwan (19 October 190825 September 1991) was a Scottish tenor, who sang traditional Scottish and Irish songs. His name has also been recorded as Alfred Sydney Marley MacEwan. __TOC__ Early life Father Sydney MacEwan was bo ...

, singer and priest (died

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

) * 28 October –

Angus MacVicar Angus MacVicar (28 October 1908, Argyll – 31 October 2001, Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute) was a Scottish author with a wide-ranging output. His greatest successes came in three separate genres: crime thrillers, juvenile science fiction, and a ...

, writer (died 2001) *

Jeannie Robertson Jeannie Robertson (1908 – 13 March 1975) was a Scottish folk singer. Her most celebrated song is "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day", otherwise known as "Jock Stewart", which was covered by Archie Fisher, The Dubliners, The McCalmans, ...

, folk singer (died

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

)

Deaths

25 January Events Pre-1600 * 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate. * 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty. ...

– Sir Thomas McCall Anderson, professor of practice of medicine (born

1836 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. * January 5 – Davy Crockett arrives in Texas. * January 12 ** , with Charles Darwin on board, re ...

) * 30 January –

James Bell Pettigrew James Bell Pettigrew FRSE FRS FRCPE LLD (26 May 1834 – 30 January 1908) was a Scottish anatomist and noted naturalist, aviation pioneer and museum curator. He was a distinguished naturalist in Britain, and Professor of Anatomy at St Andrews ...

, naturalist and museum curator (born

1834 Events January–March * January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. * January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states. * January 3 � ...

) *

22 March Events Pre-1600 *AD 106, 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea. * 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century. * 871 – Æth ...

–

John William Crombie John William Crombie (4 March 1858 – 22 March 1908) was a Scottish woollen manufacturer, folklorist and Liberal Party politician. Early life Crombie was born in Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dhe ...

, Liberal MP for

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and ...

(1892–1908)''The Times'' 23 March 1908.(born

1858 Events January–March * January – ** Benito Juárez (1806–1872) becomes Liberal President of Mexico. At the same time, conservatives install Félix María Zuloaga (1813–1898) as president. ** William I of Prussia becomes regen ...

) *

24 March Events Pre-1600 *1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6. *1387 – English victory over a Franco- Castilian-Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate off ...

–

Sir James David Marwick Sir James David Marwick FRSE (15 July 1826 – 24 March 1908) was a Scottish lawyer, historian and town clerk. He served as Town Clerk of Glasgow for thirty-one years, during which time the entire city was transformed. Its powers and amenities w ...

, lawyer, historian and town clerk (born

1826 Events January–March * January 15 – The French newspaper '' Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a weekly. * January 30 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford, is opened between the island ...

) *

13 May Events Pre-1600 *1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book '' Revelations of Divine Love''. * 1501 – Amerigo Vespu ...

–

Louisa Stevenson Louisa Stevenson (15 July 1835 – 13 May 1908) was a Scottish campaigner for women's university education, women's suffrage and effective, well-organised nursing. Family Stevenson was born at Glasgow, the daughter of Jane Stewart Shannan, ...

, campaigner for women's rights (born

1835 Events January–March * January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as naturalist. * January 8 – The United States public debt contracts to zero, for the only time in history. ...

) * 7 June – William Lithgow, shipbuilder (born

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 ...

) *

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 ...

– Lewis Campbell, classicist (born 1830) *

19 December Events Pre-1600 * 1154 – Henry II of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey. *1187 – Pope Clement III is elected. * 1490 – Anne, Duchess of Brittany, is married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor by proxy. *1562 – T ...

–

Thomas Lomar Gray Thomas Lomar Gray (4 February 1850 – 19 December 1908) was a Scottish engineer noted for his pioneering work in seismology. Early life Born in Lochgelly, Fife, Scotland, Gray graduated in 1878 from the University of Glasgow with a BSc in en ...

, engineer, noted for his pioneering work in seismology (born

1850 Events January–June * April ** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome. ** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad "Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States. * April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city ...

) * Joseph Henderson, artist (born

1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white plant ...

) *

John James Stevenson John James Stevenson FRSE FSA FRIBA (24 August 1831 – 5 May 1908), usually referred to as J. J. Stevenson, was a British architect of the late-Victorian era. Born in Glasgow, he worked in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London. He is particularly assoc ...

, architect (born

1831 Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti- slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Ky ...

)

The arts

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and Jane Findlater's novel ''Crossriggs'' is published.

References

{{Years in Scotland

Years of the 20th century in Scotland 1900s in Scotland