Events from the year 1974 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 of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal –

Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...

until 4 March; then Willie Ross

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 ...

– Norman Wylie; then Ronald King Murray *

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 ...

– William Stewart until March; then John McCluskey

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 Emslie *

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 Wheatley *

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 Birsay

Events

27 January Events Pre-1600 * 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent. * 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to becom ...

– capsizes in 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 ...

. * 28 February – The February general election results in the first hung parliament in the UK since

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

, though Labour does win a majority of seats in Scotland. The Scottish National Party make a breakthrough winning 7 MPs. * March **

Brora Coalfield The Brora Coalfield is a coalfield on the east coast of Sutherland in northern Scotland. The 'Brora Main' is a 1m to 1.5m thick seam which has been mined in the Brora area. It is unusual amongst British coalfields in being of Jurassic age rather ...

is abandoned. ** Last permanent inhabitants of Swona leave. *

6 May Events Pre-1600 *1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance. *1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanish ...

– Inauguration of full electric service on British Rail's

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

through to

Glasgow Central railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Main Concourse at Glasgow Central Station.JPG , caption = The main concourse , borough = Glasgow, City of Glasgow , country ...

. *

10 October Events Pre-1600 * 680 – The Battle of Karbala marks the Martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. * 732 – Charles Martel's forces defeat an Umayyad army near Tours, France. *1471 – Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the ...

– The second general election of the year results in a narrow victory for Prime Minister Harold Wilson, giving Labour a slim majority of three seats. Labour also wins a majority of seats in Scotland for a second time in the year; whilst the Scottish National Party secures its highest-ever Westminster representation up to this date with 11 seats. It would be 41 years before the SNP would not only beat their own record result; but also replace Labour as the largest political party in Scotland. * 31 December –

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

President of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The president leads the executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander-in-chief of the Uganda People's Defence Force. The ...

, issues a proclamation in support of Scottish independence. *

Calum MacLeod (of Raasay) Malcolm Macleod (Scottish Gaelic: ''Calum Macleòid''), BEM (15 November 1911 – 26 January 1988) was a crofter who notably built ''Calum's Road'' on the Island of Raasay, Scotland. He was Local Assistant Keeper of Rona Lighthouse and the pa ...

completes a 10-year self-imposed task of personally constructing "Calum's Road", a nearly 2 mile (3 km) track at the north end of the island. * Last permanent inhabitants of

Taransay Taransay ( gd, Tarasaigh, ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It was the host of the British television series '' Castaway 2000''. Uninhabited since 1974, except for holidaymakers, Taransay is the largest Scottish island without a p ...

leave.

Births

* 15 January –

Edith Bowman Edith Eleanor Smith (born January 1974) is a Scottish radio DJ and television presenter. She hosted '' Colin and Edith'', weekday afternoons, weekend breakfast, and ''The Radio 1 Review'' on BBC Radio 1 until 2014 and has presented a variety of ...

, DJ *

17 January Events Pre-1600 *38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey. * 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people on ...

–

Danny Bhoy Danny Bhoy (born Danni Chaudhry) is a Scottish comedian who has performed in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Sweden, and the United States. Early life Bhoy was born in Moffat, Scotland, as one of four children. Danny att ...

, born Danni Chaudhry, comedian * 9 August – Lesley McKenna, snowboarder *

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 ...

–

Ray Park Raymond Park (born 23 August 1974) is a Scottish actor and stuntman. He is best known for physically portraying Darth Maul in ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' and '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'', along with a motion capture performan ...

, actor *

20 October Events Pre-1600 * 1568 – The Spanish Duke of Alba defeats a Dutch rebel force under William the Silent. *1572 – Eighty Years' War: Three thousand Spanish soldiers wade through fifteen miles of water in one night to effect the r ...

– Limmy, born Brian Limond, comedian and social media personality * 30 October –

Kerry McGregor Kerry McGregor (30 October 1974 – 4 January 2012) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and actress from West Lothian. McGregor appeared on the third UK series of ''The X Factor'', where she was mentored by Sharon Osbourne. McGregor died on 4 ...

, singer-songwriter and actress *

9 December Events Pre-1600 * 536 – Gothic War: The Byzantine general Belisarius enters Rome unopposed; the Gothic garrison flees the capital. * 730 – Battle of Marj Ardabil: The Khazars annihilate an Umayyad army and kill its commander, al ...

–

Fiona MacDonald Fiona MacDonald MBE (born 9 December 1974) is a Scottish curler and Olympic champion, born in Paisley. She received a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.31 December – Kathryn Joseph, born Kathryn Sawers, singer-songwriter

Deaths

* 24 January – Andrew Dewar Gibb, lawyer and Scottish National Party politician (born

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

) *

29 May Events Pre-1600 * 363 – The Roman emperor Julian defeats the Sasanian army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sasanian capital, but is unable to take the city. *1108 – Battle of Uclés: Almoravid troops under th ...

–

James MacTaggart James MacTaggart (25 April 1928 – 29 May 1974) was a Scottish television producer, director and writer. He worked in London from 1961. Early life MacTaggart was born in Glasgow and served in the Royal Army Service Corps from 1946, rising to ...

, television producer (born

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...

)

The arts

6 June Events Pre-1600 * 913 – Constantine VII, the eight-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed b ...

– a television version of '' The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil'' is broadcast by the BBC as part of the '' Play for Today'' series.

References

{{Years in Scotland

Years of the 20th century in Scotland 1970s in Scotland