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Events in Scottish History -

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Traditional and Historic Dates

Jan-Feb-Mar-Apr-May-Jun-Jul-Aug-Sep-Oct-Nov-Dec

JANUARY (an Faoilteach)

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01/01/*: Ne'er Day / Secular New Year's Day
01/03/1590: Robert Boyd, prominent statesman of independent Scotland, died.
01/05/*: Auld Yule (traditional Twelfth Night)
01/05/1984: Ronald MacDonald Douglas, prominent Scottish nationalist, died.
01/06/*: Feast of Epiphany, or Uphalieday
01/11/*: Traditional Day for the Burning of the Clavie, Burghead
01/17/1746: Last Jacobite victory at the Battle of Falkirk.
01/22/1788: George Gordon (Byron), Scottish author of Don Juan, born.
01/25/*: Burns Night
01/25/1759: Robert Burns, Scottish poet, born in Alloway.
01/29/1746: Scottish Jacobite army begins retreat, resorting to scorched-earth tactics to delay advancing Anglo-Dutch forces.
01/30/1649: Execution of Charles I, London
01/31/*: Traditional day of Up-Helly-Aa, the burning of the Viking ship, Lerwick, Shetland Islands

FEBRUARY (an Gearran)

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02/01/*: Imbolc - Feast of Goddess Brigit - Celtic fertility day.
02/02/*: Candlemas
02/02/*: Day for Fastern's E'en Ba'Game
02/04/1716: James VIII of Scotland escapes to France, concluding the Jacobite rising of 1715.
02/05/1840: John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor of the pneumatic rubber tire, born.
02/05/1881: Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historian and essayist, died.
02/07/1313: Robert the Bruce captures Dumfries, Scotland.
02/07/1823: George Washington Wilson, Scottish artist and pioneer photographer, born.
02/08/1587: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, executed by the English.
02/09/1292: First Scottish Parliament assembles at Scone.
02/10/1306: Robert the Bruce murders John the Red Comyn, Dumfries
02/11/1847: Macvey Napier, a Scottish editor of Encyclopedia Britannica, died.
02/13/1692: Massacre of Glencoe, Scotland.
02/14/*: Saint Valentine's Day
02/20/1436: James I of Scotland assassinated.
02/20/1847: Scottish Potato Famine - at Wick, Caithness, crowd tried to prevent departure of grain ship but were held back by soldiers.
02/23/1874: Hugh Stevenson Robertson, Scottish composer of the Song of the Isles, born.
02/24/1303: English invasion of Scotland annihilated at the Battle of Roslin.
02/28/1912: Scottish Home Rule Bill, patterned on the Irish bill, introduced in English parliament

MARCH (an Mart)

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03/01/*: Whuppity Scoorie, Lanarkshire, a holiday for children, somewhat similar to Halloween, with ancient Celtic origins marking the beginning of spring; most famous for the annual fist fights between the boys of Lanark and New Lanark
03/02/1316: Birth of Robert II of Scotland ensures royal succession of Robert the Bruce
03/03/1847: Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish inventor of the telephone, born in Edinburgh
03/05/1790: Flora MacDonald, Scottish patriot, died.
03/06/1725: Last claimant to the Stuart throne, Henry I of Scotland (Henry IX of England), younger brother of Charles Edward, born.
03/08/1899: Eric Linklater, Scottish writer, born in Wales.
03/10/*: St. Kessoc Day, celebrated in Lennox and Perthshire (St. Kessoc was the patron saint of Scotland before Saint Andrew was so recognized.)
03/17/0373: Birth of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, probably in Dumbarton, celebrated as St. Patrick's Day.
03/17/1328: Treaty of Edinburgh, by which England recognized the sovereignty of Scotland
03/18/1258: Scottish earls pledge common cause with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (last legitimate Prince of Wales) against the English.
03/19/1286: Alexander III of Scotland, died.
03/19/1927: James "Scott" Skinner, renowned Scottish fiddler, died.
03/20/*: Alban Eilir - Welsh Bardic name for the Spring Equinox
03/20/1724: Duncan Bain Macintyre, Scottish Gaelic poet, born.
03/24/1603: James VI of Scotland also became James I of England, Wales, and Ireland.
03/25/1306: Robert the Bruce crowned Robert I, King of Scots, at Scone.
03/26/1894: Alexander Thom, Scottish megalithic archaeologist, born.
03/27/1625: James I (James VI of Scotland) died.
03/29/1813: Dr. David Livingstone ("I presume"), Scottish explorer, born.
03/30/*: St. Regulus Day
03/31/1844: Andrew Lang, Scottish historian, born.

APRIL (an Giblean)

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04/01/*: Hunt the Gowk (April Fool's Day)
04/01/1820: Scottish Insurrection of 1820 begins
04/03/1603: Banning of the Clan MacGregor by act of James VI of Scotland
04/03/1617: John Napier, Scottish inventor of logarithms, born.
04/05/1820: Cathkin Braes - first battle of the Scottish Insurrection of 1820
04/06/*: Tartan Day - celebrating Scottish heritage in the United States
04/06/1320: Declaration of Arbroath (Aberbrothock, Scotland)
04/06/1985: Willie McRae, Secretary of the Scottish National Party, died under mysterious circumstances, believed assassinated.
04/09/1139: Second Treaty of Durham. David I of Scotland recognized as independent ruler by the Normans.
04/12/1700: Abandonment of Scotland's only New World settlement, Caledonia, at Darien, Isthmus of Panama.
04/13/1996: George MacKay Brown, poet and novelist of the Orkney Islands, died.
04/14/1582: University of Edinburgh founded.
04/15/1710: William Cullen, Scottish physicist, born.
04/16/*: St. Brendan the Voyager Day (patron saint of Bute)
04/16/1746: Battle of Culloden
04/17/1341: Edinburgh Castle taken from the English, reversing English encroachments against independent Scotland.
04/20/1934: Scottish National Party founded.
04/26/1711: David Hume, Scottish philosopher, born.

MAY (an Ceitean)

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05/01/*: Bealtaine/Beltane - Feast of the beginning of summer
05/01/1690: Jacobite defeat at the Haughs of Cromdale, Scotland.
05/03/1758: James Taylor, Scottish inventor of the steamboat, born.
05/04/1645: Battle of Auldcarn, Scotland. A Montrose victory.
05/07/1906: Henry Gray Grahm, Scottish historian and author of Social Life of Scotland in the 18th Century, died.
05/10/1559: John Knox's sermon launches Scottish religious revolution.
05/10/1809: Andrew Bell, Scottish engraver, co-founder with Colin MacFarquhar of Encyclopedia Britannica, died.

05/12/0563: Community of Iona founded in Scotland by Colum Cille and followers from Ireland
05/17/1810: Robert Tannahill, Scottish songwriter, died.
05/18/1313: Robert the Bruce lands on the Isle of Mann to wrest it from English rule.
05/18/1689: Dundee gathers forces in Lochaber, Scotland
05/19/1795: James Boswell, Scottish biographer of Samuel Johnson, died.
05/20/0685: Battle of Nechtansmere, Northumbrian invasion of Scotland (then Pictland) defeated by Pictish King Bruide
05/21/1650: James Graham (Montrose), Scottish royalist commander, executed by Cromwellian government.

JULY (an t-luchar)

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07/01/1940: David Steel became leader of the Liberal party.
07/02/1266: Norway surrendered the Hebrides to Scotland by the Treaty of Perth, ending Viking domination of the islands since the 8th century.
07/02/1645: Montrose won the Battle of Alford
07/02/1745

Prince Charles Edward Stuart sails for Scotland from Nantes, Brittany with seven companions
07/02/1782: Repeal of the Proscription Act of 1746
07/02/1903: Lord Home of the Hirsel, British Prime Minister, born
07/03/1728: Robert Adam, architect, born
07/03/1928: John Logie Baird transmitted first colour television
07/04/*: Independence Day, United States
07/06/1747: Birthday of John Paul Jones, Kirkbean
07/07/1925: Kelvin Hall exhibition building, Glasgow, destroyed by fire.
07/07/1930: Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish author and creator of Sherlock Holmes, died.
07/11/1274: Robert the Bruce born at Turnberry Castle, Carrick.
07/11/1924: Eric Liddell won Olympic 400 metres in Paris
07/12/1690: William III defeated the exiled James II at the Battle of Boyne in Ireland.
07/19/1896: Archibald Joseph Cronin, Scottish author and the original "Dr. Findlay," born.
07/21/1796: Death of Robert Burns, Dumfries, Scotland
07/22/1298: Battle of Falkirk, where Edward I of England defeated the Scots under William Wallace.
07/24/1411: Defeat of Clan Donald at the Battle of Harlaw, near Aberdeen
07/24/1567: Mary Queen of Scots forced to abdicate her throne by English-backed Scottish nobility. James VI became King.
07/25/1843: Charles Macintosh, Scottish inventor of the rubberized fabric raincoat (macintosh) died.
07/27/1689

Jacobite victory at the Battle of Killiecrankie

AUGUST (an Lunasdal)

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08/01/*: Lughnasadh - Feast of the Celtic God Lugh, a 30-day agrarian feast with this day as the center.
08/05/1745: Charles Edward Stuart lands at Borradale, Scotland.
08/06/1861: Alexander Fleming, Scottish discoverer of penicillin, born.
08/11/1746: The Proscription Act outlawed kilts, tartans, and bagpipes.
08/11/1892: Hugh MacDiarmid (Christopher Murray Grieve), poet and Scottish nationalist, born.
08/13/1880: Mary Reid Anderson, Scottish women's labor leader, born.
08/14/1040: Duncan I killed in battle by Macbeth at Pitgavney
08/15/1057: Macbeth, King of Scots, killed in battle by Malcolm at the Battle of Lumphanan
08/15/1388: Battle of Otterburn, Scotland - many English knights captured.
08/15/1771: Birth of Sir Walter Scott, Edinburgh
08/17/1714: George MacKenzie, Scottish patron of books, died.
08/18/1746: William Boyd of Kilmarnock, Scottish Jacobite leader, executed by the English.
08/18/1773: James Boswell drags Samuel Johnson on the famous "Tour of the Hebrides".
08/19/1745: Bonnie Prince Charlie raised the Jacobite standard at Glenfinnan, Start of the '45 Uprising.
08/21/1689: Battle of Dunkeld, high point of Scottish Jacobite uprising.
08/22/1847: Alexander Campbell Mackenzie, Scottish composer, conductor, and violinist, born.
08/23/1305: William Wallace, Scottish patriot, hanged, disemboweled, beheaded, and quartered, in London.
08/24/1565: Earl of Murray's rebellion against Mary Queen of Scots failed.
08/26/1875: John Buchan, Scottish author of the 39 Steps, born.
08/27/1825: William Blake, Scottish explorer of Africa, born.
08/30/1820

James Wilson, Scottish patriot, hanged from his role in the "Rising of 1820"

SEPTEMBER (an t-Sultain)

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09/01/*: St. Giles Day (patron saint of Edinburgh and Elgin)
09/01/1643: Battle of Tippermuir - Highland army under Montrose defeats larger army of covenanters (despite their battle cry of "Jesus and No Quarter")
09/02/*: Traditional date for the Braemar Gathering, perhaps the most famous of all Highland Games
09/05/1750: Robert Fergusson, Scottish poet, born.
09/06/1715: First Jacobite rebellion (the "15") begins as the standard of James III is raised at the Braes of Mar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
09/09/1513: James IV of Scotland killed at the Battle of Flodden, a humiliating defeat for the Scots at the hands of the English.
09/10/1297: William Wallace seizes the high ground above Stirling Bridge and bars route of invading English in battle the following day.
09/11/1297: Victory of Scots under William Wallace and Andrew Murray at the Battle of Stirling Bridge
09/12/1715: Battle of Sheriffmuir, Scotland, where the Jacobites routed the forces loyal to the Protestant House of Hanover.
09/12/1855: "Fiona MacLeod" (William Sharp) Scottish poet and author, born.
09/13/1912: In a speech at Dundee, Winston Churchill announces his support of a policy of devolution for Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
09/15/*: St. Mirren Day (patron saint of Paisley)
09/16/*: St. Ninian Day
09/18/1905: George MacDonald, Scottish novelist, poet, creator of children's fairy stories, died.
09/1mid-month: Largs Viking Festival
09/20/1842: James Dewar, Scottish inventor of the thermos and the steel vacuum flask called a "dewar," born.
09/21/1745: Battle of Prestonpans, where a Jacobite army under Lord George Murray routed an English army under Sir John Cope.
09/23/*: Alban Elfed - Welsh Bardic name for autumn equinox.
09/29/*

Feast of Michaelmas

OCTOBER (an Damhair)

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10/01/1263: Invasion of Scotland by Hakon, King of Norway, attacked on beaches by gathering Scottish forces, beginning the Battle of the Largs.
10/02/1854: Patrick Geddes, Scottish botanist, born.
10/04/1780: Alexander Laing, Scottish explorer of Africa, born.
10/05/1263: Norwegians abandon invasion of Scotland, leaving ships and wounded on the beach, ending their domination of the Hebrides.
10/09/1935: Archibald Thorburn, Scottish ornithologist and painter, died.
10/11/1974: Establishment of Celtic League, American Branch.
10/14/1322: Victory of Robert the Bruce in Yorkshire.
10/15/1686: Alan Ramsay, Scottish poet, born.
10/16/1774: Robert Fergusson, Scottish poet, born.
10/18/*: Feast of St. Luke
10/23/1921: John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor of the pneumatic rubber tire, died.
10/26/1911: Somhairle MacGhilleathain (Sorley MacLean), Scottish Gaelic poet, born.
10/27/1736: John Macpherson, Scottish "translator" of Ossianic poems, born.
10/30/1300: Edward of England signs truce and abandons invasion of Scoltand.
10/31/*: Nos Calan Gaef - Celtic New Year's Eve.

NOVEMBER (an t-Samhain)

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11/01/*: Samhain: The beginning of the Celtic New Year
11/01/1884: Gaelic Athletic Association founded.
11/02/1853: Association for Vindication of Scottish Rights (Home Rule organization) founded in Edinburgh
11/04/1698: Foundation of Scotland's only New World colony, New Caledonia, at Darien, Isthmus of Panama
11/07/1974: Eric Linklater, Scottish novelist born in Wales, author of The Survival of Scotland, died.
11/08/1745: Charles Stuart invades England at the head of the Jacobite army.
11/08/1752: James Stewart of the Glen, Scottish Jacobite, executed by English after wrongful conviction for the murder of Colin Campbell of Glenure
11/11/*

Closing of Samhain, Christianized as the Feast of Martinmas.
11/12/*: St. Machar Day (patron saint of Aberdeen)
11/13/1647: Battle of Cnoc na nOs - Alasdair mac Colla, Scottish military leader, dies fighting on the Irish side against Cromwell's troops.
11/13/1850: Birth of Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist and poet.
11/16/1745: English army sets out from newcastle in vain attempt to stop Scottish Jacobite invasion of England.
11/17/1745: James VIII of Scotland proclaimed King for first time on English soil, as James III
11/17/1858: Robert Owen, Welsh-Scottish industrialist and utopian socialist, founder of New Lanark community, died.
11/18/*: Traditional St. Fergus Day
11/20/1759: French-Jacobite invasion of Britain turned back at the Battle of Quiberon Bay, Brittany.
11/21/1638: General Assembly of "faithful" meets in Glasgow, Scotland without representation of religious hierarchy.
11/23/1847: Walter Biggar Blaikie, Scottish historian, born.
11/25/1835: Birth of Andrew Carnegie, American industrialist and global philanthropist, at Dunfermline
11/26/1836: John Loudon McAdam, Scottish engineer who developed the macadam road, died.
11/28/1666: Battle of Rullion Green, where the King's army defeated covenanters at Galloway.
11/30/*: St. Andrew's Day: Patron Saint of Scotland

DECEMBER (an Dubhlachd)

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12/02/1837: Joseph Bell, noted Scottish surgeon and inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, born.
12/03/1894: Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author, died.
12/04/1795: Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historian, born.
12/08/1524: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, born.
12/10/1924: George MacDonald, Scottish novelist, poet, creator of children's fairy stories, born.
12/11/1781: David Brewster, Scottish inventor of the kaleidoscope, born.
12/11/1792: Scottish Friends of the People, an early Republican movement, formed.
12/14/1542: James V, last king of independent Scotland, died.
12/15/1746: Jacobite victory at the Battle of Falkirk
12/21/*: Alban Arthan - Welsh Bardic name for winter solstice
12/24/*: Christmas Eve
12/25/*: Christmas Day
12/25/1836: Domhnail MacEacharn, Scottish Gaelic poet, born.
12/25/1950: Scottish nationalists repossess the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey.
12/26/*: Boxing Day (UK Holiday)
12/26/*: Wren Day ancient Celtic custom observed in all the Celtic nations.
12/29/1766: Charles Macintosh, Scottish inventor of ruberized raincoat (the macintosh) born.
12/31/*: Hogmanay - Cake Day - gifts of oatmeal cake were given on eve of Julian year in Scotland.
12/31/1720: Charles Edward Stuart born.