Chronology of Scottish History

Walter McGowan wins World Fly-weight Championship.

King George VI dies and Queen Elizabeth II becomes monarch.

Gas masks issued to the civilian population in anticipation of the Second World War.

Flyweight boxing champion Benny Lynch born.

Cruachan hydro-electric scheme opens.

The naval yacht Iolaire struck a reef on approaching Stornoway Harbour at 2am. Despite being only 20 yards from shore, 205 out of 260 Lewis men and 24 crew died as the overloaded boat sank.

German submarine sank HMS Royal Oak inScapa Flow, Orkney, with the loss of 810 lives.

His Majestys Theatre in Aberdeen opened and soon became the citys leading theatre.

Jim Clark, Duns farmer, twice World Motor Racing Champion, killed in crash, Hockenheim.

Free French Destroyer Maillr Breze explodes and sinks off Greenock.

Identity cards, introduced at a wartime security measure, were abolished in Britain.

Britains worst train disaster at Quintinshill (near Gretna Green) in which three trains collided, with the loss of 227 lives. A troop train carrying the Seventh Royal Scots Regiment hit a stationary train and the night express from London then hit the wreckage. Two signalmen were later jailed.

Sculptor and artist Sir Eduardo Paolozzi born in Leith, the eldest son of Italian immigrants.

You will find in these chronology pages the precise dates of over 700 historical events which took place over the last 2,000 years of Scottish history. Links are also provided to over 400 related articles where you can obtain more information on the events – and the people – that made Scotland what it is today.

A convoy of gold bullion worth 1,800 million pounds sails from the River Clyde.

Salvador Dalis painting Christ of St John of the Cross went on display in Glasgows Kelvingrove Art Gallery. There was a public outcry when Dr Tom Honeyman, the then director of Glasgows museums and art galleries, spent the citys entire annual purchasing budget (all 8,200 or US$13,000) to obtain the painting.

Scotlands first nuclear power station at Dounreay went critical ushering in the generation of power from atomic reactions.

Historian Henry Gray Graham, author of Social Life of Scotland in the 18th Century died.

The floral clock in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, began operation – driven by clockwork and with only an hour hand. But it was the first of its kind in the world.

John Smith, politician and leader of the Labour Party, born at Dalmally, Argyll.

The 999 emergency telephone service came into operation for police, fire, ambulance and coastguards.

General Strike began at midnight, the first in British history. It lasted until 12 May.

An estimated one million people watch the Queen Mary leave the Clyde for the first time.

Racing circuit at Ingleston near Edinburgh opens.

Oscar Slater found guilty of murder. The conviction, based on circumstancial evidence, was quashed after he had spent 18 years in jail.

Invergordon aluminium works starts production.

Scotland football manager Ally MacLeod born in Glasgow. Long remembered, unfairly, for the disaster of the World Cup in Argentina in 1978.

Scottish born Hubert Cecil Booth patented his design for a vacuum cleaner which sucked in the dust and retained it by means of a filter.

Maiden voyage of liner Queen Mary to New York.

TheStone of Destiny, which had been removed from underneath the Coronation Chair by Scottish nationalists on 25 December 1950, was returned to Westminster Abbey after being found at Arbroath Abbey.

Rootes car factory opens at Linwood, making the Hillman Imp.

Scotland defeated 9-3 by England at Wembley, a record score for a football match between the two countries.

Actor Richard Todd (A Man Called Peter and The Hasty Heart etc) born.

University of Strathclyde was constituted in Glasgow, based on the Royal College of Science and Technology.

David Steel, (Lord Steel of Aikwood), politician and former leader of the Liberal party, born. He was elected Presiding Officer in the new Scottish Parliament when it opened on 12 May 1999.

First meeting of the National Trust for Scotland which was formally incorporated on the following 1 May.

Birth ofJames Herriot(the pen name of James Alfred Wight), author of All Creatures Great and Small

Rationing of sugar, bacon and butter introduced.

Lord Kelvin, scientist and inventor, died.

The Scottish National Party gained their first electoral victory when they won the by-election in Motherwell and Wishaw by a majority of 617 votes.

SS Rowan sank off the Rhinns of Galloway, nearCorsewall Pointwith 34 casualties.

The new 5p and 10p decimal coins were introduced in anticipation of decimalisation (in 1971). They were used as one shilling and two shilling coins until then.

Scottish aviator Jim Mollinson landed after the first East/West solo flight of the Atlantic from Portmarnock, Ireland to Pennfield, New Brunswick.

Former Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Forsyth born.

Cairngorm National Nature Reserve established.

Birth of Craig Brown, former manager of the Scotland football (soccer) team.

Actor and comedian Rikki Fulton born in Glasgow. He was best known for his double act with Jack Milroy as Francie and Josie and as the Rev I M Jolly in Scotch and Wry.

HMS Hampshire sank off Orkney after striking a mine. Lord Kitchener, conqueror of Sudan, was drowned.

John Maclean, political activist, Marxist, appointed Bolshevik consul for Scotland by Lenin, died.

Eric Liddell, Chariots of Fire athlete, winner of 1924 Olympics 400 metres, died in Japanese internment camp in China.

Aviator Jim Mollinson born in Glasgow.

Royal yacht Britannia launched at John Browns shipyard, Clydebank.

Decimal currency introduced, abandoning 12 pennies to a shilling and 20 shillings to a pound.

The uninhabited island of Rockall, 290 miles out in the Atlantic from the Western Isles, was formally incorporated as part

German battle fleet surrendered to the allies in the Firth of Forth prior to being interned at Scapa Flow.

Princess Victoria, Stranraer-Larne ferry, sank in a storm with the loss of 133 lives; 44 were rescued.

Poet and dramatistTom McGrathborn in Rutherglen.

Kenny Dalglish made his international debut for Scotlands football (soccer) team in a match against Belgium. He went on to represent his country on 102 occasions.

Beyond the Fringe, an influential satirical revue, opened in Edinburgh.

Moira Shearer, ballet dancer and film star, born Dunfermline

Alexander McArthur, author of the classic story about Glasgow in the 1930s, No Mean City died at the age of 46.

Representation of the people Act received Royal assent, granting votes to women over the age of 30.

Fraserburgh lifeboat sinks, only one crewman survives.

The Marquess of Bute sold half of the city of Cardiff for 20 million, at that time the biggest-ever British property deal.

Zoological Society of Glasgow founded. A zoo at Calderpark opened, after the Second World War, in 9 July 1947. The zoo closed in August 2003.

University of Dundeewhich was incorporated into the University of St Andrews in 1890, constituted as a separate university.

Pit disaster at Redding (near Polmont, Stirlingshire) when the mine flooded, drowning 40 miners. Five survivors were recovered after 10 days underground.

House of Commons passed the Bill abolishing the death penalty for murder.

EdinburghsBalmoral Hotelopened its doors for the first time.

Broadcaster Sir Alastair Burnet born.

Evacuation of Dunkirk (which began on May 27) was completed. 338,226 soldiers were brought back to the UK by the little ships.

King Edward VIII abdicated and King George VI acceded to the throne.

Birth of politician, Secretary of State for Scotland, Minister for Defence, Viscount Younger of Leckie (George Younger). Later became Chairman ofThe Royal Bank of Scotland plc.

Icelandic gunboats fired live rounds at British fishing trawlers, many of them from Scottish ports, during the Cod War over fishing rights.

John Cobb made an attempt at the world water-speed record on Loch Ness which ended in tragedy as the boat crashed and Cobb was killed.

Most of United Free Church merged withChurch of Scotland.

Author Hector Munro died in action in France. Some of his work was written under the pseudonym Saki.

The Citizens Theatre on Glasgow moved from its original location in Buchanan Street to the heart of the Gorbals, one of the most run-down parts of the city.

Gordon Brown, UK Prime Minister, born.

Last major bombing attack on the Clyde area by the Luftwaffe; Greenock was badly hit with 280 dead.

Birth ofLord Home of the Hirsel, Foreign Secretary and UK Prime Minister.

Death ofSir Thomas Lipton, grocer, tea merchant and contestant for the Americas Cup.

Announcement of the discovery of penicillin by Ayrshire-born Sir Alexander Fleming.

Denis Law became the youngest footballer to play for Scotland when he took part in the match against Cardiff when he was 18 years and 7 months old.

Lord Boyd Orr, biologist and Nobel Prize Winner, died.

First General Election after WWII – sweeping victory for the Labour Party.

Chocolate and sweets were no longer rationed, a measure introduced at the start of World War 2. However, demand was so great that it had to be re-introduced.

Liner Queen Elizabeth II launched at John Browns shipyard at Clydebank.

SS Politician ran aground on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, creating the basis for Sir Compton MacKenzies novel Whisky Galore.

Units of 52nd Lowland Division and 1st Commando Brigade cross from Holland into Germany and assault Heinsberg in Operation Blackcock in which Fusilier Dennis Donnini of the 4/5 Royal Scots Fusiliers, received the VC.

Bloody Friday Riot – mass rally of strikers in Glasgows George Square repeatedly charged by police.

66 crew were saved from the cargo vessel Clan MacQuarrie after it went aground near Borve, Lewis. In winds gusting to 100mph, it was the biggest ever carried out using breeches buoy in a single operation.

Benny Lynch won the World Flyweight boxing title, defeating Jackie Brown in 2 rounds.

Airship R34, constructed by Glasgows Beardmore Engineering Co., landed Long Island, USA after the first Trans-Atlantic airship flight – from East Fortune, East Lothian.

Glasgow Zoological Society opened a zoo at Calderpark. Glasgow Zoo eventually closed in 2003.

Blitz of Clydebank by German Luftwaffe.

Birth ofMagnus Magnusson, writer, broadcaster and questionmaster in TV programme Mastermind.

Everyone in Britain over the age of 18 was allowed to vote in parliamentary elections. The minimum age of 21 had been set in 1928.

Rail disaster at Elliott Junction, nerar Arbroath, killing 22. Snow had caused a signal to droop, indicating the line was clear and a southbound express train, travelling tender-first, ran into a derailed goods train.

The story of the Loch Ness Monster first appeared in the press, starting off a long-running debate on whether or not some unknown animal or fish inhabits the murky depths of the loch.

Clocks and watches went forward for one hour as the Daylight Savings Act brought in British Summer Time for the first time.

First edition of the long-running Beano comic was published.

The cartoon character Dennis the Menace appeared for the first time in the Beano comic.

City of Edinburgh Fighter Squadron (No 603) shoots down the first enemy aircraft over Britain (since 1918) after an attack on the Rosyth naval base on the Firth of Forth.

Ken Buchanan wins the World Lightweight Boxing Championship.

David Coulthard, Grand Prix racing driver born.

Ramsay MacDonald, first UK Labour Prime Minister, died aboard Reina del Pacifico.

John Logie Baird, inventor of the first television, died.

John Buchan, author (39 Steps etc) and diplomat (Governor General of Canada, 1935/1940) died in Ottowa.

Jim Clark became the worlds youngest F1 motor racing champion.

Alex Salmond, former leader of the Scottish national Party, born.

Disaster at English/Scottish football match at Ibrox Stadium when part of the flooring collapsed, killing 20, injuring 200.

Victory-in-Europe Day, end of World War II in Europe.

Real Madrid beat Eintracht-Frankfurt 7-3 at Hampden Park, Glasgow, to win the European Cup for the 5th year in succession.

Coronation of King George VI andQueen Elizabethtook place at Westminster Abbey.

Eric Liddell(later famous as a result of the film Chariots of Fire) won Olympic 400 metres sprint in Paris.

CelticFootball Club won European Cup beating Inter Milan 2-1 in Lisbon.

Hurricane winds of over 100mph hit Glasgow and the west of Scotland, damaging 250,000 homes, 1,700 homeless and 20 people killed.

Billy Grahambegan All-Scotland Crusade.

Death penalty for murder was formally abolished in Britain.

Liner Queen Elizabeth, then the largest passenger ship ever built, launched at John Browns shipyard, Clydebank.

Lord Reith, father of the BBC, died.

Sir Thomas Mackenzie, New Zealand statesman and Prime Minister, died.

First announcement of the discovery of high-grade crude oil in the North Sea.

First public demonstration of TV byJohn Logie Baird.

First moving image on a television screen when John Logie Baird transmitted the image of a 15-year-old office boy in his London workshop.

The Beatles launched their last concert tour of Britain in Glasgow.

Armistice Day – World War I ends on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Scottish National Partyfounded with the amalgamation of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party.

A work-in began at John Browns Clydebank shipyard led by activist Jimmy Reid. It led to the formation of Govan Shipbuilders which was later taken over by Marathon Manufacturing.

University of Stirling instituted by Royal charter.

Conscription to the armed forces began for the first time.

John MacLean, socialist revolutionary, first Soviet Consul in Britain in 1917, honorary president of the first Congress of Soviets, tried in the High Court for sedition.

Sir Robert Lorimer, architect and exponent of the Scottish Vernacular Revival, died.

Twelve girls died in a fire at Graftons fashion store in Glasgow.

Pop star Lena Zavaroni was born. Her biggest hit was Ma, Hes Making Eyes at Me.

Cartoon character Desperate Dan first appeared in the Dandy comic.

Popular character actor Fulton McKay was born.

John Logie Bairdtransmitted first colour television.

Sole remaining gas street lamps in Glasgow were lit for the last time, bringing to an end the age of the leeries, the lamplighters who started in 1718 with oil lamps.

Jimmy Shand, Scottish country dance band leader, born.

Cosmo cinema in Rose Street, Glasgow opened its doors for the first time. Now the Glasgow Film Theatre, it is now the oldest active cinema in the city.

Provisions were included in the Scottish Education Bill to ensure adequate facilities for teaching Gaelic in Scotland.

First TV licences issued in Britain, costing 2.

Rudolf Hess, Hitlers deputy, descended by parachute into Scotland at Eaglesham.

Jim Clark, Formula I World motor racing champion, born Fife.

Viscount Cunningham, British admiral and C in C in the Mediterranean, issued his command Sink, burn and destroy; let nothing pass.

Author Neil Munro died in Helensburgh.

Petrol rationing, introduced during WW2, was ended.

First run of theBennie Railplaneat Milngavie near Glasgow on a test track. Despite initial enthusiasm for the concept, it was never developed.

The first nuclear power station in Scotland, at Chapelcross, opened.

First women jurors in Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, died.

FirstEdinburgh International Festivalopened.

The paddle steamerWaverleywas launched from A. & J. Ingliss yard on the Clyde. After providing services on the Firth of Clyde she has been preserved and still takes passengers doon the watter as the oldest sea-going paddle steamer in the world.

A spectacular blaze at Bells Brae, Edinburgh, destroyed the premises of one of Britains largest theatrical costumiers; around 90,000 costumes were lost.

Liner Queen Mary (81,235 tons) launched at John Browns shipyard, Clydebank. She went on to break the Atlantic record (the Blue Riband) four times.

Edinburghs Murrayfield Stadium (the home of Scottish rugby) opened. In the first match, Scotland defeated England 14-11 and won their first Grand Slam – repeat again only in 1984 and 1990.

Death of Sir John Murray, pioneer of oceanography and inventor of a device for recording the oceans temperature at great depths.

HMS Vanguard, Britains biggest and last battleship, was launched at Clydebank.

Entertainer and song writerSir Harry Lauderdied.

British Grand Fleet leaves Scapa Flow for the Battle of Jutland.

Conservatives won the General Election with a majority of 26, beginning 13 years of government.

47 miners were killed at Auchengeich Colliery, Lanarkshire when the bogies carrying them to work ran into smoke 1,000 feet below ground.

Glasgow International Exhibition in Kelvingrove opened.

Construction of the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh commences.

Footballer Denis Law who played for Manchester United and Scotland, born.

Novelist Cliff Hanley (Dancing in the Streets etc) born in Glasgow.

12,000 Royal Navy sailors on 15 ships went on strike at Invergordon over cuts in their pay.

The 50 pence decimal coin was first issued, replacing the ten shilling note.

Cheapside docks fire, Glasgow, 19 firemen killed.

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Objectors who said that Scotland had never had a Queen Elizabeth I were told that in future the highest number will be used where there is such a conflict.

Aircraft carrier HMS Dasher blew up and sank off the island of Arran in the Firth of Clyde with the loss of 350 crew; there were 149 survivors.

Jazz trombonist George Chisholm born.

Steam train, the Flying Scotsman went into service with London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), on the London (Kings Cross) to Edinburgh route.

Sir Jackie Stewart, three-times world motor racing champion, born in Dumbartonshire.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle author of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories, died.

Birth of Lord Roger of Earlsferry, Lord Justice General.

Ramsay MacDonaldformed a National Government.

Forth Road Bridge opened by the Queen. At 6,156 feet long and a centre span of 3300 feet, it was the longest in Europe at that time.

Liner Queen Elizabeth I, launched at John Browns shipyard, Clydebank, in 1938, caught fire and sank in Hong Kong where it was to serve as a floating marine university.

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the future Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, born.

All those over the age of 65 received a state pension for the first time. it amounted to ten shillings (50 pence) a week.

Petrol rationing was imposed following the Suez crisis and the closure of the canal.

Parliament voted by a majority of 330 to give votes to women over 30 for the first time.

A British record attendance at a football match was set when 149,547 watched Scotland play England at Hampden Park, Glasgow. Until 1950, this was a world record.

Winston Churchillmade his speech to the nation saying: We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

Erskine Bridgeover the River Clyde opened.

National Service which required all fit young men to train in the armed forces, was brought to an end.

Pay As You Earn Income Tax introduced for the first time.

First US troops (over 10,000 men) disembark from Queen Mary on the River Clyde.

Ornithologist and painter Archibald Thorburn died.

Earl Haig, Commander in Chief of British forces 1915-18, founder of the British Legion, died.

Robert Watson Wattdemonstrated radar for the first time.

Blackout restrictions lifted as World War II heads to a conclusion.

First civil aircraft (a Handley-Page Herald which had left Renfrew airport six minutes earlier) landed at Glasgow airport at Abbotsinch, formerly HMS Sanderling, a Royal Naval Air Station.

The Beatles opened a 5-day tour of Scotland to promote their first single Love Me Do.

Prince George, the Duke of Kent, brother of King George VI, killed when his flying boat crashed into Eagles Rock in Caithness, apparently en route to Iceland.

Chapel of the Thistle dedicated in St Giles Cathedral.

The Scotsman newspaper moves to new offices at North Bridge in Edinburgh, remaining there until 1999.

13th Commonwealth Games opened in Edinburgh.

WriterIan Banksborn in Dunfermline, Fife.

Last tramcar run in Glasgow (to Auchenshuggle).

First stretch of the M8 Motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh opens.

The classic Lerner and Loewe, Broadway musical Brigadoon opened at the Ziegfeld in New York.

Hampden Park stadium opened in Glasgow as the home of Queens Park Football Club.

Comedian and actor Billy Connolly born.

Hollywood film star Deborah Kerr (From Here to Eternity and The King and I) born in Helensburgh.

Riot by fans after replay of Scottish Cup Final between Rangers and Celtic at Hampden Park.

Bank Note Issued to Commemorate the Death of Alexander Graham Bell in 1922

Kelvin Hall exhibition building, Glasgow, destroyed by fire.

Voting age for women reduced from 30 to 21, the same as for men.

Breath tests for motorists suspected of drinking and driving introduced under the Road Safety Act.

King George V died and was succeeded by King Edward VIII (who abdicated 325 days later in order to marry Mrs Simpson).

UK attendance record for a club football match created when 118,567 attended the Rangers v Celtic match at Ibrox stadium.

Benny Lynchcrowned world flyweight champion.

The first bombs dropped on British soil in the Second World War fell on the Shetland Islands.

Madeleine Smith, found not proven for murder in 1857, died peacefully in New York.

Death ofJohn Boyd Dunlopwho re-invented the pneumatic tyre from the design of Robert W Thomson.

The actor Robbie Coltrane was born (as Anthony Robert McMillan) in Rutherglen.

Rationing of chocolate and sweets finally ended. It had to be re-introduced in 1949 after a short spell due to excessive demand.

Actor Archie Duncan (known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes) born Glasgow.

David Dunbar Buick, founder of the Buick Manufacturing Company which later became General Motors, died in Detroit. He was born in Arbroath in 1854.

Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, died in Nova Scotia.

The Oor Wullie cartoon strip first appeared in the Sunday Post.

The future Queen Elizabeth II born. Her parents at that time were the Duke and Duchess of York.

Empress of Britain launched from Clydebank.

Clothes rationing introduced as a war-time measure. It was not lifted until 1949.

Debut of Scottish Ballet at the Kings Theatre, Glasgow.

Explosion atClarkstonToll shopping centre, killing 12.

Former World flyweight boxing champion Benny Lynch died.

First television programmes broadcast from Kirk o Shotts, Central Scotland.

Mary Slessor, missionary in West Africa and known to many as Ma, died in Calabar.

Armistice Day – World War I ends on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Cigarette advertising banned on television in Britain.

UK joins the European Common Market (now called the European Union).

First Premium Bond prizes were drawn by the computer Ernie (Electronic random number indicator equipment).

Longhope lifeboat sank in the Pentland Firth with the loss of eight men on board, all from the small island of Hoy.

Tanks and army patrol the streets of Glasgow after Bloody Friday when 20,000 strikers gathered in George Square.

Battle of Isle of Mey – 100 men died in a series of collisions in the Firth of Forth, involving submarines and surface ships.

Rugby first appeared on British television – England v Scotland at Twickenham in London.

The company formed by John Logie Baird televised the Epsom Derby which was then transmitted by the BBC.

Birth of football player, coach and managerSir Matt Busby. He was manager of Manchester United Football Club 1945-69, winner of European Cup 1968.

Cruiser Natal exploded in Cromarty harbour, killing 405.

The farthing coin (a quarter of an old penny) ceased to be legal tender.

Edinburgh Zoo opened for the first time.

72 killed at Glen Cinema Fire, Paisley.

Lord Hardie of Blackford, Lord Advocate, born.

The last hanging in Scotland – 21-year-old Henry Burnett who was executed at Craiginches Prison in Aberdeen for the murder of seaman Thomas Guyan.

Author Joe Corrie died in Edinburgh.

Construction began on the Forth Road Bridge.

Sir J M Barrie, author of Peter Pan died.

Prestwick and Renfrew airports in Scotland became the first in the UK to offer duty free goods for sale.

Birth ofRudolf Bing, co-founder of the Edinburgh Festival and Director 1947-49 (and general manager of New York Metropolitan Opera).

Dumfries reached a temperature of 32.8C (91F), the highest recorded – so far.

National Government formed under the leadership of Neville Chamberlain.

Maximum speed limit of 70mph was imposed on all roads unless a lower limit was in place.

Ibrox Park disaster, 66 supporters killed on stairway 13.

Gaumont cinema in Edinburgh destroyed by fire.

Premiere ofJ M Barriesplay Peter Pan at the Duke of York Theatre, London. Barrie was born in Kirriemuir in 1860.

Stone of Destinyremoved from Westminster Abbey.

Elvis Presley touched down at Prestwick airport, his only visit to Scotland.

Queen Mary, Aquitania, Empress of Canada, andEmpress of Britainarrive in the River Clyde with the first contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops.

John J R Macleod, Scottish/Canadian physiologist and winner of Nobel Prize (in 1923) died.

PoetSorley MacLeanborn on the island of Raasay.

USS Proteus arrives in the Holy Loch to set up the Polaris nuclear submarine base.

Trains collide at Castlecary, 35 killed, 179 injured.

Kingston Bridge over the River Clyde in Glasgow officially opened. At the time, it was the longest bridge in any British city.

Birth of Scotland international footballer and later TV personality Ally McCoist.

Birth ofDonald Dewar, present First Minister in the Scottish Parliament.

The first British civilian victim of the Second World war was killed in the Orkney village of Bridge of Waithe when a Luftwaffe bomber targeting a naval air station near Kirkwall missed the correct target.

Coal mines nationalised and brought into public ownership.

Scottish Youth Hostel Association formed.

Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon married the Duke of York at Westminster Abbey, the first Royal wedding to take place there since 1383. The couple later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

Princess Margaret, daughter of the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, born at Glamis Castle. She was the first Royal princess born in Scotland for 300 years and the last Royal birth to be witnessed by the Home Secretary (a tradition started by Queen Anne in the early 18th century).

Car driving tests introduced for the first time.

Death of Sir William Ramsay, Scottish chemist who discovered helium, xenon, neon, argon, radon and krypton.

Historical novelist Nigel Tranter born in Glasgow. He was the most prolific Scottish writer of all time, writing mainly factual and fictional books related to Scottish history.

Queen Mary leaves Greenock, taking nearly 15,000 GIs home to US.

The 1st Glasgow Scout troop was registered, the first to be formed.

Death of nationaliust politician, traveller and writer Robert Cunninghame-Graham. He was the first President of the National Party of Scotland and first Chairman of the Scottish Parliamentary Labour Party. He was reputedly the model for characters in plays by George Bernard Shaw.

Perth Museum and Art Gallery opened by the Duke and Duchess of York.

The first telephone cable connecting the UK and North America went live. 2,240 miles long, the cable ran from Gallanach Bay, near Oban in Argyll and Bute, to Clarenville, Canada.

Death of LordJoseph Lister, pioneer of surgery and antiseptic at the University of Glasgow and Glasgow and Edinburgh Royal Infirmaries.

Actor and comedian Stanley Baxter born.

BBC Scotlandbegan broadcasting (from Glasgow). Lord Reith of Stonehaven, the founder of the BBC opened the station.

Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire opened after David McIntyre set up Scottish Aviation Ltd. Aircraft had been flying from the area since 1913.

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