Events from the year 1762 in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Incumbents

Law officers

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

– Thomas Miller of Glenlee *

Solicitor General for Scotland His Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland () is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Scottish Government on Scots Law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and P ...

– James Montgomery jointly with Francis Garden

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. ...

– Lord Arniston, the younger *

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 ...

– Marquess of Tweeddale to 9 December; then ''vacant'' *

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Lord Beckett, who was appointed to the position on 4 February 2025, succeeding Lady Dorr ...

– Lord Tinwald

Events

* 10 March – William Robertson is elected

Principal of the University of Edinburgh Principals of the University of Edinburgh * 1586 Robert Rollock (Regent from 1583 to 1586) * 1599 Henry Charteris * 1620 Patrick Sands * 1622 Robert Boyd * 1623 John Adamson (died in office in 1652 but the original successor, William Co ...

, an office which he will hold until his death in

1793 The French Republic introduced the French Revolutionary Calendar starting with the year I. Events January–June * January 7 – The Ebel riot occurs in Sweden. * January 9 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first to ...

, contributing to the

Scottish Enlightenment The Scottish Enlightenment (, ) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century, Scotland had a network of parish schools in the Sco ...

. * c. April – new building for

Perth Academy Perth Academy is a state comprehensive secondary school in Perth, Scotland. It was founded in 1696. The institution is a non-denominational one. The school occupies ground on the side of a hill in the Viewlands area of Perth, and is within the P ...

occupied. * 5 November –

John Watson's Institution The John Watson's Institution was a school established in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1762. The building was designed in the Greek Revival style in 1825 by architect William Burn, FRSE (1789–1870). Following the closure of the school in 1975, th ...

established in Edinburgh (school closed

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. ...

). * Admiral John Ross of Balnagowan Castle initiates land tenure reform in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

which will evolve into the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulted from Scottish Agricultural R ...

. * Economic crisis. *

Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a British physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glasgow ...

first makes known his discoveries on

latent heat Latent heat (also known as latent energy or heat of transformation) is energy released or absorbed, by a body or a thermodynamic system, during a constant-temperature process—usually a first-order phase transition, like melting or condensation. ...

, in Glasgow.

Births

* 31 January –

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...

, British Army officer and

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

(died 1824 in London) * 2 February –

William Balmain William Balmain (2 February 1762 – 17 November 1803) was a Scottish-born naval surgeon and civil administrator who sailed as an assistant surgeon with the First Fleet to establish the first European settlement in Australia, and later to take up ...

, naval surgeon and civil administrator in New South Wales (died 1803 in London) * 4 February – James Millar, physician and encyclopædist (died

1827 Events January–March * January 5 – The first regatta in Australia is held, taking place in Tasmania (called at the time ''Van Diemen's Land''), on the River Derwent at Hobart. * January 15 – Furman University, founded in 1826, b ...

) * 30 April –

George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore FRSE (30 April 1762 – 11 November 1836), known as Viscount of Fincastle until 1809, was a Scottish peer. Early life Murray was the eldest son of John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, and Lady Charlotte (née S ...

, politician (died

1836 Events January–March * January 1 — Hill Street Academy is named Colombo Academy and acquired by the Government, establishing the first public school in Sri Lanka. * January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand ...

) * 17 July –

Alexander Crombie Alexander Crombie Royal Society of London, FRS (1760–1840) was a Scottish Presbyterianism, Presbyterian minister, schoolmaster and philosopher. Biography He was born in Aberdeen on 17 July 1760, the son of Thomas Crombie. "He left thre ...

, Presbyterian minister, schoolmaster and philosopher (died 1840 in London) * 11 September –

Joanna Baillie Joanna Baillie (11 September 1762 – 23 February 1851) was a Scottish poet and dramatist, known for such works as ''Plays on the Passions'' (three volumes, 1798–1812) and ''Fugitive Verses'' (1840). Her work shows an interest in moral philoso ...

, poet and dramatist (died 1851 in London) * 28 September – James Horsburgh, hydrographer of the East Indies (died 1836 in Kent) * Approximate date – James Bisset, artist, manufacturer, writer, collector, art dealer and poet (died 1832 in the English midlands)

Deaths

* 6 May – Sir Alexander Lindsay, 3rd Baronet (born

1683 Events January–March * January 5 – The Brandenburger-African Company, of the German state of Brandenburg, signs a treaty with representatives of the Ahanta tribe (in modern-day Ghana), to establish the fort and settlement ...

) * 9 December –

John Hay, 4th Marquess of Tweeddale John Hay, 4th Marquess of Tweeddale, (16959 December 1762) was a Scottish nobleman. Early life He was the eldest son of Charles Hay, 3rd Marquess of Tweeddale and the former Lady Susan Hamilton, the widow of John Cochrane, 2nd Earl of Dundon ...

(born

1695 Events January–March * January 7 (December 28, 1694 O.S.) – The United Kingdom's last joint monarchy, the reign of husband-and-wife King William III and Queen Mary II comes to an end with the death of Queen Mary, at the age of 3 ...

) * 21 December – Alexander Forbes, 4th Lord Forbes of Pitsligo, Jacobite (born 1678)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1762 In Scotland 18th century in Scotland Years of the 18th century in Scotland

1760s in Scotland