Events from the year 1803 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 ...

– Charles Hope *

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 ...

– Robert Blair

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 Succoth *

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 ...

– The Duke of Montrose *

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 Eskgrove

Events

4 January Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army. 1601–1900 *1642 – En ...

–

William Symington William Symington (1764–1831) was a Scottish engineer and inventor during the Georgian era. He is most well known as the builder of the first practical steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas. The engine has been described as ''"without doubt the mo ...

demonstrates his '' Charlotte Dundas'', the "first practical steamboat". * 27 July –

Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. Route The can ...

authorized by Act of Parliament and construction begins;

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

also this year begins work on improving roads in Scotland under the auspices of the Commissioners of Highland Roads and Bridges. and on his recommendation the British Fisheries Society acquires the site of Pulteneytown at

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

for development. * Kelso Bridge, designed by John Rennie, completed. * First Boulton and Watt steam engine in Scotland installed at an

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

. *

Lismore Seminary Lismore Seminary was situated in Kilcheran House on the island of Lismore, Scotland, Lismore in the Inner Hebrides part of Argyll, Scotland. It served as a seminary for the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland in the 19th century. At the time it was ...

is opened by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. * Most of the 'Luckenbooths' in High Street, Edinburgh are demolished, opening up the prospect of

St Giles' Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; ...

Births

* 15 January – Marjorie Fleming, child writer (died

1811 Events January–March * January 8 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes, in St. Charles and St. James Parishes, Louisiana. * January 17 – Mexican War of Independence – Battle of Calderón ...

) * 3 April –

David Bryce David Bryce Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE FRIBA Royal Scottish Academy, RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scotland, Scottish architect. Life Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David B ...

, architect (died

1876 Events January * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. *January 27 – The Northampton Bank robbery occurs in Massachusetts. February * Febr ...

) * 16 April – Edward Maitland, Lord Barcaple, judge (died

1870 Events January * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...

) * 12 July – Thomas Guthrie,

Free Church A free church is any Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church neither defines government policy, nor accept church theology or policy definitions from the government. A f ...

preacher and philanthropist (died

1873 Events January * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat the Unit ...

) * 10 September – Robert Wilson, mechanical engineer, inventor of the screw propeller (died 1882 in England) * 16 October – James Edward Alexander, soldier, author and traveller (died 1885) * 25 December –

Donald Gregory Donald Gregory (1803–1836) was a Scottish historian and antiquarian, who published a valuable history of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland. Origins Gregory was a younger son of Dr James Gregory (1753–1821), a leading Scottish phy ...

, antiquarian (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 ...

) and his twin brother William Gregory, chemist and psychic investigator (died 1858) * George Patton, Lord Glenalmond, judge (suicide

1869 Events January * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's second oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 – Elizabe ...

)

Deaths

2 April Events Pre-1600 * 1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Jo ...

– Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, politician and judge (born

1721 Events January–March * January 6 – The Committee of Inquiry on the collapse of the South Sea Company in Great Britain publishes its findings. * February 5 – James Stanhope, chief minister of Great Britain, dies a day after ...

) * 6 April – William Hamilton, diplomat (born

1730 Events January–March * January 30 (January 19 O.S.) – At dawn, Emperor Peter II of Russia dies of smallpox, aged 14 in Moscow, on the eve of his projected marriage. * February 26 (February 15 O.S.) – Anna of Russia ( ...

) * 3 June – Lord George Murray, Bishop of St David's and developer of the UK's first optical telegraph (born

1761 Events January–March * January 14 – Third Battle of Panipat: In India, the armies of the Durrani Empire from Afghanistan, led by Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition decisively defeat the Maratha Confederacy, killing over 1 ...

) * 18 August – James Beattie, poet and philosopher (born

1735 Events January–March * January 2 – Alexander Pope's poem '' Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot'' is published in London. * January 8 – George Frideric Handel's opera '' Ariodante'' is premièred at the Royal Opera House in Covent ...

) * Approximate date –

Johnnie Notions John Williamson (), more commonly known by the nickname Johnnie Notions ( ) was a self-taught physician from Shetland, Scotland, who independently developed and administered an inoculation for smallpox to thousands of patients in Shetland duri ...

(John Williamson), self-taught physician, pioneer of inoculation (born c. 1730)

The arts

*'' Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland, A. D. 1803'' written by

Dorothy Wordsworth Dorothy Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romanticism, Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had ...

(published 1874)

References

{{Years in Scotland

Years of the 19th century in Scotland 1800s in Scotland