Events from the year 1908 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
*
Secretary for Scotland
The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
and
Keeper of the Great Seal –
John Sinclair
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 Shaw
*
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 ...
–
Alexander Ure
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. ...
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 Dunedin
*
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 Kingsburgh
Events
*
26 January – the
1st Glasgow Scout Group is granted the
oldest Scout Group registration known.
*
25 April –
Kincardineshire by-election:
Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray (born Moses Teichman; April 4, 1895 – March 3, 1991) was an American ballroom dancer and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name.
Early life and start in dance
Arthur Mur ...
holds the seat for the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
.
*
1 May–
31 October – Scottish National Exhibition held in
Saughton Park
Saughton Park is a public park in Edinburgh, Scotland. It includes formal gardens, specimen trees, exotic plant greenhouses, a cafe, a bandstand, playing fields, an athletics track, a skateboard park and a creative play area. The skatepark was ...
, Edinburgh.
*
9 May –
Dundee by-election:
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
holds the seat for the Liberal Party.
* May –
Ladies' Scottish Climbing Club formed.
*
14 July – first ship launched from
Yarrow Shipbuilders
Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also o ...
' new yard at
Scotstoun
Scotstoun () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde (and Braehead ...
, the first
''Pará''-class destroyer for the
Brazilian Navy
The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations.
The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...
.
*
11–
12 August:
Sailing at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Sailing (sport), Sailing/Yachting is an Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad (Sailing at the 1896 Summer Olympics, 1896 Olympics in Athens, Greece). With the exception of the 1904 Summer Olympics, 1904 and the canceled 1916 ...
: The 12-metre class is contested from
Hunters Quay on the
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...
and won by
Thomas C. Glen-Coats' ''Hera''.
* Landless men from
Barra
Barra (; or ; ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by the Vatersay Causeway.
In 2011, the population was 1,174. ...
who have crossed to
Vatersay
The island of Vatersay (; ) is the southernmost and westernmost inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, and the settlement of Caolas on the north coast of the island is the westernmost permanently inhabited place in Scotland. The m ...
on a
land raid in an attempt to claim land are prosecuted by the absentee landowner
Emily Gordon, Lady Cathcart, and imprisoned for two months in Edinburgh, although the judge is critical of the landowner.
* St Mary's Episcopal Church in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
is raised to the status of
St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow, within the
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...
.
*
Walter Robberds,
Bishop of Brechin
The Bishop of Brechin is a title held successively, since c. 1150: (firstly) by bishops of the Catholic church until the Reformation of 1560; (secondly) by bishops of the Church of Scotland until that church declared itself presbyterian in ...
, becomes
Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church
The primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, styled "The Most Reverend the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church", is the presiding bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church. The current Primus is the Most Revd. Mark Strange who became primus o ...
, an office he will hold until
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
.
*
Eskdalemuir Observatory
The Eskdalemuir Observatory is a UK national environmental observatory located near Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Along with Lerwick and Hartland, Eskdalemuir is one of three permanent geomagnetic observatories in the United King ...
opened for geophysical and meteorological recording.
*
West Highland White Terrier
The West Highland White Terrier (commonly shortened to Westie) is a dog breed, breed of dog from Scotland with a distinctive white harsh coat and somewhat soft white undercoat. It is a medium-sized terrier, though with longer legs than other ...
first so named as a breed.
*
Perth Racecourse, the most northerly in Britain, opened for
National Hunt racing
National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, horse racing in Great Britain, Great Britain and horse racing in Ireland, Ireland. Jump Racin ...
.
Births
*
20 January
Events Pre-1600
* 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
*1156 – Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry (bishop of Finland), Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Köyliönjärvi, Lake Köyli� ...
–
Ian Peebles, cricketer (died
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
)
*
28 January
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.
* 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of ...
–
Jimmy Shand
Sir James Shand (28 January 1908 – 23 December 2000) was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion. His signature tune was "The Bluebell Polka".
Life and career
James Shand was born in East Wemyss i ...
, accordionist and bandleader (died
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
)
*
2 February
Events Pre-1600
* 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths, promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (''Breviarium Alaricianum'' or ''Lex Romana Visigothorum''), a collection of "Roman law".
* 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: Ki ...
–
J. K. Annand, poet and founding editor of
Lallans
Lallans ( , ; a Modern Scots variant of the word ''lawlands'', referring to the lowlands of Scotland), is a term that was traditionally used to refer to the Scots language as a whole. However, more recent interpretations assume it refers to t ...
magazine (died
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
)
*
15 April
Events Pre-1600
* 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings.
* 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard. ...
–
Denis Devlin
Denis Devlin (15 April 1908 – 21 August 1959) was, along with Samuel Beckett, Thomas MacGreevy and Brian Coffey, one of the generation of Irish modernist poets to emerge at the end of the 1920s. He was also a career diplomat.
Early life and ...
, Irish modernist poet and diplomat (died
1959 in Ireland)
*
22 April
Events Pre-1600
*1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil ( discovery of Brazil).
*1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico.
* 1529 – Treaty of Zaragoza ...
–
Leonard Schapiro
Leonard Bertram Naman Schapiro (22 April 1908 – 2 November 1983) was a British scholar of the origins and development of the Soviet political system. He taught for many years at the London School of Economics, where he was Professor of Po ...
, scholar of Russian politics (died 1983 in London)
*
27 April
Events Pre-1600
* 247 – Philip the Arab marks the millennium of Rome with a celebration of the ''ludi saeculares''.
* 395 – Emperor Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. She becomes one o ...
–
Mary Docherty, Communist activist (died
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
)
*
23 May
Events Pre-1600
*1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction.
* 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
*1533 – The marriage of King Henry VII ...
–
Duncan Black
Duncan Black, FBA (23 May 1908 – 14 January 1991) was a Scottish economist who laid the foundations of social choice theory. In particular he was responsible for unearthing the work of many early political scientists, including Charles Lut ...
, economist (died 1991 in
Paignton
Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority, borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the Engli ...
)
*
5 June –
Bill Fraser
William Simpson Fraser (5 June 1908 – 9 September 1987) was a Scottish actor who appeared on stage, screen and television for many years. In 1986 he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his stage role in the play '' ...
, stage and screen actor (died 1987 in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
)
*
7 June
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia at Constantinople (Byzantine Empire).
* 879 – Pope John VIII recognises the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state.
*1002 – Henry ...
–
Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was the founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was born into a poor family in Derbyshire and left school at the age of ten to start work as a gardener's boy. He served an appren ...
, Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for constituencies in Dundee 1945–52; died
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, ...
)
*
10 June
Events Pre-1600
* 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock (clepsydra) called ''Rokoku''. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu.
*1190 – Third Crusade: Frederick I Ba ...
–
Russell Waters
Russell Waters (10 June 1908 – 19 August 1982) was a British film actor.
Waters was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow. He began acting with the Old English Comedy and Shakespeare Company then app ...
, stage and screen actor (died 1982 in London)
*
12 June
Events Pre-1600
* 910 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors.
*1206 – The Ghurid general Qutb ud-Din Aibak ...
–
Ronnie Selby Wright, Church of Scotland minister (died
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
)
*
23 August –
Hannah Frank
Hannah Frank (23 August 1908 – 18 December 2008) was an artist and sculptor from Glasgow, Scotland. She was known for her Art Nouveau monochrome drawings until she decided to concentrate on sculpture in 1952.
Background and education
Frank's ...
, visual artist (died
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
)
*
24 August
Events Pre-1600
* 367 – Gratian, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-Augustus at the age of eight by his father.
* 394 – The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, the latest known inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs, is written.
* ...
–
Ian Garrow, army officer (died
1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
)
*
19 October –
Sydney MacEwan, singer and priest (died
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
)
*
28 October –
Angus MacVicar
Angus MacVicar (28 October 1908, Argyll – 31 October 2001, Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute) was a Scottish author with a wide-ranging output. His greatest successes came in three separate genres: crime thrillers, juvenile science fiction, and a ...
, writer (died
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
)
*
Jeannie Robertson
Regina Christina Robertson (21 October 1908 – 13 March 1975) was a Scottish folk singer.
She is known for her version of the traditional song " I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day", otherwise known as "Jock Stewart", which was covered by ...
, folk singer (died
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. ...
)
Deaths
*
25 January –
Sir Thomas McCall Anderson, professor of practice of medicine (born
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 ...
)
*
30 January
Events Pre-1600
* 1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
* 1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
1601–1900
* 1607 – An est ...
–
James Bell Pettigrew, naturalist and museum curator (born
1834
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states.
* January 3 – The government of Mexico imprisons Stephen F. Austin in Mexico City.
* January – The W ...
)
*
22 March
Events Pre-1600
*106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea.
* 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century.
* 871 – Æthelred of ...
–
John William Crombie, Liberal MP for
Kincardineshire
Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the stewartry"), is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area on the ...
(1892–1908)
[''The Times'' 23 March 1908.](born
1858
Events
January–March
* January 9
** Revolt of Rajab Ali: British forces finally defeat Rajab Ali Khan of Chittagong.
** Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide.
* January 14 – Orsini affair: Pi ...
)
*
24 March
Events Pre-1600
*1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6.
*1387 – English victory over a Franco- Castilian- Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate ...
–
Sir James David Marwick, lawyer, historian and town clerk (born
1826
Events January–March
* January 15 – The French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a satirical weekly.
* January 17 – The Ballantyne printing business in Edinburgh (Scotland) crashes, ruining noveli ...
)
*
13 May
Events Pre-1600
*1344 – A Latin Christian fleet defeats a Turkish fleet in the battle of Pallene during the Smyrniote crusades.
*1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, vis ...
–
Louisa Stevenson, campaigner for women's rights (born
1835
Events
January–March
* January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as naturalist.
* January 8 – The United States public debt contracts to zero, for the only time in history. ...
)
*
7 June
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia at Constantinople (Byzantine Empire).
* 879 – Pope John VIII recognises the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state.
*1002 – Henry ...
–
William Lithgow, shipbuilder (born
1854
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''.
* January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born.
* January 9 – The Te ...
)
*
25 October
Events Pre-1600
* 285 or 286 – Execution of Saints Crispin and Crispinian during the reign of Diocletian, now the patron saints of leather workers, curriers, and shoemakers.
* 473 – Emperor Leo I acclaims his grandson Leo II a ...
–
Lewis Campbell, classicist (born
1830
It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy.
Events January–March
* January 11 – LaGrange College (later the University of North Alabama) ...
)
*
19 December –
Thomas Lomar Gray, engineer, noted for his pioneering work in seismology (born
1850
Events
January–March
* January 29 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the United States Congress.
* January 31 – The University of Rochester is founded in Rochester, New York.
* January – Sacramento, Ca ...
)
*
Joseph Henderson, artist (born
1832
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society.
* January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white pla ...
)
*
John James Stevenson, architect (born
1831
Events
January–March
* January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti-slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts.
* January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Kyoto estab ...
)
The arts
*
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
and
Jane Findlater's novel ''Crossriggs'' is published.
See also
*
Timeline of Scottish history
This is a timeline of Scottish history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Scotland and its predecessor states. See also Timeline of prehistoric Scotland.
__NOTOC__
To read about the background to many ...
*
1908 in Ireland
References
{{Years in Scotland
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 ...
Years of the 20th century in Scotland
1900s in Scotland