Events from the year 1909 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, 1st Baron Pentland

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; then Alexander Ure *

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; then Arthur Dewar

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

* March – Construction of

Rosyth Dockyard Rosyth Dockyard is a large Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which formerly undertook refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels and submarines. Before its privatisation i ...

for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

on the east coast begins. *

17 April Events Pre-1600 * 1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. * 1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Ha ...

– 58 police officers and sixty other people are injured as 6,000 fans invade the pitch and brawl with rival fans and the police at the end of the drawn

Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the wo ...

replay between Rangers and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

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 ...

. The 1909 Scottish Cup and all medals are withheld. *

24 May Events Pre-1600 * 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom. * 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. *1276 – Magnus Ladu ...

– Dundee United F.C. is formed as Dundee Hibernian, playing its first match on 18 August. * 25 May – Oscar Slater found guilty of murder in Glasgow. * 28 July – Harold Barnwell makes the first

powered flight An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft Air propulsion, propulsion system. Aircraft using power components are referred to as powered flight. Most aircraft engines are either Reciprocating ...

in Scotland, an 80-yard (75 m) hop at 4m altitude in a canard

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

built with his brother Frank at

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, before crashing. * 18 September –

Partick Thistle F.C. Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick sinc ...

play their first match at their new

Firhill Stadium Firhill Stadium, also known as Wyre Stadium at Firhill for sponsorship reasons, is a Association football, football and former rugby union, rugby league and Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhil ...

. * 25 December – International footballer James Main suffers a fatal internal injury while playing for Hibernian F.C. against Partick Thistle at Firhill. * A new

Highland Land League The first Highland Land League () emerged as a distinct political force in Scotland during the 1880s, with its power base in the country's Highlands and Islands. It was known also as the Highland Land Law Reform Association and the Crofters' Par ...

is formed in Glasgow as a broadly left-wing political party. * The Congested Districts Board buys the island of

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 ...

from its absentee landowner and breaks it up into 58 crofts. * The

Royal Zoological Society of Scotland The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is a learned society and registered charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by Thomas Haining Gillespie in 1909. In 1913, Edinburgh Town Council bought a large plot of land on Corstorphine ...

is founded by Thomas Haining Gillespie, an

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

lawyer. * First British

bird ringing Bird ringing (UK) or bird banding (US) is the attachment of a small, individually numbered metal or plastic tag to the leg or wing of a wild bird to enable individual identification. This helps in keeping track of the movements of the bird an ...

programme initiated by

Arthur Landsborough Thomson Sir Arthur Landsborough Thomson CB OBE FRSE PZS LLD (8 October 1890 – 9 June 1977) was a Scottish medical researcher, mainly remembered as an amateur ornithologist and ornithological author and acknowledged expert on bird migration. Life He ...

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 ...

. * The Harris Tweed

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

is registered. * The Scotch whisky brand name

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

is introduced. * New pump room built at the

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

Strathpeffer Strathpeffer () is a village and spa town in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469. Geography It lies in a strath west of Dingwall, with the elevation ranging from above sea level. Sheltered on the west and north, ...

Births

16 January Events Pre-1600 * 1458 BC – Hatshepsut dies at the age of 50 and is buried in the Valley of the Kings. * 27 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman ...

– Ellen King, Olympic swimmer (died 1994 in England) *

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� ...

– Olive Fraser, poet (died

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

) *

21 January Events Pre-1600 * 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa. *1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conr ...

– James Hoy, Labour Member of Parliament for

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

1945-1970 (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 ...

) * 6 February – Seán Rafferty, poet (died 1993 in England) *

9 February Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire * 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland. * 1098 – A First Crusade army led by ...

–

Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson (née Cunningham) (9 February 1909 – 27 May 2002) was a Scottish historian and paleographer. Early years Born Marjorie Ogilvie Cunningham in St Andrews, she attended St Leonards School there before studying Englis ...

, historian and

paleographer Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic discipline of historical writing systems. It encompasses the historicity of manuscripts and texts, subsuming deciphering and dati ...

(died

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

) * 23 February – Lavinia Derwent (real name Elizabeth Dodd), author and broadcaster (died

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

) *

24 February Events Pre-1600 * 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene Christianity, Nicene bishops with Arianism, Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. *1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of ...

– Ethel MacDonald,

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and publisher (died

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

) * 6 March – Vagaland (real name Thomas Alexander Robertson),

Shetland dialect Shetland dialect (also variously known as Shetlandic; broad or auld Shetland or Shaetlan; and referred to as Modern Shetlandic Scots (MSS) by some linguists) is a dialect of Insular Scots spoken in Shetland, an archipelago to the north of main ...

poet (died

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

) *

14 March Events Pre-1600 *1074 – Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza I of Hungary, Géza and Ladislaus I of Hungary, Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland. *1590 – Battle ...

–

William Montgomery Watt William Montgomery Watt (14 March 1909 – 24 October 2006) was a Scottish historian and orientalist. An Anglican priest, Watt served as Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh from 1964 to 1979 and was also a prom ...

, historian and Emeritus Professor in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

(died

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

) *

19 March Events Pre-1600 * 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. * 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...

– Marjorie Linklater, campaigner for the arts and environment of Orkney (died

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

) * 27 April – Muriel C. Bradbrook, literary scholar and authority on Shakespeare (died 1993 in Cambridge) * 9 May –

Robert Garioch Robert Garioch Sutherland (9 May 1909 – 26 April 1981) was a Scottish poet and translator. His poetry was written almost exclusively in the Scots language, he was a key member in the literary and language revival in the mid-20th century. ...

, Scots language poet (died

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

) *

26 May Events Pre-1600 * 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe. * 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire takes ...

–

Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of an E ...

, football manager (died

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

) * 5 June –

Marion Crawford Marion Kirk Buthlay Royal Victorian Order, CVO (née Crawford; 5 June 1909 – 11 February 1988) was a Scottish educator and governess to Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II). Known then by her maiden name, E ...

, Scottish educator and governess to Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth II (died

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

) * 19 June –

William Grant, Lord Grant William Grant, Lord Grant, (19 June 1909 – 19 November 1972) was a Scottish advocate, a Unionist politician, and a judge. Born to the Grant's distillery family who created Glenfiddich whisky, he was one of Scotland's Great Officers of Sta ...

, Unionist MP, Solicitor General, Lord Advocate, and

(died

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

) * 5 September – Archie Jackson, Australian international cricketer (died 1933 in Australia) * 23 November – Nigel Tranter, historical writer (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 December – Helen Douglas Adam, poet, writer and dramatist (died 1993 in the United States) *

Helena Gloag Helena Gloag (23 February 1909 – 15 June 1973) was a Scottish actress. She had roles in films such as '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'', '' Ring of Bright Water'', ''Country Dance A country dance is any of a very large number of soci ...

, actress (died

)

Deaths

1 January January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in the Gregorian Calendar; 364 days remain until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year. __TOC__ Events ...

– Archibald Sturrock, steam locomotive engineer (born

1816 This year was known as the ''Year Without a Summer'', because of low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, possibly the result of the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, causing severe global cooling, catastrophic in some locati ...

) *

2 March Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his ''bucellarii'' are almost cut o ...

– Simon Somerville Laurie, educator (born

1829 Events January–March * January 19 – August Klingemann's adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' premieres in Braunschweig. * February 27 – Battle of Tarqui: Troops of Gran Colombia and Peru battle to a draw. * Marc ...

) * 27 March (probable) – John Davidson, poet (born

1857 Events January–March * January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, '' Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. * January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating. * Ja ...

) *

26 April Events Pre-1600 * 1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux. * 1478 – The Pazzi family attack on Lorenzo de' Medici in order to displace the ruling Medici family kills his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Fl ...

– Marcus Dods, theologian (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 ...

) *

9 August Events Pre-1600 *48 BC – Caesar's Civil War: Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt. * 378 – Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople: A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens ...

–

Jemima Blackburn Jemima Wedderburn Blackburn (1 May 1823 – 9 August 1909) was a Scottish painter whose work illustrated rural life in 19th-century Scotland. One of the most popular illustrators in Victorian Britain, she illustrated 27 books. Her greatest or ...

, painter and illustrator (born

1823 Events January–March * January 22 – By secret treaty signed at the Congress of Verona, the Quintuple Alliance gives France a mandate to invade Spain for the purpose of restoring Ferdinand VII (who has been captured by armed revoluti ...

) * 9 October – Hugh Blackburn, mathematician (born

) * 29 December – James Main, footballer (born

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

)

The Arts

* 2 November – The first English-language performance of a play by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

opens, ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

'', translated and directed by George Calderon, by the Glasgow Repertory Theatre company at the

Royalty Theatre, Glasgow The Royalty Theatre, Glasgow (later the Lyric Theatre) was a theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live a ...

Notes

References

{{Years in Scotland

Years of the 20th century in Scotland 1900s in Scotland

Incumbents

Law officers

Judiciary

Events

Births

Deaths

The Arts

See also

Notes

References