Events from the year 1920 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 – Robert Munro

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 ...

– James Avon Clyde until 31 March; then

Thomas Brash Morison Thomas Brash Morison, Lord Morison (21 November 1868 – 28 July 1945) was a Scottish politician and judge. In March 1922 he was created a Senator of the College of Justice with the title of Lord Morison. Life Morison was born in Edinburgh. ...

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 ...

–

until 31 March; then Charles David Murray

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 Strathclyde until 1 April; then Lord Clyde *

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 Dickson *

Chairman of the Scottish Land Court The Scottish Land Court () is a Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies, and matters related to crofts and crofters. The S ...

– Lord St Vigeans

Events

12 February Events Pre-1600 *1096 – Pope Urban II confirms the foundation of the abbey of La Roë under Robert of Arbrissel as a community of canons regular. * 1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sofia performed the first post-mo ...

– Paisley by-election: Former Prime Minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

, who lost his East Fife seat at the general election two years previously, retains the seat for Liberals, with an increased majority of 2,834 votes over the Labour Party candidate, John McLaren Biggar. *

31 March Events Pre-1600 * 307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman emperor Maximian. * 1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging ...

– **

appointed

, replacing James Avon Clyde ** Charles David Murray appointed

, replacing

* 8 June – John Wilson installed as

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

with the judicial title Lord Ashmore, replacing the deceased Lord Guthrie * 17 August – transatlantic liner RMS ''Empress of Canada'' is launched at the

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, was a Scottish shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Na ...

's yard at

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

on the Clyde for

Canadian Pacific Steamships CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...

. * 20 November – Edinburgh absorbs the burgh of

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 ...

. * 5 December – Scotland votes against

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

generally, although about 40 districts vote in favour. * First

council house A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

s in Scotland, and the first housing estate in Europe to have a

district heating District heating (also known as heat networks) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heater, space heating and w ...

system, the Logie Estate in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

. * Edith Hughes establishes her own architectural practice, in Glasgow, the first British woman to do so. * The fishing village of Obbe on the Isle of Harris is renamed Leverburgh after the English landowner William Lever, Baron Leverhulme. * Scottish Protestant League founded by Alexander Ratcliffe. * Border Terrier first recognised as a

dog breed A dog breed is a particular type of dog that was purposefully bred by humans to perform specific tasks, such as herding, hunting, and guarding. Dogs are the most variable mammal on Earth, with artificial selection producing upward of 360 globall ...

The Kennel Club The Royal Kennel Club (KC) is the official kennel club of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest recognised kennel club in the world. Its role is to oversee various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials. It also ...

Births

3 January Events Pre-1600 * 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor. * 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except ...

– Hugh McCartney, Labour MP (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 ...

) * 4 March –

Alan MacNaughtan Alan MacNaughtan (4 March 1920 – 29 August 2002) was a Scottish actor, born in Bearsden, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. He was educated at the Glasgow Academy, trained at RADA, and graduated in 1940 with the Bancroft Gold Medal. An experienc ...

, Scottish actor (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 ...

) * 27 April – Edwin Morgan, poet (died

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

) * 2 May – Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson, pianist and composer (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 ...

) *

22 September Events Pre-1600 * 904 – The warlord Zhu Quanzhong kills Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, Emperor Zhaozong, the penultimate emperor of the Tang dynasty, after seizing control of the imperial government. *1236 – The Samogitians defeat the L ...

– Lyall Stuart Scott, consultant surgeon (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 ...

) *

17 October Events Pre-1600 * 690 – Empress Wu Zetian establishes the Zhou Dynasty of China. * 1091 – London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London. * 1346 – The English capture King D ...

– Donald Stewart, SNP MP for the Western Isles 1970–87 (died

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

) * 22 November –

Anne Crawford Imelda Anne Crawford (22 November 1920 – 17 October 1956) was a British film actress. Biography Crawford was born in Palestine to a Scottish father and an English mother, and brought up in Edinburgh. On the advice of Alastair Sim, she atten ...

, film actress, born in Mandatory Palestine (died 1956 in England) *

28 November Events Pre-1600 * 587 – Treaty of Andelot: King Guntram of Burgundy recognizes Childebert II as his heir. * 936 – Shi Jingtang is enthroned as the first emperor of the Later Jin by Emperor Taizong of Liao, following a revolt ...

– Alexander Scott, poet and literary scholar (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 ...

) * 13 December –

John Rennie (GC) Acting Sergeant John Rennie, GC (13 December 1920 – 29 October 1943) was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the gallantry he displayed in protecting others after a training accident at Riddlesworth in Norfolk on 29 October 1943. Serv ...

, acting

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's), awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

(died 1943 in England)

Deaths

* 18 January – John McClure, admiral in the

Imperial Chinese Navy The Imperial Chinese Navy was the modern navy of the Qing dynasty of China established in 1875. An Imperial naval force in China first came into existence from 1132 during the Song dynasty and existed in some form until the end of the Qing dynast ...

(born

1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes thousands of deaths in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February 4 – Seminoles attack Fo ...

) * 14 April – John George Bartholomew, cartographer (born

1860 Events January * January 2 – The astronomer Urbain Le Verrier announces the discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan (hypothetical planet), Vulcan at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 &ndas ...

) *

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 ...

–

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgi ...

, international footballer (born

1863 Events January * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate States of America an official war goal. The signing ...

) * 10 August – Erskine Beveridge, textile manufacturer and antiquarian (born

1851 Events January–March * January 11 – Hong Xiuquan officially begins the Taiping Rebellion in China, one of the bloodiest revolts that would lead to 20 million deaths. * January 15 – Christian Female College, modern-d ...

) * 12 October – Thomas Lennox Watson, architect, (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 ...

) * Robert Munro,

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeol ...

, (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. ...

)

The arts

* Catherine Carswell publishes her first novel, ''Open the Door!'', set in Glasgow *

Will Fyffe Will Fyffe, CBE (16 February 1885 – 14 December 1947) was a Scottish music hall and performing artist on stage and screen during the 1930s and 1940s. Fyffe made his debut in his father's stock company at age 6. He travelled extensively throug ...

writes and records the song " I Belong to Glasgow" * Pavilion Cinema in

Galashiels Galashiels (; , ) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile in ...

opens as The Playhouse.

References

{{Years in Scotland

Years of the 20th century in Scotland 1920s in Scotland