1820 in Scotland

Centuries:	17th ; 18th ; 19th ; 20th ; 21st ;
Decades:	1800s ; 1810s ; 1820s ; 1830s ; 1840s ;
See also:	List of years in Scotland ; Timeline of Scottish history ; 1820 in: The UK • Wales • Elsewhere

Last updated August 10, 2025

Incumbents

Law officers

Judiciary

Events

13 March – Clan Grant raid on Elgin in a disputed election to the town council.
April – Dundee Lunatic Asylum officially opened.^[1]
1–2 April – a proclamation, signed "By order of the Committee of Organisation for forming a Provisional Government", is distributed in the Glasgow area, beginning the "Radical War" in Scotland. The following day, around 60,000 – particularly weavers – stop work across a wide area of central Scotland.
5 April – Radical War: "Battle of Bonnymuir" – troops capture radicals near Bonnybridge.^[2]
8 April – Radical War: Radical prisoners from Paisley are freed from jail in Greenock after militia have killed eight of the crowd.^[2]
22 April – Walter Scott is created 1st baronet of Abbotsford in the County of Roxburgh in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom.^[3]
1 May – Robert Owen's Report to the County of Lanark, of a plan for relieving public distress and removing discontent (published 1821) is delivered.
26 July – opening of Union Chain Bridge across the River Tweed between England and Scotland, designed by Captain Samuel Brown. Its span of 449 ft (137 metres) is the longest in the Western world at this time, and it is the first wrought iron vehicular suspension bridge of its type in Britain.^[4]
30 August – Radical War: Radical leader James Wilson, a Strathaven weaver, is executed for treason on Glasgow Green for his part in the rising.^[2]
8 September – Radical War: Radical leaders John Baird and Andrew Hardie are executed at Stirling for their part in the rising at Bonnybridge.^[2]
10 October – thief David Haggart murders the keeper of the Dumfries tolbooth while escaping imprisonment.
15 December – PS Comet (1812) is wrecked near Craignish.
22 December–23 May 1821 – Radical War: Remaining prisoners are transported from England to Australia on the convict ship Speke.^[2]
The United Secession Church is established as a Presbyterian denomination by union of various churches which have seceded from the established Church of Scotland.
Finishing of work on Charlotte Square completes the first New Town, Edinburgh.
Remainder of the Nor Loch in Edinburgh is drained to form what will become Princes Street Gardens.
The Edinburgh botanical garden is moved to the Inverleith site of the modern-day Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
Inveraray Jail and Courthouse opened.
The mineral thomsonite is first discovered, in Scotland.^[5]
The Edinburgh Phrenological Society is established.
John Walker sets up as a grocer and wine and spirits merchant in Kilmarnock, from where he will sell the blended Scotch whisky which will be branded as Johnnie Walker.
The 6th Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica is published.
The Scottish Cemetery at Calcutta is established in British India.
Approximate date
- Construction of Ardlamont House.
- Development of Barbaraville begins.
- Demolition and replacement of old village of Cullen to extend the gardens of Cullen House in Moray begins.
- Gordon Setter dog breed standard formalised by Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon.

Births

4 April – David Kirkaldy, engineer, pioneer of materials testing (died 1897 in England)^[6]
21 April – Peter Kerr, architect (died 1912 in Australia)
1 May – Henry Yule, orientalist (died 1889 in England)
24 May – William Bruce Robertson, Presbyterian preacher (died 1886)
29 June – Patrick Stirling, locomotive engineer (died 1895 in Doncaster)
5 July – William John Macquorn Rankine, physicist (died 1872)
6 August – Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, entrepreneur, statesman and philanthropist (died 1914 in Canada)
William Downie, gold prospector (died 1893 in North America)
James Mckenzie, outlaw in New Zealand (died after 1856 in Australia?)
Edward Wilson, railway civil and locomotive engineer (died 1877 in England)

Deaths

14 January – Agnes Broun or Burnes, mother of Robert Burns (born 1732)
12 March – Sir Alexander Mackenzie, explorer of Canada (born 1764)
2 April – Thomas Brown, philosopher (born 1778; died in London)
15 April – John Bell, surgeon (born 1763; died in Rome)
4 September – John Dunlop, merchant and miscellaneous writer (born 1755)
6 September – James Ferguson, lawyer, politician and landowner (born 1735; died in London)
11 October – James Keir, geologist, chemist and industrialist (born 1735; died in Birmingham)
8 December – Archibald Colquhoun, lawyer and politician (born c.1754)

The arts

Robert Chambers's publishing company publishes The Songs of Robert Burns.
Walter Scott's novels The Abbot and The Monastery are published anonymously; also the first collected edition of his Poetical Works^[3] and his song "Hail to the Chief".
Agnes C. Hall's novel The Highland Castle and the Lowland Cottage is published under the pen-name Rosalia St Clair.
Robert Archibald Smith's The Scotish [sic.] Minstrel: a selection from the vocal melodies of Scotland ancient and modern begins publication in Edinburgh.
David Wilkie paints Reading the Will .

References

↑ "Collection THB 7 - Royal Dundee Liff Hospital". Archive Services Catalogue. University of Dundee. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
1 2 3 4 5 "Notable Dates in History". The Flag in the Wind. The Scots Independent. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
1 2 Cox, Michael, ed. (2004). The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature . Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860634-6.
↑ Drewry, Charles Stewart (1832). "Section III". A Memoir of Suspension Bridges: Comprising The History Of Their Origin And Progress. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman. pp. 37–41. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
↑ "Thomas Thomson from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
↑ Day, Lance; McNeil, Ian (11 September 2002). Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology. Routledge. p. 695. ISBN 978-1-134-65019-4.

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[UoDArchiveTHB7-1] "Collection THB 7 - Royal Dundee Liff Hospital". Archive Services Catalogue. University of Dundee. Retrieved 15 December 2023.

[Notable_Dates-2] 1 2 3 4 5 "Notable Dates in History". The Flag in the Wind. The Scots Independent. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.

[cocel-3] 1 2 Cox, Michael, ed. (2004). The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature . Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860634-6.

[4] Drewry, Charles Stewart (1832). "Section III". A Memoir of Suspension Bridges: Comprising The History Of Their Origin And Progress. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman. pp. 37–41. Retrieved 16 August 2011.

[5] "Thomas Thomson from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info. Retrieved 26 December 2021.

[6] Day, Lance; McNeil, Ian (11 September 2002). Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology. Routledge. p. 695. ISBN 978-1-134-65019-4.

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v t e Years in Scotland (843–present)
11th century	1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100
12th century	1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157 1158 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 1167 1168 1169 1170 1171 1172 1173 1174 1175 1176 1177 1178 1179 1180 1181 1182 1183 1184 1185 1186 1187 1188 1189 1190 1191 1192 1193 1194 1195 1196 1197 1198 1199 1200
13th century	1200s 1210s 1220s 1230s 1240s 1250s 1260s 1270s 1280s 1290s
14th century	1301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 1310 1311 1312 1313 1314 1315 1316 1317 1318 1319 1320 1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 1327 1328 1329 1330 1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 1337 1338 1339 1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346 1347 1348 1349 1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1355 1356 1357 1358 1359 1360 1361 1362 1363 1364 1365 1366 1367 1368 1369 1370 1371 1372 1373 1374 1375 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 1386 1387 1388 1389 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1395 1396 1397 1398 1399 1400
15th century	1401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 1409 1410 1411 1412 1413 1414 1415 1416 1417 1418 1419 1420 1421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1426 1427 1428 1429 1430 1431 1432 1433 1434 1435 1436 1437 1438 1439 1440 1441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1446 1447 1448 1449 1450 1451 1452 1453 1454 1455 1456 1457 1458 1459 1460 1461 1462 1463 1464 1465 1466 1467 1468 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 1480 1481 1482 1483 1484 1485 1486 1487 1488 1489 1490 1491 1492 1493 1494 1495 1496 1497 1498 1499 1500
16th century	1501 1502 1503 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 1510 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1516 1517 1518 1519 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 1546 1547 1548 1549 1550 1551 1552 1553 1554 1555 1556 1557 1558 1559 1560 1561 1562 1563 1564 1565 1566 1567 1568 1569 1570 1571 1572 1573 1574 1575 1576 1577 1578 1579 1580 1581 1582 1583 1584 1585 1586 1587 1588 1589 1590 1591 1592 1593 1594 1595 1596 1597 1598 1599 1600
17th century	1601 1602 1603 1604 1605 1606 1607 1608 1609 1610 1611 1612 1613 1614 1615 1616 1617 1618 1619 1620 1621 1622 1623 1624 1625 1626 1627 1628 1629 1630 1631 1632 1633 1634 1635 1636 1637 1638 1639 1640 1641 1642 1643 1644 1645 1646 1647 1648 1649 1650 1651 1652 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 1658 1659 1660 1661 1662 1663 1664 1665 1666 1667 1668 1669 1670 1671 1672 1673 1674 1675 1676 1677 1678 1679 1680 1681 1682 1683 1684 1685 1686 1687 1688 1689 1690 1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700
18th century	1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 1712 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723 1724 1725 1726 1727 1728 1729 1730 1731 1732 1733 1734 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800
19th century	1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
20th century	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026