1853 in Scotland

Centuries:	17th ; 18th ; 19th ; 20th ; 21st ;
Decades:	1830s ; 1840s ; 1850s ; 1860s ; 1870s ;
See also:	List of years in Scotland ; Timeline of Scottish history ; 1853 in: The UK • Wales • Elsewhere

Last updated March 12, 2025

Incumbents

Law officers

Lord Advocate – James Moncreiff
Solicitor General for Scotland – Charles Neaves; then Robert Handyside; then James Craufurd

Judiciary

Events

12 August – Licensing (Scotland) Act (known after its sponsor as the 'Forbes Mackenzie Act') regulates the supply of intoxicating beverages.^[1]
28 September – emigrant ship Annie Jane sinks in heavy seas off Vatersay, with the loss of 350 lives.^[2]
Highland Clearances in Skye and Raasay.^[3]
National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights formed.
Second cholera pandemic again revives in Scotland.
Time ball installed on Nelson Monument, Edinburgh.
Corn exchange built in Dalkeith.
John Hill Burton publishes his History of Scotland from the Revolution to the Extinction of the last Jacobite Insurrection.

Births

12 January – James MacLaren, architect in the "Arts and Crafts" style (died 1890)
4 March – Hector MacDonald, soldier (suicide 1903 in Paris)
31 March – Isaac Bayley Balfour, botanist (died 1922)
10 June – Alexander Watson Hutton, "father of football in Argentina" (died 1936 in Buenos Aires)
17 July – William Gunion Rutherford, classical scholar (died 1907 in England)

Deaths

2 January – William Collins, publisher (born 1789)
30 July – John Struthers, poet (born 1776)
28 September – Adam Anderson, Lord Anderson, judge (born c.1797)
21 October – Robert Gordon, minister of religion and scientist (born 1786)

The arts

Summer – John Everett Millais stays at Brig o' Turk in Glen Finglas with John Ruskin and his wife Effie to begin painting John Ruskin .
Alexander Smith's 'A Life Drama' is published as Poems.

References

↑ Matthew, H. C. G. (2004). "Mackenzie, William Forbes (1807–1862)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17605 . Retrieved 27 June 2011.(subscription or UK public library membership required)
↑ "Annie Jane". Wreck site. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
↑ "The Skye and Raasay Clearances – 1853". Scotland's History. BBC. Retrieved 10 October 2010.

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[1] Matthew, H. C. G. (2004). "Mackenzie, William Forbes (1807–1862)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17605 . Retrieved 27 June 2011.(subscription or UK public library membership required)

[2] "Annie Jane". Wreck site. Retrieved 14 April 2014.

[3] "The Skye and Raasay Clearances – 1853". Scotland's History. BBC. Retrieved 10 October 2010.

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v t e Years in Scotland (843–present)
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13th century	1200s 1210s 1220s 1230s 1240s 1250s 1260s 1270s 1280s 1290s
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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
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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
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