1751 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 1751 in Scotland.

Incumbents

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – William Grant of Prestongrange
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Patrick Haldane of Gleneagles, jointly with Alexander Hume

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session – Lord Arniston the Elder
• Lord Justice General – Lord Ilay
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Tinwald

Events

• 24 April – John Wesley arrives at Musselburgh, his destination on his first mission to Scotland.^[1]
• 21 June – Alexander Geddes from Kinnermony, Banffshire, is executed at Aberdeen for bestiality, becoming the last felon in Scotland to be burnt following execution.^[2]
• 1 July – The Cameronians, at this time serving in Ireland, are formally ranked as the 26th Regiment of Foot.
• David Hume settles in Edinburgh and publishes An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals.^[3]
• In the University of Glasgow:
  • Adam Smith is appointed professor of logic.
  • The Medical School is founded.
• John Smith & Son bookshop in Glasgow established, claiming to be the oldest surviving bookseller in the English-speaking world.^[4]
• Culter paper mill established.^[5]
• First turnpike act for Scotland, for improvement of the road from Edinburgh to South Queensferry.^[6]
• Approximate date – bridge built at Bridge of Orchy.^[7]

Births

• 23 April – Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, colonial administrator (died 1814 in England)
• 3 or 29 June – William Roxburgh, surgeon and botanist, "father of Indian botany" (died 1815)
• 2 August – William Adam of Blair Adam, judge and politician (died 1839)
• 8 August – William Leslie, British Army officer (killed 1777 at Battle of Princeton)
• 10 December – James Donaldson, printer, newspaper publisher and philanthropist (died 1830)
• Donald Campbell, traveler in India and the Middle East (died 1804 in England)
• Approximate date – Helen Craik, novelist and poet (died 1825 in England)

Deaths

• 16 February – Charles Maitland, politician (born c. 1704)
• 18 February – Patrick Campbell, politician (born 1684)^[8]
• 24 May – William Hamilton, comic poet (born c. 1665)
• 22 August (2 September NS) – Andrew Gordon, Benedictine and inventor (born 1712; died in Saxony)
• September – David Fordyce, philosopher (born 1711; lost at sea)

The arts

• Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair publishes his anti-Hanoverian volume of poems Ais-Eiridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich ("The Resurrection of the Ancient Scottish Language") in Edinburgh, including his satire on the aisling form An Airce ("The Ark").
• Tobias Smollett's novel The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle is published.^[3]
• Robert Louis Stevenson's book "Kidnapped" is based in 1751.

See also

• Timeline of Scottish history

Notes and References

1. Book: Cheetham, Keith. On the Trail of John Wesley. Edinburgh. Luath Press. 2003. 9781842820230. 163.
2. Web site: Notable Dates in History. The Scots Independent. 2016-02-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20160125210210/http://scotsindependent.scot/oldsitearchive/scotind/dates1-e.htm. 25 January 2016. dead.
3. Book: Williams, Hywel. Cassell's Chronology of World History. registration. London. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2005. 0-304-35730-8. 314–315.
4. Web site: JS Group is a forward looking business that can trace its roots back to 1751 when the bookseller John Smith and Son was founded in Glasgow. JS Group. 2014. 2016-02-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20160315080557/http://www.johnsmithgroup.com/live/about-us/history. 15 March 2016. dead.
5. Web site: Curtis Fine Papers. https://web.archive.org/web/20180729061551/https://oldestscottishcompanies.wikispaces.com/Curtis+Fine+Papers. dead. 29 July 2018. Business Archives Council Scotland. 2016-02-23.
6. Book: Chalmers, George. George Chalmers (antiquarian). Caledonia. 2. 1810. 865.
7. Web site: Bridge of Orchy. Canmore. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Edinburgh. 1996. 2016-02-23.
8. Web site: CAMPBELL, Patrick (1684-1751), of South Hall, Argyll. History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org. 1 July 2017.