1988 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 1988 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – Malcolm Rifkind

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Lord Cameron of Lochbroom
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Peter Fraser

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Emslie
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Ross
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Elliott

Events

• March – Seafield Colliery at Kirkcaldy closes.
• 26 April–26 September – Glasgow Garden Festival. Bell's Bridge is built in connection with it.
• 21 May – "Sermon on the Mound": Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, addresses the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
• 6 July – Piper Alpha oil rig in the North Sea explodes and results in the death of 167 workers.^[1]
• 7 August – Scotland on Sunday newspaper launched.
• 2 November – Housing (Scotland) Act 1988, receives Royal Assent.
• 10 November – The Scottish National Party win the Glasgow Govan by-election from Labour with a swing of 33%.
• 6–10 December – The 1988 European Curling Championships take place in Perth.^[2]
• 21 December – Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over the town of Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, and kills a total of 270 people – including all 259 on board. It is believed that the cause of the explosion was a terrorist bomb.^[3]

Births

• 7 January – Alan Lowing, footballer^[4]
• 2 June – Grado (Graeme Stevely), professional wrestler and screen actor
• 21 July – Chris Mitchell, footballer (died 2016)^[5]
• 22 October – Sharon Rooney, actress
• 5 December – Omar Raza, actor
• 30 December – Leon Jackson, pop singer

Deaths

• 11 February – Marion Crawford, Scottish educator and governess to Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth II (born 1909)^[6]
• 12 April – Harry McShane, socialist (born 1891)
• 26 August – Oscar Marzaroli, photographer (born 1933 in Italy)

The Arts

• August – The Proclaimers release their album Sunshine on Leith with lead single "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)".

See also

• 1988 in Northern Ireland

Notes and References

1. News: Piper Alpha oil rig ablaze. BBC News. 2008-02-02. 1988-07-06.
2. Web site: Olympedia – Olympians Who Won a Medal at the European Curling Championships . www.olympedia.org . 4 February 2024.
3. News: Jumbo jet crashes onto Lockerbie. BBC News. 2008-02-02. 1988-12-21.
4. Web site: Alan Lowing Stats, News, Bio . ESPN . 26 April 2020 . en.
5. Web site: Obituary: Chris Mitchell, footballer . www.scotsman.com . 26 April 2020 . en.
6. Book: Ewan . Elizabeth . Pipes . Rose . Rendall . Jane . Reynolds . Siân . The new biographical dictionary of Scottish women . 2018 . 978-1-4744-3628-1 . 99-100.