1831 in Scotland

Centuries:	17th; 18th; 19th; 20th; 21st;
Decades:	1810s; 1820s; 1830s; 1840s; 1850s;
See also:	List of years in Scotland; Timeline of Scottish history; 1831 in: The UK • Wales • Elsewhere

Events from the year 1831 in Scotland.

Incumbents[]

Law officers[]

Lord Advocate – Francis Jeffrey
Solicitor General for Scotland – Henry Cockburn

Judiciary[]

Lord President of the Court of Session – Lord Granton
Lord Justice General – The Duke of Montrose
Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Boyle

Events[]

Spring – the 12th-century Lewis chessmen are found in a sand-bank on the Isle of Lewis.
19–21 March – one of Goldsworthy Gurney’s steam road coaches runs from Edinburgh to Glasgow.^[1]
May – Wellington Suspension Bridge over River Dee at Aberdeen opened to all traffic.
10 May – first steam locomotive to be built in Glasgow completed by Murdoch, Aitken & Co. for the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway.^[2]
Mid-May – mineral traffic over Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway commences.^[3]
1 June
- A regular horse-drawn passenger service between Leaend at Airdrie and Glasgow over the Ballochney, Monkland and Kirkintilloch and Garnkirk and Glasgow Railways commences.^[3]
- One of Goldsworthy Gurney’s steam road coaches suffers a boiler explosion in Glasgow.^[4]
6 June – first iron steamboat to be launched on the River Clyde, Fairy Queen by John Neilson & Sons.^[5]
4 July – opening of first section of Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway, from St Leonards to Craighall,^[6] including St Leonards Tunnel, Scotland's earliest tunnel on a public railway, and the early cast iron bridge at Braid Burn (erected in March).
August – the Dugald Stewart Monument in Edinburgh, designed by W. H. Playfair, is completed.
1 August – the Roman Catholic St Thomas's Church, Keith, is opened for worship.
27 September – formal opening of Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway: locomotive St Rollox hauls Scotland’s first steam-worked passenger train from the Townhead terminus at Glasgow to Gartsherrie.^[3]
16 December – opening of first section of Dundee and Newtyle Railway, the first public railway in the north of Scotland (horse worked).^[7]
23 December – the second cholera pandemic (1829–51) reaches Scotland.^[8]
The Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway opens as a waggonway from Johnstone to Kilwinning.^[9]
Dunnet Head lighthouse, designed by Robert Stevenson, is built.
North Church in Aberdeen, designed by John Smith, is opened.
The Burns Monument, Edinburgh (on Calton Hill), is designed by Thomas Hamilton.
William Wallace invents the eidograph.^[10]
Glenugie distillery is established as Invernettie at Peterhead by Donald McLeod;^[11] Talisker distillery is built at Carbost, Talisker, Skye, by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill.

Births[]

31 January – Alexander Balmain Bruce, theologian (died 1899)
February – George Stewart, recipient of the Victoria Cross (died 1868 in England)
31 March – Archibald Scott Couper, organic chemist (died 1892)
2 April – David MacGibbon, architect (died 1902)
26 April – James Donaldson, classical scholar, educationalist and theological writer (died 1915)
28 April – Peter Tait, mathematical physicist (died 1901)
7 May – Richard Norman Shaw, architect (died 1912 in England)
28 May – Richard B. Angus, financier (died 1922 in Canada)
13 June – James Clerk Maxwell, physicist (died 1879 in England)
24 June – Robert Wallace, writer and politician (died 1899 in England)
3 July – Edmund Yates, writer (died 1894 in England)
17 August – John McLaren, politician and judge (died 1910)
13 September – Andrew Noble, physicist (died 1915)
12 October – Helen Acquroff, pianist, singer, poet and music teacher (died 1887)^[12]
17 October – Isa Craig, née Knox, poet (died 1903 in England)
23 November – David MacKay, recipient of the Victoria Cross (died 1880)
25 December – John Bartholomew, cartographer (died 1893)

Deaths[]

14 January – Henry Mackenzie, novelist (born 1745)
4 February – William Ritchie, newspaper editor (born 1781)
14 February – Robert Brown, agriculturalist (born 1757)
22 March – William Symington, engineer and steamboat builder (born 1764; died in London)
May – James Campbell, army officer (born 1745)
1 July – Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald, industrial chemist (born 1748; died in Paris)
16 August – Sir Hugh Innes, politician (born c. 1764)
17 August – Patrick Nasmyth, landscape painter (born 1787)
Joseph Lowe, economist

The arts[]

James Hogg publishes Songs, by the Ettrick Shepherd.^[13]
The Literary and Commercial Society of Glasgow is last known to be active.

References[]

^ The Glasgow Herald 25 March 1831.
^ The Glasgow Courier 12 May 1831.
^ ^a ^b ^c Martin, Don (1981). The Garnkirk & Glasgow Railway. Auld Kirk Museum Publications, no. 6. Strathkelvin District Libraries & Museums. pp. 14–19. ISBN 0-904966-06-2.
^ The Glasgow Courier 4 June 1831.
^ The Glasgow Herald 10 June 1831.
^ (1971). A regional history of the railways of Great Britain, volume VI: Scotland – the Lowlands and the Borders. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 234. ISBN 0-7153-5408-6.
^ Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
^ "Chronology of Scottish History". A Timeline of Scottish History. Rampant Scotland. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
^ Lewin, Henry Grote (1925). Early British Railways: A short history of their origin and development 1801–1844. London: The Locomotive Publishing Co. pp. 17–18. OCLC 11064369.
^ Waterston, Charles D.; Shearer, A. Macmillan (July 2006). Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002: Biographical Index (PDF). Vol. 2. Royal Society of Edinburgh. p. 964. ISBN 978-0-902198-84-5. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
^ Halley, Ned (2005). The Wordsworth Dictionary of Drink. Ware: Wordsworth Editions. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-84022-302-6. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
^ Ewan, Elizabeth; Pipes, Rose; Rendall, Jane; Reynolds, Siân (eds.). The new biographical dictionary of Scottish women. Edinburgh University Press. p. 4. ISBN 9781474436281.
^ Cox, Michael, ed. (2004). The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860634-6.

[1] The Glasgow Herald 25 March 1831.

[2] The Glasgow Courier 12 May 1831.

[Martin-3] Martin, Don (1981). The Garnkirk & Glasgow Railway. Auld Kirk Museum Publications, no. 6. Strathkelvin District Libraries & Museums. pp. 14–19. ISBN 0-904966-06-2.

[4] The Glasgow Courier 4 June 1831.

[5] The Glasgow Herald 10 June 1831.

[6] (1971). A regional history of the railways of Great Britain, volume VI: Scotland – the Lowlands and the Borders. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 234. ISBN 0-7153-5408-6.

[7] Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.

[8] "Chronology of Scottish History". A Timeline of Scottish History. Rampant Scotland. Retrieved 30 July 2014.

[9] Lewin, Henry Grote (1925). Early British Railways: A short history of their origin and development 1801–1844. London: The Locomotive Publishing Co. pp. 17–18. OCLC 11064369.

[10] Waterston, Charles D.; Shearer, A. Macmillan (July 2006). Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002: Biographical Index (PDF). Vol. 2. Royal Society of Edinburgh. p. 964. ISBN 978-0-902198-84-5. Retrieved 23 January 2012.

[11] Halley, Ned (2005). The Wordsworth Dictionary of Drink. Ware: Wordsworth Editions. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-84022-302-6. Retrieved 13 September 2008.

[12] Ewan, Elizabeth; Pipes, Rose; Rendall, Jane; Reynolds, Siân (eds.). The new biographical dictionary of Scottish women. Edinburgh University Press. p. 4. ISBN 9781474436281.

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

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

v t Years in Scotland (843–present)
11th century	1012 1018
12th century
13th century	1202 1214 1221 1239 1249 1250 1263 1265 1266 1286 1291 1292
14th century	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 1342 1400
15th century	1455 1500
16th century	1503 1504 1511 1512 1513 1550 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	1608 1609 1650 1651 1652 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 1658 1659 1660 1661 1662 1663 1664 1665 1666 1667 1668 1669 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

1831 in Scotland

Contents

Incumbents[]

Law officers[]

Judiciary[]

Events[]

Births[]

Deaths[]

The arts[]

See also[]

References[]