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On this day in Scottish History
Notable – and not so notable – events that happened on this day in Scottish History
On this day in Scottish History
Treaty of Perth is signed
On 2 July 1266, the Treaty of Perth is signed between Magnus VI of Norway and Alexander III of Scotland, ending the Scottish-Norwegian War of 1262-66. Scotland gains the Western Isles and the Isle...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Drumclog
On June 1 1679, Scottish government dragoons commanded by John Graham of Claverhouse are defeated by an armed contingent of Covenanters led by Robert Hamilton and William Cleland who had deployed their forces at...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Carbisdale
On 27th April 1650, a Royalist force commanded by James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, was heavily defeated by a Scottish Covenanter army led by Colonel Archibald Strachan at the Battle of Carbisdale.
Following his defeat...
On this day in Scottish History
Jacobite expeditionary force lands in Kintail
On the 13th April 1719, two Spanish frigates carrying a Jacobite expeditionary force anchored in Loch Alsh. The troops disembarked near the derelict Eilean Donan Castle where Loch Alsh meets Loch Duich and Loch...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Roslin
On the 24th February 1303, at the Battle of Roslin, south of Edinburgh, a Scottish force under the command of John 'the Red' Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, and Sir Simon Fraser defeat an English...
On this day in Scottish History
Orkney and Shetland are formally annexed to Scotland
On 20th February 1472, Orkney and Shetland officially became part of Scotland. The islands were offered up as security for the dowry of Princess Margaret, the prospective wife of James III of Scotland, and...
On this day in Scottish History
The death of the Red Comyn in Greyfriars Church
On the 10th February 1306, John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, known as the Red Comyn, a leading claimant to the vacant Scottish throne, is killed by his arch-rival Robert the Bruce and his supporters...
On this day in Scottish History
The birth of George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney
On the 9th February 1666, George Hamilton was born at Hamilton Palace, Lanarkshire. George was the fifth son of William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton and his wife Anne Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton. A successful...
On this day in Scottish History
The Assassination of James Stewart, Earl of Moray
On 23 January 1570, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, regent for James VI, is assassinated in Linlithgow by James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh who was armed with a rifled matchlock carbine. The killing is often...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Falkirk Muir
On 17th January 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart clashed with Government forces commanded by Lieutenant-General Henry Hawley at the Battle of Falkirk Muir, in the largest military engagement of the 1745 Jacobite Rising.
In a blinding sleet storm,...
On this day in Scottish History
The Treaty of Union is approved by the Scottish Parliament
On 16th January 1707, the Scottish Parliament ratified the Treaty of Union. The 'Union with England Act' which approved the Treaty of Union is passed by a majority of 110 votes to 69. The...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Neville’s Cross
On 17th October 1346, at the Battle of Neville's Cross, Durham, England, David II of Scotland is defeated and captured by English forces commanded by Lord Ralph Neville. The battle was part of the Second War of...
On this day in Scottish History
The birth of James II of Scotland
On the 16th October 1430, the future King James II of Scotland was born at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh. He was the son of James I and his wife Joan Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of Somerset.
In...
On this day in Scottish History
On this day: The Treaty of Berwick is signed
On 3rd October 1357, the Treaty of Berwick was signed at Berwick-upon-Tweed. It ended the Second War of Scottish Independence (1332-1357) and saw the release of King David II of Scotland from English captivity.
David II...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Largs
On 2nd October 1263, the Battle of Largs was fought between a Scottish army commanded by Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland, and a Norse-Hebridean force led by Haakon IV of Norway. It was the only...
On this day in Scottish History
On this day: Battle of Dunbar 1650
On the 3rd September 1650, English Parliamentarians commanded by Oliver Cromwell decisively defeat a Scottish Covenanter army led by David Leslie, Lord Newark, at the Battle of Dunbar.
Following the execution of Charles I, the...
On this day in Scottish History
On this day: Battle of the Standard
On the 22nd August 1138, the Battle of the Standard (also known as the Battle of Northallerton) was fought between a Scottish army under King David I and English forces commanded by William of Aumale....
On this day in Scottish History
The birth of King Robert III of Scotland
On 14 August 1337, the future King Robert III of Scotland was born at Scone Palace, outside Perth. Robert III was christened John, but in Scotland, this was deemed to be too unpopular and considered an...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Bannockburn: Day Two
At dawn on the 24th June 1314, on the second day of the battle of Bannockburn, the engagement opened with an initial skirmish between both armies archers. Robert the Bruce then sent Sir Robert...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Bannockburn: Day One
On the 23rd June 1314: The first day of the Battle of Bannockburn near Stirling. An advance manoeuvre by the Earl of Gloucester, the Earl of Hereford and Robert de Clifford, attempting to relieve the siege...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Glenshiel
On 10 June 1719, Jacobite and Spanish forces are defeated by government troops commanded by Major-General Joseph Wightman, at the battle of Glenshiel, on the steep slopes of Glen Shiel in Kintail, Scottish Highlands.
Spain...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Culloden
On the 16th April 1746, Charles Edward Stuart's Jacobite army was decisively defeated by the Duke of Cumberland's government army at the Battle of Culloden, outside Inverness. It was the final military engagement of...
On this day in Scottish History
Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scots
On 25th March 1306 (New Years Day), Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scots at Scone near Perth.
"At the beginning of AD 1306, the aforesaid Robert de Bruce, on the day of the...
On this day in Scottish History
King’s Own Scottish Borderers Regiment is raised
On 18th March 1689, the King's Own Scottish Borderers were raised in Edinburgh by David Leslie, 3rd Earl of Leven. The regiment was raised to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite supporters of the deposed...
On this day in Scottish History
The death of Saint Kessog
On 10th March 520, Saint Kessog (born c.460 Cashel, Tipperary, Ireland), an Irish missionary and the original patron saint of Scotland, is killed at Bandry, on the western shore of Loch Lomond.
His headquarters...
On this day in Scottish History
The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is founded
On 7th March 1744, The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is founded in Leith. They petitioned the Edinburgh Council to provide a silver club for competition winners. The first winner of the cup was...
On this day in Scottish History
The signing of the National Covenant
On 28th February 1638, the National Covenant is signed in Greyfriars Churchyard in Edinburgh.
It rejected the attempt by King Charles I and William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, to bring the separate churches of England and Scotland...
On this day in Scottish History
Battle of Ancrum Moor
On the 27th February 1545 at the Battle of Ancrum Moor, just north of Jedburgh, a Scottish army under the command of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, wins a decisive victory over a...