1969 in Scotland

← 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1969 in Scotland → 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
See also:	List of years in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history 1969 in: The UK • Wales • Elsewhere Scottish football: 1968–69 • 1969–70 1969 in Scottish television

Events from the year 1969 in Scotland.

Incumbents

Further information: Politics of Scotland and Order of precedence in Scotland

• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – Willie Ross

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Henry Wilson
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Ewan Stewart

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Clyde
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Grant
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Birsay

Events

• 6 January – closure of the Waverley Line (the Edinburgh–Galashiels–Hawick–Carlisle railway) and The St. Andrews Railway (the branch line from Leuchars).
• 8 February – unusual aurora borealis seen over Scotland.
• 17 March – the Longhope life-boat in Orkney is lost; the entire crew of 8 dies.
• 27 March – first ordination of a woman in the Church of Scotland, Catherine McConnachie by the Presbytery of Aberdeen.^[1]
• 28 April – Gordon Gray, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, is elevated to cardinal of the Catholic Church; the first resident cardinal in Scotland for almost 400 years.^[2]
• 9 May – formation in Glasgow of the Scottish Minorities Group to campaign for the decriminalisation of gay sexual practices in Scotland.
• 17 May – Scotland beats Cyprus 8–0 in a World Cup Qualifier at Hampden Park.^[3]
• May – Ross Pit at Brora is closed by a fire.^[4]
• 1 July – John Lennon, Yoko Ono and their children are hospitalised at Golspie following a car accident while on holiday.^[5]
• September – the Royal Commission on Local Government in Scotland (chaired by Lord Wheatley) reports, recommending a major reorganisation of local government in Scotland substantially as carried out in 1975 under terms of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
• 9 October – Backwater Reservoir opened to supply the Dundee area.
• 30 October – Glasgow Gorbals by-election: Labour retains the seat but the SNP takes second place from the Conservatives.
• 30 December – the Linwood bank robbery occurs in Linwood, Renfrewshire and three police officers are shot in the aftermath, two fatally.^[6]
• The policies of Culzean Castle become Scotland's first country park.

Births

• 1 January
  • Paul Lawrie, golfer and journalist
  • Tom Urie, actor
• 13 January – Stephen Hendry, snooker player
• 6 March – Neil Findlay, Labour Party Member of the Scottish Parliament
• 28 March – Laurie Brett, actress
• April – Kenny Alexander, businessman
• 24 April
  • Donna Robertson, judoka and wrestler^[7]
  • Fiona Robertson, judoka and wrestler^[8]
  • Eilidh Whiteford, Scottish National Party Member of Parliament
• 11 August – Ashley Jensen, actress
• 25 August – Catriona Matthew, golfer
• 28 September – Angus Robertson, Scottish National Party Member of Parliament
• 13 November – Gerard Butler, actor^[9]
• 5 December – Lynne Ramsay film director, writer, producer, and cinematographer best known for the films Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk about Kevin
• 7 December – James Murray, boxer (died 1995)
• 18 December – Irvin Duguid, keyboard player (Stiltskin)
• 24 December – Mark Millar, comic book writer
• 31 December – Dominik Diamond, presenter and newspaper columnist

Deaths

• 8 May – Sir Sydney Smith, forensic pathologist (born 1883 in New Zealand)
• 10 May – John Bannerman, Baron Bannerman of Kildonan, international rugby player and Liberal politician (born 1901)
• 7 September – Gavin Maxwell, naturalist and author (born 1914)
• 6 December – Florence Horsbrugh, Baroness Horsbrugh, Scottish Unionist Party and Conservative Party politician (born 1889)

The arts

• George Mackay Brown's short stories A Time to Keep and collected writings An Orkney Tapestry are published.
• Jenny Gilbertson's documentary film Shetland Pony is made.
• Tom Leonard's Six Glasgow Poems are published.
• The cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review begins publication.
• Antonia Fraser's biography Mary Queen of Scots is published.

See also

• 1969 in Northern Ireland

References

1. Mayland, Jean (1999). "Pilgrimage to Priesthood and Beyond". In MacLeod, Iain Orr (ed.). In Good Company: Women in the Ministry. Glasgow: Wild Goose. p. 33. ISBN 1-901557-15-4. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
2. "Gordon Joseph "Cardinal" Gray". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
3. Results www.scottishfa accessed 17 March 2013.
4. "Brora Coalfield". Northern Mine Research Society. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
5. "John Lennon crashes his car in Scotland". The Beatles Bible. 1 July 1969. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
6. Herald article.
7. "Glasgow 2014 - Donna Robertson Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
8. "Glasgow 2014 - Fiona Robertson Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
9. "Gerard Butler". BFI. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2022.