1721 in Scotland

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See also:	List of years in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history 1721 in: Great Britain • Wales • Ireland • Elsewhere

Events from the year 1721 in Scotland.

Incumbents

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

• Monarch – George I[1]
• Secretary of State for Scotland: John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe[2]

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Robert Dundas[3]
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Walter Stewart; then John Sinclair and Charles Binning

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session – Lord North Berwick
• Lord Justice General – Lord Ilay (also this year appointed Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland)
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Grange

Events

• Battle of Glen Affric: Men of the Jacobite Clan Mackenzie and Clan Macrae ambush men of the pro-Hanoverian Clan Ross led by William Ross, 6th of Easter Fearn (who is fatally wounded) when he attempts to collect rents (forfeit to the crown) on the Mackenzie estates.
• Battle of Coille Bhan: British Army troops of Colonel Kirk's Regiment under Captain McNeill drive off an attack from the Clan Mackenzie but again fail to collect rents on their estates.
• Ruthven Barracks completed.
• Chandos Chair of Medicine and Anatomy established at the University of St Andrews.
• Robert Wodrow publishes The History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland.

Births

• 21 January – James Murray, military officer and colonial administrator (died 1794)[4]
• 5 March – John Adam, architect (died 1792)[5]
• 19 March (baptized) – Tobias Smollett, novelist (died 1771 in Tuscany)[6]
• 24 June – Francis Garden, Lord Gardenstone, judge (died 1793)[7]
• 14 July – John Douglas, Anglican bishop of Salisbury and man of letters (died 1807 in England)[8]
• 19 September – William Robertson, historian and Principal of the University of Edinburgh (died 1793)[9]
• 3 October – John Skinner, Episcopalian minister, historian, poet and songwriter (died 1807)[10]
• 5 October – William Wilkie, Presbyterian minister, natural philosopher and poet (died 1772)[11]
• 6 December – James Elphinston, philologist (died 1809 in England)[12]
• Earliest likely date – James Grainger, physician, poet and translator (died 1766 in the West Indies)[13]

Deaths

• 14 January – William Johnstone, 1st Marquess of Annandale (born 1664)
• 13 December – Alexander Selkirk, sailor and castaway (born 1676; died at sea)

See also

• Timeline of Scottish history

References

1. "George I". BBC - History. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
2. "John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe (c.1680–1741), Soldier and Secretary of State for Scotland (1716–1725)". artuk.org. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
3. "DUNDAS, Robert (1685-1753), of Arniston, Edinburgh". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
4. "James Murray - British soldier and official". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
5. Skempton, A. W.; Chrimes, Mike (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: 1500-1830. Thomas Telford. p. 5. ISBN 9780727729392.
6. "National Records of Scotland". www.nrscotland.gov.uk. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
7. Barker, G. F. R. (23 September 2004). "Garden, Francis, Lord Gardenstone (1721–1793), judge". In McConnell, Anita (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10349. Retrieved 28 April 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
8. "Douglas, John (1721–1807), bishop of Salisbury and writer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001 (inactive 27 May 2020). Retrieved 28 April 2018.
9. "Biography of William Robertson". universitystory.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
10. "Skinner, John (1721–1807), songwriter and ecclesiastical historian". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001 (inactive 27 May 2020). Retrieved 28 April 2018.
11. "Wilkie, William (1721–1772), Church of Scotland minister and poet". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001 (inactive 27 May 2020). Retrieved 28 April 2018.
12. "Elphinston, James (1721–1809), educationist and advocate of spelling reform". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001 (inactive 27 May 2020). Retrieved 28 April 2018.
13. "James Grainger". www.royalacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2018.