1840 in Scotland
| |||||
| Centuries: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decades: | |||||
| See also: | List of years in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history 1840 in: The UK • Wales • Elsewhere | ||||
Events from the year 1840 in Scotland.
Incumbents
Law officers
- Lord Advocate — Andrew Rutherfurd
- Solicitor General for Scotland — James Ivory; then Thomas Maitland
Judiciary
- Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General — Lord Granton
- Lord Justice Clerk — Lord Boyle
Events
- 10 January — Uniform Penny Post introduced throughout the United Kingdom, replacing the Uniform Fourpenny Post of 1839. From 6 May, the Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp, becomes valid for prepayment of postage. Advocates of the scheme include Robert Wallace (MP for Greenock) and James Chalmers.
- 14 January — The first known baptisms by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Scotland take place in the River Clyde at Bishopton when Samuel Mulliner, a Scot who joined the church in Canada, baptizes Alexander and Jessie Hay. In May, Orson Pratt preaches from Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.[1]
- July — Last known great auk in the British Isles caught and later killed on the islet of Stac an Armin, St Kilda, Scotland.[2][3][4]
- 4 July — The Cunard Line's 700-ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia, launched by Robert Duncan & Company at Greenock on 5 February, departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the first steam transatlantic passenger mail service. Scottish marine engineer Robert Napier is a major partner in the venture and has supplied the ship's engine.[5]
- 21 July — First burial at the Southern Necropolis in Glasgow.
- 12 August — The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway is opened throughout between Glasgow Bridge Street railway station and Ayr,[6] the first inter-urban railway in Scotland.
- 15 August — Foundation stone of the Scott Monument in Edinburgh is laid.[7]
- 31 August — The Slamannan Railway is opened.
- Approximate date — Forglen House, designed by John Smith, is completed.[8]
Births
- 1 January — Dugald Drummond, steam locomotive engineer (died 1912 in England)
- 24 January — George Smith, Bishop of Argyll and the Isles (Catholic) (died 1918)
- 5 February
- Charlotte Carmichael, pioneer of higher education for women (died 1929 in England)
- John Boyd Dunlop, inventor (died 1921 in Ireland)
- 3 March — Hugh Smellie, steam locomotive engineer (died 1891)
- 22 April — Thomas Clouston, psychiatrist (died 1915)
- 15 July — William Wilson Hunter, official of the Indian Civil Service (British India) (died 1900 in England)
- 29 November — James Crichton-Browne, psychiatrist (died 1938)
Deaths
- 9 March — George Gleig, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church (born 1753)
- 10 April — Alexander Nasmyth, painter (born 1758)
See also
References
- ^ "History of the Church in the British Isles". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
- ^ Rackwitz, Martin (2007). Travels to Terra Incognita: the Scottish Highlands and Hebrides in Early Modern Travellers' Accounts c. 1600 to 1800. Waxmann Verlag. p. 347. ISBN 978-3-8309-1699-4.
- ^ Gaskell, Jeremy (2000). Who Killed the Great Auk?. Oxford University Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-19-856478-2. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
- ^ Fuller, Errol (2003). The Great Auk: The Extinction of the Original Penguin. Bunker Hill Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-59373-003-1. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
- ^ Kermack, W. R. (1944). 19 Centuries of Scotland. Edinburgh: Johnston. p. 87.
- ^ Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
- ^ "History of Edinburgh". Visions of Scotland. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "Forglen House, Ref 13603". Historic Scotland. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)