2004 in Scotland
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| See also: | List of years in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history 2004 in: The UK • England • Wales • Elsewhere Scottish football: 2003–04 • 2004–05 2004 in Scottish television | ||||
Events from the year 2004 in Scotland.
Incumbents
- Monarch — Elizabeth II
- First Minister and Keeper of the Great Seal — Jack McConnell
- Secretary of State for Scotland — Alistair Darling
Law officers
- Lord Advocate — Lord Boyd of Duncansby
- Solicitor General for Scotland — Elish Angiolini
- Advocate General for Scotland — Lynda Clark
Judiciary
- Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General — Lord Cullen of Whitekirk
- Lord Justice Clerk — Lord Gill
- Chairman of the Scottish Land Court — Lord McGhie
Events
January
- 1 January — Free Scotland Party formed, favouring Scottish independence from both the United Kingdom and the European Union.
- January — A 428 million-year-old fossil Pneumodesmus found at Stonehaven is identified as the world's oldest known creature to have lived on land.[1]
February
- 16 February — Edwin Morgan becomes Scotland's first ever official national poet, The Scots Makar, appointed by the Scottish Parliament.[2][3]
March
- 16 March — Fifteen-year-old boy Kriss Donald is abducted and murdered by Pakistani gang in racially motivated attack in Glasgow.[4]
May
- 9 May — "Loch Fyne accord": an informal discussion in the car park of the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar near Cairndow between John Prescott (Deputy Prime Minister) and Gordon Brown is supposed to have agreed the latter's succession to Tony Blair as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.[5][6]
- 11 May — Stockline Plastics factory explosion: four people die in an explosion at a factory in Glasgow.[7]
- May — "The Bruce Tree" at Strathleven in West Dunbartonshire, an oak once in the ownership of Robert the Bruce, falls as a result of arson.[8]
June
- 6 June — Sixtieth anniversary of D-Day. Last minute pressure forces First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell to attend commemorations.
July
- 22 July — The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act, which breaks the link between the number of Scottish MPs and the number of MSPs, receives the Royal Assent.
August
September
- 3 September — Alex Salmond wins the Scottish National Party leadership election, succeeding John Swinney
October
- 9 October — Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh, designed by Enric Miralles, is opened.
November
- 18 November — Daanish Zahid becomes the first person to be convicted of racially motivated murder in Scotland, for killing Kriss Donald.
Births
- Full date unknown - Jack Henderson, artist and charity fundraiser
Deaths
- 27 January — Rikki Fulton, comedian (born 1924)
- 1 February — Ally MacLeod, former manager of the Scotland national football team (born 1931)
- 26 February — Russell Hunter, actor (born 1925)
- 9 March — Alexander Goudie, painter (born 1933)
The Arts
- 26 January — Serialisation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel 44 Scotland Street, set in Edinburgh, begins in The Scotsman.
- 28 September — Publication of Alexander McCall Smith's novel The Sunday Philosophy Club set in Edinburgh.
- Edinburgh becomes UNESCO's first City of Literature.
See also
References
- ^ "Fossil find 'oldest land animal'". BBC News. 25 January 2005. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- ^ Edwin Morgan announced as the first Scots Makar, 2004.
- ^ ASLS: A National Poet for Scotland.
- ^ Carrell, Severin (9 November 2006). "Three jailed for life for race murder of schoolboy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ^ Cusick, James (16 May 2004). "Brown and Prescott agreed Blair succession at Loch Fyne". Sunday Herald. Glasgow.
- ^ Hall, Sarah (17 May 2004). "Now Blair faces 'Loch Fyne accord'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "Factory explosion kills four". BBC News.
- ^ Hight, Julian (2011). Britain's Tree Story. London: National Trust. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-907892-20-2.