1973 in Scotland

none January 2015 July 2026 1973 Events from the year 1973 in Scotland. Incumbents Politics of Scotland Order of precedence in Scotland Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – Gordon Campbell Law officers Lord Advocate – Norman Wylie Solicitor General for Scotland – William Stewart Judiciary Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Emslie Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Wheatley Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Birsay Events 1 January – Most of the west coast shipping services of David MacBrayne are merged with those of the Caledonian Steam Packet Company as Caledonian MacBrayne. 1 March – Dundee East by-election: Labour retains the seat by only 1,141 votes in the face of a strong challenge from the Scottish National Party. May – The Co-operative Group: The Scottish Co-operative (Wholesale) Society Ltd merges into the UK-wide Co-operative Wholesale Society Ltd following serious financial mismanagement of the SCWS Bank. 17 July – Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, is formally designated as a new towne 19294 951 14 August 1973 but never developed. 25 October – Local Government (Scotland) Act initiates a major reorganisation of local government in Scotland with effect from May 1975. 26 October – Firefighters in Glasgow stage a one-day strike following a pay dispute. Soldiers are drafted in to run the fire stations as an essential emergency service. 31 October – The Kilbrandon Report is published and recommends the establishment of a directly elected Scottish Assembly. This ultimately comes to fruition a quarter of a century later, under the terms of the Scotland Act 1998, on 1 May 1999. 8 November – Glasgow Govan by-election results in Margo MacDonald of the Scottish National Party gaining the seat from Labour with a 26.7% swing. At another Scottish by-election the same day, the Conservatives retain Edinburgh North. 14 December – Third (replacement) Bonar Bridge opened. 21 December – Armed robbery of British Rail Engineering Limited in Glasgow, in which James Kennedy, a security guard, is killed, earning a posthumous George Cross for his gallantry. 31 December – Radio Clyde begins broadcasting, from Clydebank. The Church of Scotland introduces the Church Hymnary, third edition, an entirely new compilation. Births 20 January – Stephen Crabb, Welsh Conservative politician 18 March – Patrick Harvie, Green politician 10 May – Dario Franchitti, racing driver 14 May – Fraser Nelson, political journalist 26 May – Julie Wilson Nimmo, actress 15 September – Alyn Smith, SNP MEP, MP 24 September – Gillian Lindsay, rowerGillian Lindsay Bio, Stats, and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/li/gillian-lindsay-1.html https://web.archive.org/web/20200418025528/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/li/gillian-lindsay-1.html dead 18 April 2020 Olympics at Sports-Reference.com 17 April 2020 en 5 October – Kay Moran, lawn bowlerKay Moran https://www.teamscotland.scot/athlete/kay-moran/ Team Scotland 11 March 2021 en 13 October – Peter Dumbreck, racing driver Iain Finlay Macleod, playwright and novelist Deaths 15 January – Neil M. Gunn, novelist, critic and dramatist (born 1891) 22 February – F. Marian McNeill, folklorist (born 1885) 23 September – A. S. Neill, progressive educator and author (born 1883) 8 October – John Rankin, Labour politician (born 1890) 5 December – Robert Watson-Watt, pioneer of radar (born 1892) 21 December – James Kennedy, security guard murdered in raid (born 1930) 30 December D. E. Stevenson (Dorothy Peploe), romantic novelist (born 1892) Vagaland (Thomas Alexander Robertson), Shetland dialect poet (born 1909) Sir William Gillies, painter (born 1898) The arts 31 March – John McGrath's play The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil is premiered by 7:84 in Aberdeen. 11 May–8 June – The political thriller Scotch on the Rocks, concerning a terrorist group fighting for Scottish independence in the near future, is broadcast by BBC Scotland. Canongate Books is established as a publisher in Edinburgh. George Mackay Brown's novel Magnus is published. Celtic rock group Runrig formed on Skye. See also 1973 in Northern Ireland References Scotland Category:Years of the 20th century in Scotland Category:1970s in Scotland Scotland