1740 in Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Events from the year 1740 in Scotland.
See also:List of years in Scotland
Timeline of Scottish history
1740 in: Great Britain ⢠Wales ⢠Elsewhere
Timeline of Scottish history
1740 in: Great Britain ⢠Wales ⢠Elsewhere
Incumbents
Events
- 7 July â Adam Smith sets out from Scotland to take up a scholarship at Balliol College, Oxford.[1]
- Hugh and Robert Tennent take over the Wellpark Brewery, originally known as the Drygate Brewery, in Glasgow.
- General George Wade is succeeded as Commander-in-chief in Scotland by Sir John Cope.
- The 43rd Highland Regiment of Foot (the 'Black Watch') first musters, at Aberfeldy.
Births
- 28 March (bapt.) â James Small, inventor (died 1793)
- 15 July â Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton (died 1819)
- 29 October â James Boswell, diarist and biographer of Samuel Johnson (died 1795)
- James Cannon, mathematician and a principal draftsman of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 (died in 1782 in the United States)
- William Davidson, settler, lumberman, shipbuilder and politician in New Brunswick (died 1790 in Canada)
- William Smellie, master printer, naturalist, antiquary, editor and encyclopedist (died 1795)
- Christopher Wyvill, cleric, landowner and political reformer in England (died 1822)
Deaths
- 2 February â John Simson, heterodox theologian (born 1668?)
- 22 May â John Boyle, 2nd Earl of Glasgow (born 1688)
- 8 September â William Bruce, 8th Earl of Kincardine
The arts
- 1 August â the patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!", with words by Scottish-born poet James Thomson, is first performed at Cliveden, the English country home of Frederick, Prince of Wales.[2]
