1679 in Scotland
Events from the year 1679 in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Incumbents
Judiciary
- Lord President of the Court of Session – James Dalrymple
- Lord Justice General – Sir George Mackenzie
- Lord Justice Clerk – Sir Thomas Wallace of Craigie, Lord Craigie
Events
- 3 May – James Sharp, the Church of Scotland Archbishop of St Andrews, is assassinated at Magus Muir in Fife when his coach is ambushed by a group of nine Covenanters; only two of the assassins, David Hackston and Andrew Guillan, are captured.
- 1 June – Battle of Drumclog: A group of 200 Covenanters overwhelm a small Scottish Army unit that has been pursuing them for the murder of Archbishop Sharp. The Covenanters, led by 19-year-old William Cleland, kill 36 of the Scottish soldiers.
- 22 June – Battle of Bothwell Bridge: Royal forces led by the Duke of Monmouth and John Graham of Claverhouse subdue the Covenanters. Cleland goes into exile.
- 10 December – More than 200 captives on the ship The Crown of London, all Scottish Covenanters arrested after the battle of Bothwell Bridge, are killed when the ship is wrecked on the Orkney Islands while transporting the group to exile in North America.
Births
Deaths
- 22 June – William Gordon of Earlston, landowner and Covenanter, shot at Battle of Bothwell Bridge
- 27 November – Archibald Primrose, Lord Carrington, judge