1821 in Scotland
Events from the year '''1821 in Scotland.'''
Incumbents
Law officers
Judiciary
- Lord President of the Court of Session – Lord Granton
- Lord Justice General – The Duke of Montrose
- Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Boyle
Events
- 15 January – Sumburgh Head Lighthouse in Shetland, designed by Robert Stevenson, is first illuminated.
- 28 April – foundation stone for the Melville Monument in St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, is laid.
- 18 July – thief David Haggart is hanged in Edinburgh, aged 20, for the murder of a Dumfries tolbooth keeper in 1820, leaving an autobiography, The life of David Haggart, and phrenologist George Combe's Phrenological observations on the cerebral development of David Haggart.
- 14 August – Trinity Chain Pier opens at Trinity, Edinburgh.
- 16 October – the School of Arts of Edinburgh, a predecessor of Heriot-Watt University, is established by Leonard Horner for the education of working men.
- The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is founded as The Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts in Scotland by David Brewster.
- The publisher T&T Clark is established in Edinburgh by Thomas Clark.
- William Hooker (botanist) publishes Flora Scotica; or, A description of Scottish plants.
- Robert Owen's Report to the County of Lanark, of a plan for relieving public distress and removing discontent is published in Glasgow.
Births
- 10 March – Màiri Mhòr nan Òran, Gaelic poet
- 15 March – William Milligan, theologian
- 11 April – James Campbell Walker, architect
- 26 April – Robert Adamson, pioneer photographer
- 16 June – Old Tom Morris, golfer
- 19 June – George Whyte-Melville, sporting novelist
- 1 August – James Gowans, architect
- 17 October – Alexander Gardner, photographer
- 13 December – Joseph Noel Paton, painter
- 29 December – John Francis Campbell, Celtic folklorist and inventor
Deaths
- 2 April – James Gregory, physician
- 15 June – John Ballantyne, publisher
- 4 October – John Rennie the Elder, civil engineer
- 8 November – Charles Murray, actor
- 6 December – John Taylor, medical missionary
- Isabel Pagan, poet
The arts
- John Galt's novels Annals of the Parish and The Ayrshire Legatees are published.
- Jane Porter's novel The Scottish Chiefs is published.
- Sir Walter Scott's novel Kenilworth is published anonymously.