1980 in Scotland

Events from the year 1980 in Scotland.

Incumbents

Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – George Younger

Law officers

Judiciary

Events

16 April – Glasgow Subway reopened to passengers after a 3-year modernisation project.
1 May – Scottish District local elections result in big gains for the Labour Party.
7 May – Aberdeen F.C. secures the Scottish Football League Premier Division championship.
26 June – The Glasgow Central by-election is held, with Labour retaining the seat despite a 14% swing to the Scottish National Party.
1 August – The Education Act 1980 receives Royal Assent.
28 August – First clinically useful image of a patient's internal tissues using magnetic resonance imaging is obtained using a full-body scanner built by a team led by John Mallard at the University of Aberdeen.
4–5 September – Margaret Thatcher becomes the first serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to visit Shetland.
13 September – Hercules, a bear which had gone missing on the island of Benbecula while filming a Kleenex advertisement, is found.
6 October – West Highland Way opened as the first of the official Long Distance Routes for walkers in Scotland.
9 October – Gloagtrotter of Perth, trading as GT Coaches, begins operation of an express coach service from Dundee to London as The Stage Coach, origin of the Stagecoach Group.
October – Albion Motors' Scotstoun works closes and manufacture of complete vehicles is moved to Leyland in England.
13 November – Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 which would decriminalise private homosexual acts between two consenting persons aged over 21 in Scotland passes at Westminster. It would take effect on 1 February 1981.

Births

5 January – Greg McHugh, television actor and writer
5 February – Jo Swinson, leader of the Liberal Democrats (UK)
2 April – Adam Fleming, television journalist
30 April – Sam Heughan, actor
12 May – Andrew Abercromby, biomedical engineer
6 July – Kenny Deuchar, footballer
27 August – Caroline Brown, lawn bowler
15 September – Chris Clark, footballer
19 August – Darius Campbell Danesh, singer-songwriter and actor
12 October – Lesley Paterson, triathlete, screenwriter and producer
26 October – Khalid Abdalla, actor
20 November – Malachy Tallack, journalist and folk rock musician
13 December – Gary Innes, piano-accordionist, shinty player and BBC broadcaster
Kerry Hudson, writer

Deaths

19 February – Bon Scott, Australian rock singer
29 February – Margaret Morris, choreographer
3 April – Isla Cameron, actress and singer
4 May – Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson
23 June – John Laurie, actor
6 December – Margot Bennett, crime novelist
13 December – R. D. Low, comics writer and editor
date unknown – Hector MacAndrew, fiddler

The arts

19 February – Scottish Television begins to air the soap opera Take the High Road.
Spring – Bearsden post-punk band Orange Juice release Falling and Laughing, the first release on the Postcard Records label.
June – Peter Maxwell Davies's The Yellow Cake Revue is premiered at the Stromness Hotel as part of the St Magnus Festival.
Alexander Moffat paints .
Buxton Orr composes A Caledonian Suite.