1996 in Scotland
Events from the year 1996 in Scotland.
Incumbents
Law officers
Judiciary
- Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord [Justice General] – Lord Hope until 1 October; then Lord Rodger of Earlsferry
- Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Ross
- Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Philip, then Lord McGhie
Events
- 13 March – Dunblane school massacre – a gunman kills sixteen children, their teacher and himself at a primary school in Dunblane, Stirling. The killer, who wounded thirteen other children and another teacher, is quickly identified as 43-year-old former scout leader Thomas Watt Hamilton.
- 1 April – The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 takes effect with 32 unitary councils replacing the 9 Regional Councils, 53 District Councils and 3 unitary authorities that had been established under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
- 18 May – Rangers F.C., who have already won the Scottish Football League title, complete the Scottish double by beating Hearts 5–1 in the Scottish Cup final.
- 5 July – Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell, is born at The Roslin Institute in Midlothian.
- October – The Shetland Times and The Shetland News become involved in a landmark legal case over alleged copyright infringement and deep linking in their websites.
- 9 November – Irvine, North Ayrshire, is designated a New Town, the last of the five created in Scotland.
- 30 November – The Stone of Scone is installed in Edinburgh Castle 700 years after it was removed from Scotland by King Edward I of England.
- Edinburgh Old Town and New Town become the first World Heritage Site in mainland Scotland.
- First of the Maggie's Centres for drop-in cancer care in the UK opens in Edinburgh.
Births
- 13 January - Craig Storie, footballer
- 8 February - Jaison McGrath, footballer
- 1 March - Lizzie Arnot, footballer
- 15 March - Seonaid McIntosh, sport shooter
- 19 March - Kaiya Jones, actress
- 9 May - Grace Reid, diver
- 3 August - Robert MacIntyre, golfer
- 10 August - Lauren Tait, netball player
- 7 October – Lewis Capaldi, singer-songwriter
Deaths
- 23 January – Norman MacCaig, poet
- 6 March – Stanley Booth-Clibborn, retired bishop of Manchester
- 19 March – W. H. Murray, mountaineer and writer
- 13 April – George Mackay Brown, poet
- 14 April – David Brand, Lord Brand, advocate, sheriff and Senator of the College of Justice
- 25 April – John Lorne Campbell, folklorist
- 16 August – Eric Cullen, actor famous for playing "Wee Burnie" in Rab C. Nesbitt
- 25 August – Caroline Glachan, murder victim
- 24 November – Sorley MacLean, poet
The arts
- January – Indie pop band Belle and Sebastian is formed in Glasgow; on 6 June their debut album Tigermilk is released.
- James MacMillan's first opera Inés de Castro is premièred by Scottish Opera in Glasgow.
- Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow opens.