1931 in Scotland

← 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1931 in Scotland → 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
See also:	List of years in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history 1931 in: The UK • Wales • Elsewhere Scottish football: 1930–31 • 1931–32

Events from the year 1931 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – William Adamson until 24 August; then Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt

Events

• 13 February – Scottish Youth Hostels Association established.^[1]
• 1 May – National Trust for Scotland established and acquires its first property, Crookston Castle (donated by Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, 10th Baronet).
• 5 September – Celtic goalkeeper John Thomson dies in hospital after fracturing his skull in a collision with Rangers forward Sam English in the 'Old Firm' League derby at Ibrox Park.^[2]
• 15–16 September – Invergordon Mutiny: Sailors in the Royal Navy take strike action over pay cuts.^[3]
• 27 October – 1931 United Kingdom general election: The Unionist Party wins a majority of Scottish seats as the National Government retains power with a landslide victory throughout the UK.
• 12 December – work on construction of "Hull 534", the Cunard liner RMS Queen Mary, at John Brown & Company's shipyard at Clydebank is suspended due to the Great Depression.
• 31 December – Ayr Corporation Tramways cease operation, being replaced by bus services operated by Scottish Motor Traction.
• Lord Dumfries purchases the recently deserted islands of St Kilda from Sir Reginald MacLeod of Dunvegan to preserve them as a bird sanctuary; he will bequeath them to the National Trust of Scotland on his death in 1956.

Births

• 2 January – James D. Murray, mathematician and academic^[4]
• 12 January – Bert Ormond, Scottish-born New Zealand footballer (died 2017)
• 26 February – Ally McLeod, football manager (died 2004)
• 13 March
  • James Martin, actor
  • Helen Renton, Director of the Women's Royal Air Force (died 2016)
• 18 March
  • John Fraser, actor (died 2020)
  • Ian McMillan, footballer (died 2024)
• 29 March – James Weatherhead, Church of Scotland minister (died 2017)
• 27 April – Alex Campbell, folk singer (died 1987)
• 29 April – Lonnie Donegan, skiffle musician (died 2002 in England)
• 30 April - William Watson, author, playwright and newspaper editor (died 2005)
• 3 May – Thomas Sutherland, academic and Islamic Jihad hostage (died 2016 in the United States)
• 6 May – Sandy Grant Gordon, whisky distiller (died 2020)^[5]
• 9 May
  • Jimmy Gauld, footballer involved in match fixing (died 2004 in London)
  • Alistair MacFarlane, engineer and academic (died 2021)
• 11 June – Kenneth Cameron, Baron Cameron of Lochbroom, lawyer and judge
• 16 June – John Grant, footballer (died 2021)
• 1 August - Pat Heywood, actress
• 2 August – Karl Miller, literary editor (died 2014 in England)
• 11 September – Bill Simpson, television actor (died 1993)
• 22 September – George Younger, Conservative politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (died 2003)
• 24 September – Elizabeth Blackadder, painter (died 2021)^[6]
• September - Arthur Thompson, gangster (died 1986)
• 9 December – Ian McIntyre, journalist and BBC Radio executive (died 2014)
• 16 December - Karl Denver, singer (died 1998 in Manchester)
• 29 December – Bobby Shearer, footballer (died 2006)
• Eric Auld, painter (died 2013)

Deaths

• 17 March – James Stewart, Labour Party politician, MP for Glasgow St. Rollox 1922–1931 (born 1863)
• 27 May – Norah Neilson Gray, portrait painter (born 1882)
• 5 August – Archibald Barr, mechanical engineer (born 1855)
• 3 December - Frederick Walters, architect, notable for his Roman Catholic churches (born 1849 in London)
• 7 December – Leslie Hunter, painter (born 1877)
• David Hay Fleming, historian and antiquary (born 1849)
• Ronald Campbell Macfie, medical doctor, poet and science writer (born 1867)
• Andrew Seth Pringle-Pattison, philosopher (born 1856)

The arts

• Jenny Brown's documentary film A Crofter's Life in Scotland is made.
• A. J. Cronin's first novel Hatter's Castle is published.
• Bruce Marshall's novel Father Malachy's Miracle is published.
• Dorothy L. Sayers' detective story The Five Red Herrings, set amongst the Galloway artistic community, is published.
• Approximate date – Ronnie L. Scott makes the first Scottish colour film, Where the Bens Stand Sentinel, and first Scottish sound film, Sunny Days.

See also

• Timeline of Scottish history
• 1931 in Northern Ireland

References