1779 in Scotland
Events from the year 1779 in Scotland.Incumbents
- Monarch – George III
Law officers
- Lord Advocate – Henry Dundas;
- Solicitor General for Scotland – Alexander Murray
Judiciary
- Lord President of the Court of Session – Lord Arniston, the younger
- Lord Justice General – The Viscount Stormont
- Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Barskimming
Events
- Bowmore distillery on Islay is established.
- Cotton mill at Rothesay, Bute, is established.
- New bridge over River Deveron between Banff and Macduff, designed by John Smeaton, is completed.
- Bridge of Awe is completed.
- David Hume's Dialogues concerning Natural Religion are published posthumously and anonymously.
Births
- 1 May – Alexander Morison, physician and psychiatrist
- 2 May – John Galt, novelist and entrepreneur
- 26 October – Henry Cockburn, judge and man of letters
- 20 December – Alexander Walker, physiologist
- 22 December – Ralph Wardlaw, Presbyterian clergyman
- James Barr, composer
- James Marr Brydone, naval surgeon
- Patrick Campbell, army officer and diplomat
- John Douglas, 7th Marquess of Queensberry, Whig politician
- James Forbes, inspector-general of army hospitals
- James Mudie, settler in Australia
- Hugh Murray, geographer
Deaths
- 10 March – John Rutherford, physician
- John Dalrymple, political writer
The arts
- George Richardson's Iconology is published.
