1771 in Scotland

Events from the year 1771 in Scotland.

Incumbents

17 August – Edinburgh botanist James Robertson makes the first recorded ascent of Ben Nevis.
16 November – During the night, Solway Moss, on the Cumberland border, bursts, flooding local farms and settlements.{{cite journal|first1=Lindsey J.|last1=McEwen|first2=Charles W. J.|last2=Withers|year=1989|title=Historical records and geomorphological events: the 1771 'eruption' of Solway Moss|journal=Scottish Geographical Magazine|volume=105|issue=3|pages=149–157|doi=10.1080/14702548908554428|url=http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/20285/|url-access=subscription}}
26 November – First section of Monkland Canal opened.
Encyclopædia Britannica First Edition completes publication in Edinburgh.
Thomas Pennant's A Tour in Scotland, MDCCLXIX is published.
Edinburgh Society of Bowlers codifies the modern rules for bowls.

15 August – Walter Scott, poet and novelist (died 1832)
11 September – Mungo Park, explorer (drowned under attack 1806 on the Niger)
4 November – James Montgomery, poet, hymnist, editor and humanitarian (died 1854 in Sheffield)

26 January – Sydney Parkinson, botanical illustrator (born c. 1745; died at sea)
14 May – Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin (born 1732)
17 September – Tobias Smollett, novelist (born 1721; died in Italy)
William Lauder, literary forger (born c. 1680; died in Barbados)

Henry Mackenzie's novel The Man of Feeling and verse The Pursuits of Happiness published.