1970 in Scotland

Incumbents

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – Willie Ross until 20 June; then Gordon Campbell

  Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Henry Wilson; then Norman Wylie
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Ewan Stewart until June; then David Brand

  Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Clyde
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Grant
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Birsay

  Events

• 21 January – Fraserburgh lifeboat Duchess of Kent, on service to the Danish fishing vessel Opal, capsizes with the loss of five of the six crew members.
• 19 March – The South Ayrshire by-election is held. Jim Sillars retains the seat for the Labour Party.
• 24 May – The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Luke in Glasgow is raised to this status.
• 18 June – The 1970 general election is held. Labour wins a majority in Scotland with 48 out of the 71 seats available, but the Conservative Party wins a majority across the UK, and Edward Heath replaces Harold Wilson as Prime Minister. The Scottish National Party wins its first MP elected at a general election but Winnie Ewing loses the Hamilton seat; leaving the SNP with only a single MP.
• 26 June – The Kingston Bridge, Glasgow opens.
• 16 – 25 July: the 1970 British Commonwealth Games are held in Edinburgh.
• 26 July – 1 August – the 1970 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games are held in Edinburgh.
• 7 October – BP announces the discovery of the massive Forties Oil Field in Scottish waters.
• Hepatitis B outbreak in Edinburgh.
• Blair Drummond Safari Park opens.

  Births

• 16 April – James Watson, actor
• 10 May – David Weir, international footballer
• 19 July – Nicola Sturgeon, SNP politician, First Minister of Scotland
• 21 July – Angus MacNeil, SNP politician
• 12 August – Alan Brown, SNP politician
• 21 August – David Hopkin, footballer
• 22 July – Doug Johnstone, crime fiction writer, rock musician and physicist
• 17 September – Dallas Campbell, television presenter
• 6 December – Lewis MacLeod, voice actor
• 17 December – Stella Tennant, model
• 23 December – Karine Polwart, singer-songwriter

  Deaths

• 25 May – Tom Patey, mountaineer, died in climbing accident
• 13 June – John Nicholson, footballer