1 January –civil registry of births, deaths and marriages in Scotland replaces parish church registers.[1]
c. February – establishment of the Industrial Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, a predecessor of theNational Museum of Scotland, with chemistGeorge Wilson as its director. In August he is also appointedRegius Professor of Technology in theUniversity of Edinburgh, the first such post in Britain.[2] This year also he publishesResearches on Colour-Blindness.