1861 in Scotland

Events from the year 1861 in Scotland.

Law officers

 * Lord Advocate – James Moncreiff
 * Solicitor General for Scotland – Edward Maitland

Judiciary

 * Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Colonsay
 * Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Glenalmond

Events

 * 27 February – ironclad warship HMS Black Prince is launched from Robert Napier's yard at Govan on the River Clyde.
 * 11 March – the Portpatrick Railway opens to Stranraer Town railway station, providing a connection from Dumfries.
 * June – first modern excavation of the Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave of Maeshowe on Orkney.
 * 26 September – golfer Tom Morris, Sr. wins the second Open Championship.
 * 23 October – foundation stone of the Royal Museum laid by Prince Albert.
 * 25 November – a tenement collapses in the Old Town, Edinburgh killing 35 with 15 survivors.
 * Edinburgh Co-operative Building Company begin construction of Stockbridge Colonies, pioneering low-cost flats for artisans.
 * One O'Clock Gun first fired from Edinburgh Castle.
 * Edinburgh and Glasgow Bible Societies merged to form the National Bible Society of Scotland.
 * White Horse whisky first produced by James Logan Mackie of Edinburgh.

Births

 * 11 April – Thomas Jaffrey, actuary (died 1953)
 * 17 June – Robina Nicol, New Zealand photographer and suffragist (died 1942)
 * 19 June – Douglas Haig, soldier and Field Marshal during World War I (died 1928)
 * 9 July – William Burrell, shipowner and art collector (died 1958)
 * 12 October – Agnes Jekyll, née Graham, artist, writer on domestic matters and philanthropist (died 1937 in England)
 * 24 December – John Macdonald, sportsman and physician (died 1938)

Deaths

 * 8 April – John Bartholomew, Sr., cartographer (born 1805)
 * 4 October – Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton (born 1812 in Sicily)
 * 13 November – John Forbes, physician to Queen Victoria (1841–1861) (born 1787)