22nd December 1666

The hanging of martyr Hugh Mackail

Covenanter chaplain Hugh Mackail was forced to flee Scotland after giving a sermon that many believed was critical of the king. He lived for some time in the Netherlands, but eventually returned and supported other Covenanters in their fight against the government. Although he was not captured during the uprising, he was apprehended soon after and taken to Edinburgh for interrogation.

He refused to – or could not – give the names of anyone else involved in a plot against the king and government, despite being tortured. He was therefore tried, and found guilty of treason, and condemned to death. He was hanged at Edinburgh’s market cross on 22 December. He was 26.

 

 

Other events that occured in December

  • 01

    Hurricane Bawbag strikes Scotland
    Hurricane Bawbag, officially known as Cyclone Friedhelm, was the most destructive storm to hit the country in a decade when it arrived in 2011.

  • 02

    Musician Annie Lennox is born
    Singer and musician Annie Lennox was born in Aberdeen and gained international recognition as one half of The Eurythmics.

  • 03

    The Stotfield fishing disaster
    The entire fishing fleet, on which the town of Stotfield relied for income, was lost in a storm on Christmas Day in 1806.

  • 04

    Death of naturalist John Muir
    John Muir was born in Dunbar in 1838 and emigrated to the United States where he campaigned for Yosemite to be made a national park.

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