Freedom of The City of Aberdeen

The Freedom of the City of Aberdeen has its origins in the 12th Century through the city's Burgesses of Guild. The 'freedom' was in fact the granting of status as a Free Burgess which gave special trading rights. At one time recipients were required to own arms and be prepared to use them in defence of the city.

In its modern sense, the Freedom of Aberdeen is an honour which Aberdeen City Council can bestow under the terms of Section 206 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, Part XI 'Admission of honorary freemen'. The Act states that:

(1) A local authority may, by resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the members voting thereon at a meeting of the authority the notice of which specifies the proposed admission as an item of business, admit to be honorary freemen of their area persons of distinction and any persons who have rendered eminent service to their area.

(2) An officer designated for the purpose by local authority shall keep a roll containing the names of persons admitted to be freemen under this section.

Section 207 of the same Act 'Limitation of rights of freemen' further states that:

Nothing in this Part of this Act shall—

(a) confer any right of membership or any right or interest in the properties, funds, revenues or privileges of any guild or incorporation of crafts; or

(b) confer any right or interest in any burgess acres or any grazing rights connected therewith, or affect the law or practice existing at the commencement of this Act with reference to the use, enjoyment and administration of any such burgess acres or grazing rights.

There have been 38 Freedom ceremonies in Aberdeen since the start of the 20th Century.

The Freedom of the City of Aberdeen has been conferred on the following persons:

• Robert Davine of Appin (7 July 1828)
• John Baker Richards of Bryanston Square, London (25 June 1832)
• Dr John Abercrombie (23 November 1832)
• The Lord Brougham and Vaux (10 September 1834)
• The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry (1834)
• The Marquess of Tweeddale (1834)
• The Earl of Erroll (1836)
• The Duke of Richmond and Lennox (1837)
• George Watt of Aberdeen (1839)
• The Duke of Sutherland (1840)
• Robert Wallace of Kelly (1841)
• George Thomas of Fairley (1841)
• Samuel McKnight of South Carolina (1844)
• Rowland Hill (1844)
• Albert, Prince Consort (1848)
• Sir Robert Peel, Bt (1849)
• The Earl of Carlisle (1853)
• Joseph Hume (1854)
• The Earl Stanhope (1858)
• The Earl of Airlie (1859)
• Lord John Russell (1859)
• Edward Ellice (1862)
• The Prince of Wales (1866)
• William Ewart Gladstone (1871)
• William Edward Forster (1876)
• Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon (1878)
• Sir John Anderson (1881)
• The Earl of Aberdeen (1883)
• Sir Richard Assheton Cross (1883)
• Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1884)
• Marquess of Lorne (1888)
• William Alexander Hunter (1890)
• Henry Morton Stanley (1890)
• Andrew Carnegie (1892)
• Charles William Mitchell of Jesmond Towers (10 April 1901)
• The Lord Mount Stephen (27 April 1901)
• The Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal (9 April 1902)
• The Earl Roberts (29 August 1913)
• William Morris Hughes (29 August 1918)
• Sir Douglas Haig (11 July 1919)
• The Lord and Lady Cowdray (16 August 1926)
• Sir Robert Williams (24 October 1927)
• The Earl Jellicoe (26 September 1928)
• Sir Thomas Jaffray of Edgehill (26 September 1928)
• Rev. Robert Laws of Livingstonia (26 September 1928)
• Sir James Murray (7 October 1931)
• Sir George Adam Smith (7 October 1931)
• The Lord Meston (20 September 1935)
• The Lord Milne (20 September 1935)
• William Lyon Mackenzie King (19 June 1937)
• Joseph Aloysius Lyons (19 June 1937)
• Peter Fraser (31 July 1941)
• Jan Christiaan Smuts (1942)
• John Gilbert Winant (27 July 1943)
• Vi-Kyuin Wellington Koo (27 July 1943)
• Winston Spencer Churchill (27 April 1946)
• Sir John Boyd Orr (16 March 1949)
• Thomas Johnston (16 March 1949)
• The Colonel, Officers and other Ranks of the Gordon Highlanders (20 August 1949)
• The Earl Attlee (5 June 1956)
• The Lord Bilsland (5 June 1956)
• Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (25 May 1959)
• Sir Dugald Baird and Lady Baird (21 June 1966)
• The Lord Strathclyde (21 June 1966)
• Mary Esslemont (9 October 1981)
• Nelson and Winifred Mandela (29 November 1984)
• HMS Scylla (8 June 1992)
• Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (6 December 1993)
• University of Aberdeen (11 February 1995)
• Alex C. Collie (18 November 1995)
• Alex Ferguson (30 March 1999)
• John Rowland Mallard (14 August 2004)
• Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 July 2006)
• George Donald (20 April 2008)
• William "Buff" Hardie (20 April 2008)
• Stephen Robertson (20 April 2008)