Edinburgh/Timelines
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This represents a timeline of the history of Edinburgh, up to the present day.
1-999
Late [[1st century’‘‘: Roman brooch and fine pottery from this period have been found
c[[638’‘‘: The Gododdin are defeated and the site is captured by Edwin of Northumbria
- ’’’731’‘‘: Edinburgh is possibly the town of Guidi mentioned by Bede
- ’’’854’‘‘: The first St Giles kirk is founded
- ’’’960’‘‘: Edinburgh temporarily falls into Scottish hands
1000-1099
- ’’’1020’‘‘: Malcolm II permanently annexes Edinburgh to Scotland
- ’’’1074’‘‘: Refortification of the castle and city begins under Malcolm III
- ’’’1093’‘‘: Queen Margaret dies at fort on "hill of Agned", regarded as a royal castle - St Margaret's chapel is built soon afterward
1100-1199
- ’’’1114’‘‘: Infant Scottish heir Malcolm is murdered by a priest
- ’’’1124]] or [[1127’‘‘: First documentary evidence of a "church of the community or burgh of Edin"
c[[1125’‘‘: David I founds burgh
- ’’’1128’‘‘: David I founds Holyrood Abbey
- ’’’1162’‘‘: Edinburgh is the caput of the Lothian sheriffdom
1200-1299
- ’’’1230’‘‘: Alexander II founds large Dominican friary; a hospital is also open
- ’’’1274’‘‘: Lothian is an archdeaconry of St Andrews
- ’’’1296’‘‘: Edinburgh is again held by the English, and strongly fortified
==1300-1399==:’’’1314’‘‘: Edinburgh castle captured by Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray
- ’’’1326-1331’‘‘: Edinburgh's contribution to Scottish burgh taxes is 15%, half that of Aberdeen
- ’’’1328’‘‘: A treaty is signed guaranteeing Scottish independence
- ’’’1329’‘‘: Bruce makes the town a burgh, and establishes a port at Leith
- ’’’1330’‘‘: Wall between High Street and Cowgate is first mentioned; castle is demolished by David II
- ’’’1334’‘‘: Scotland loses major port of Berwick to the English, Edinburgh's importance increases
- ’’’1341’‘‘: Scots regain castle from English
- ’’’1360’‘‘: Edinburgh has almost 4,000 houses, and is regarded as the nation's capital; the castle is the usual royal residence, being strengthened in stone
- ’’’1364’‘‘: David II grants ground for building of new tron (weigh beam)
- ’’’1367’‘‘: David II begins work on major fortifications at castle
- ’’’1371’‘‘: David II dies unexpectedly at the castle
- ’’’1384’‘‘: Duke of Lancaster extorts ransom following end of truce
- ’’’1386’‘‘: Robert II grants ground for building tolbooth
- ’’’1387’‘‘: Five new chapels are added to St Giles following English damage in 1385; St Giles is High Kirk
1400-1499
- ’’’1400’‘‘: Henry IV attempts to storm castle when Robert III refuses homage
- ’’’1437’‘‘: Edinburgh becomes the capital of Scotland
- ’’’1440’‘‘: The Earl of Douglas and his brother are murdered at the castle by William Crichton
- ’’’1440s’‘‘: Edinburgh has 47% of Scottish wool trade
c[[1449’‘‘: Cordiners (shoemakers) is incorporated
- ’’’1450’‘‘: There is a defensive wall around the city
- ’’’1455-1458’‘‘: Greyfriars (Franciscan) friary is founded
- ’’’1457’‘‘: The 508mm siege gun "Mons Meg" is received at castle; there are goldsmiths in the city
- ’’’1458’‘‘: Edinburgh has one of three supreme courts in the country
Pre-[[1460’‘‘: Trinity is a collegiate church
- ’’’1467-1469’‘‘: St Giles' gains collegiate status, a provost and fourteen prebendaries are established
- ’’’1474-1475’‘‘: Skinner and weaver crafts become guilds incorporated by the town council
- ’’’1477’‘‘: All fifteen of Edinburgh's markets are arranged along the length of the High Street
- ’’’1479’‘‘: A hospital is set up in Leith Wynd
- ’’’1482’‘‘: The Earls of Atholl and Buchan agree to free James III
- ’’’1483’‘‘: The Hammermen (smiths) are incorporated
- ’’’1485’‘‘: There is a notary in the Canongate; stone tenements appear in the city
- ’’’1490’‘‘: The Franciscan friary closes
1500-1599
- ’’’1500’‘‘: Edinburgh pays 60% of Scotland's customs revenue
- ’’’1503’‘‘: James IV marries Margaret Tudor
- ’’’1505’‘‘: Royal College of Surgeons founded
- ’’’1507’‘‘: James IV grants a patent for the first printing press in Scotland to Walter Chapman and Andrew Myllar
- ’’’1513’‘‘: Defeat at Flodden leads to a new southern wall being begun
- ’’’1520’‘‘: Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, seizes control of the city; Edinburgh is the "seat of courts of justice"
- ’’’1523’‘‘: City has fourteen craft guilds
- ’’’1528’‘‘: James V enters city with an army, to assert his right to rule; Holyrood Palace is built for him
- ’’’1530’‘‘: There are 288 brewers known as alewives in the city, one for every forty people
- ’’’1532’‘‘: Holyrood Abbey is transformed into a royal palace; the Court of Session is built
- ’’’1534’‘‘: Norman Gourlay and David Stratton are burnt as heretics
- ’’’1535-1556’‘‘: Edinburgh contributes over 40% of Scotland's burgh taxation
- ’’’1537’‘‘: Jane Douglas is burnt at the stake
- ’’’1542’‘‘: Cardinal Beaton is chosen as chief ruler of the city council
- ’’’1544’‘‘: Earl of Hertford burns the city; Holyrood Palace and abbey burn
- ’’’1547’‘‘: The English destroy Edinburgh again
- ’’’1558’‘‘: Riots break out over French prosecution of Protestants; the Flodden Wall is complete; Edinburgh's population is about 12,000; there are 367 merchants, and 400 craftsmen
- ’’’1559’‘‘: John Knox is appointed minister of St Giles' church
- ’’’1560’‘‘: English and French troops to withdraw under Treaty of Edinburgh; [[Reformation’‘‘: 40 altars, aisles, and pillars are dedicated to different saints in St Giles'
- ’’’1565’‘‘: Mary Queen of Scots marries Lord Darnley, Henry Stuart
- ’’’1566’‘‘: Mary is held captive in Holyrood Palace; David Rizzio is stabbed
- ’’’1567’‘‘: Darnley is assassinated at Kirk o' Field House; James Hepburn is cleared of the murder
- ’’’1569’‘‘: The city is hit by an outbreak of the plague
- ’’’1573’‘‘: A pro-Mary garrison is ousted from the castle by the regent, the Earl of Moray
- ’’’1574’‘‘: The castle's Half-Moon Battery is built; there are seven mills in Edinburgh
Late [[1570s’‘‘: Edinburgh now has 4 ministers, previously it had only one
- ’’’1579’‘‘: James VI makes his state entry
- ’’’1580s’‘‘: There are some 400 merchants in Edinburgh
- ’’’1581’‘‘: James Douglas is executed for complicity in the murder of Lord Darnley
- ’’’1582’‘‘: The University of Edinburgh is founded and given a royal charter - it is the fourth university in Scotland
- ’’’1583’‘‘: There are an estimated 500 merchants and 500 craftsmen in the city, of which 250 are tailors
- ’’’1586’‘‘: Skinners and goldsmiths form their own companies (previously part of the Company of Hammermen)
- ’’’1591’‘‘: Francis Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell escapes from imprisonment in castle
- ’’’1592’‘‘: Earl of Moray murdered by catholic Earl of Huntly; the presbytery takes the first Edinburgh [[census’‘‘: there are c8,000 adults, split evenly between north and south of the High Street
- ’’’1593’‘‘: Earl of Bothwell take over at Holyrood Palace
- ’’’1594’‘‘: Earl of Bothwell fails to seize city
- ’’’1596’‘‘: Clergy demand arms to defend king and church against "papists"
1600-1699
- ’’’1600’‘‘: There are twelve roads out of Edinburgh
- ’’’1602’‘‘: Greyfriars Kirk is begun
- ’’’1603’‘‘: The headquarters of the Scottish Post Office is in Edinburgh - there is another post office in the Canongate; William Mayne makes golf clubs for James VI;
- ’’’1604’‘‘: The Laird of MacGregor and fourteen others are hanged for the Colquhoun massacre
- ’’’1610’‘‘: First factories spring up in Dalry
- ’’’1610-1621’‘‘: Andrew Hart is a busy publisher; they publish Napier's book of logs
- ’’’1613’‘‘: Lord Maxwell is hanged for the murder of the Laird of Johnstone
- ’’’1615’‘‘: The Earl of Orkney is executed after a rebellion to overthrow James VI
- ’’’1617’‘‘: Gladstone's Land, 6-storey tenement in Lawnmarket, expanded (built originally in 1550s);
- ’’’1618’‘‘: Some seven-storey buildings have been built in the city; its population is c25,000, with about 475 merchants
- ’’’1619’‘‘: The privy council orders the city to clean up its streets; a hospital built in 1479 becomes a workhouse
- ’’’1621’‘‘: Edinburgh and Leith pay 44% of Scottish non-wine customs duty, and 66% of wine duty
- ’’’1624’‘‘: Edinburgh is hit by a plague epidemic
c[[1625’‘‘: Tailor's Hall is built in the Cowgate
- ’’’1628-1693’‘‘: Heriot's Hospital is built
- ’’’1632’‘‘: Work begins on Parliament House to house the Parliament of Scotland
- ’’’1633’‘‘: Edinburgh is designated a new bishopric; Charles I of England offends Presbyterians at crowning ceremony at St Giles' Cathedral
- ’’’1636’‘‘: The construction of the Tron Church is begun; the city's population is c.30,000
- ’’’1637’‘‘: Introduction of new Prayer Book causes riots; a supplication is delivered to remove bishops from the privy council
- ’’’1639’‘‘: Decisions of Glasgow assembly are ratified
- ’’’1640’‘‘: Parliament House is completed
- ’’’1641’‘‘: Sir Robert Sibbald, later the Geographer Royal, is born
- ’’’1642]] or [[1645’‘‘: Mary King's Close is abandoned
- ’’’1647’‘‘: A well-known map of the city is drawn by Rothiemay; the Tron Kirk is completed
- ’’’1649’‘‘: Covenanters execute royalist Marquis of Huntly; the town Corporation buys the area around West Port
- ’’’1650’‘‘: James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, is hanged; the castle surrenders to Oliver Cromwell's men; James Colquhoun builds early [[fire apparatus|fire engines’‘‘: one for Edinburgh, one for Glasgow
- ’’’1650s’‘‘: A new church is built in the Canongate
- ’’’1652’‘‘: A 'journey coach' to London is introduced - it takes a fortnight to make the journey
- ’’’1653’‘‘: English forces break up the General Assembly
- ’’’1655’‘‘: A council of state is set up; ministers yield to the English
- ’’’1660’‘‘: A committee of estates resumes government of Scotland
- ’’’1661’‘‘: Thomas Sydserf produces the first Scottish newspaper; Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll, is executed
- ’’’1663’‘‘: The former Covenanter Archibald Johnston is executed
- ’’’1667’‘‘: The privy council empowers magnates to police the highlands
- ’’’1670’‘‘: Water is piped into the city from Comiston Springs
- ’’’1670s’‘‘: Butchering of animals moves from the Grassmarket to Dalkeith
- ’’’1671’‘‘: John Law is born - he set up the national bank of France.
- ’’’1675’‘‘: Robert Sibbald co-founds physic garden planted at Holyrood
- ’’’1677’‘‘: The first coffee house opens in the city
- ’’’1678’‘‘: The first stagecoaches run to Glasgow
- ’’’1681’‘‘: Robert Sibbald founds Royal College of Physicians, whose patron is the Duke of York; Viscount Stair publishes his Institutions of the Laws of Scotland
- ’’’1682’‘‘: Sir George Mackenzie founds Advocates' Library - patron the Duke of York - forerunner to the National Library of Scotland
- ’’’1688’‘‘: Royal government collapses as Chancellor Perth flees
- ’’’1690s’‘‘: Lawyers have more wealth than all merchants and craftsmen in the burgh combined; over 20% of the population is in manufacturing
- ’’’1694’‘‘: There are more professionals than merchants in Edinburgh; 200 legals (advocates to lawyers), 24 surgeons, and 33 physicians; other occupations include aleseller, executioner, royal trumpeter, and keeper of the signet; the ratio of sexes in the city is 70 males:100 females - there are over 5000 domestic servants in Edinburgh
- ’’’1697’‘‘: Thomas Aikenhead is executed for blasphemy
1700-1799
- ’’’1700’‘‘: A severe fire leads to new buildings, built in stone; the estimated population is 60,000
- ’’’1702’‘‘: Advocates' Library moved from Faculty of Advocates to Parliament House
- ’’’1706’‘‘: Framework knitters from Haddington are working in Edinburgh
- ’’’1707’‘‘: Act of Union
- ’’’1711’‘‘: David Hume, philosopher, is born
- ’’’1713’‘‘: The main radial roads into Edinburgh are turnpiked
- ’’’1715’‘‘: Jacobites fail to take castle
- ’’’1718’‘‘: Edinburgh Evening Courant newspaper is launched; damasks are woven at Drumsheugh
- ’’’1720s’‘‘: Daniel Defoe praises the Royal Mile, decries Tolbooth or prison, notes sales of woollens, linens, drapery and mercery
- ’’’1722’‘‘: The Signet Library is founded
- ’’’1726’‘‘: The first circulating library is established; a medical school at the city's college is founded; James Hutton, geologist, is born
- ’’’1729’‘‘: The city's first infirmary is opened
- ’’’1733’‘‘: Alexander Munro, discoverer of lymphatic and nervous systems, is born
- ’’’1735’‘‘: Golf is played on Bruntsfield links; also the traditional date the Royal Burgess Golfing Society is founded
- ’’’1736’‘‘: The Royal Infirmary is incorporated; riots shake the city
- ’’’1737’‘‘: The Lord Provost is ousted following the riots
- ’’’1738’‘‘: Edinburgh is described as the "world's leading medical centre"; John Watson's College is founded
- ’’’1739’‘‘: The Scots Magazine is first published in the city
- ’’’1740’‘‘: There are four printing firms in Edinburgh; the biographer James Boswell is born
- ’’’1744’‘‘: The first premises at Fountainbridge are built, with more than five looms
- ’’’1745’‘‘: Charles Edward Stuart enters the city
- ’’’1746’‘‘: The British Linen Company is formed
- ’’’1747’‘‘: A theatre is established at Playhouse Close in the Canongate
- ’’’1749’‘‘: A stagecoach service opens between Edinburgh and Glasgow
- ’’’1750’‘‘: A ropery is established in the city
- ’’’1751’‘‘: A survey shows a severe state of dilapidation in the Old Town
- ’’’1752’‘‘: Proposals are heard for new public buildings and bridges
- ’’’1753’‘‘: Stagecoach services are introduced to London (taking two weeks)
- ’’’1754’‘‘: The Select Society is founded
- ’’’1757-1770’‘‘: Linen weaving works in Canongate
- ’’’1758’‘‘: Stagecoach services are introduced to Newcastle (taking one week)
- ’’’1760’‘‘: First school for deaf children opens; the main linen stamping office is in the city
- ’’’1760s’‘‘: Woollen cloth is beetled in a lapping house in Edinburgh
- ’’’1761’‘‘: The Bruntsfield Golfing Society is formed
- ’’’1763’‘‘: Construction of the North Bridge, designed by Robert Adam, begins; a four-horse coach runs to Glasgow three times a week
- ’’’1765’‘‘: The Glasgow coach now runs daily
- ’’’1766’‘‘: The competition to design the New Town is won by James Craig
- ’’’1767’‘‘: Construction of the New Town begins
- ’’’1770’‘‘: The British Linen Company switches to banking; the Heriot Brewery starts
- ’’’1770s’‘‘: There are 27 competing printing firms in the city
- ’’’1771’‘‘: Sir Walter Scott is born
- ’’’1772’‘‘: Construction of the North Bridge is completed
- ’’’1773]] or [[1777’‘‘: Penny-post service begins
- ’’’1775’‘‘: A directory of brothels and prostitutes is published; Edinburgh's estimated population is c57,000
- ’’’1777’‘‘: 8 legal and 400 illegal distilleries in the city
- ’’’1781’‘‘: The Mound road is opened
- ’’’1782’‘‘: The voting system is criticised by Thomas McGrugar in "Letters of Zeno"
- ’’’1784’‘‘: Meeting discusses corrupt electoral system
- ’’’1785-1786’‘‘: Stone bridge at Stockbridge
- ’’’1786-1788’‘‘: The South Bridge is built
- ’’’1788’‘‘: William "Deacon" Brodie is executed - leader of a gang of robbers; the first stone of Edinburgh University's Old College is laid
- ’’’1792’‘‘: The Friends of the People Society meets for the first time; Charlotte Square designed by Robert Adam
- ’’’1793’‘‘: Thomas Muir of Huntershill, a radical reformer, is arrested and sentenced
- ’’’1794’‘‘: Robert Watt, a former spy, is sentenced to death for "Pike Plot"
- ’’’1799’‘‘: City has access to 3 million litres of water a day
1800-1899
- ’’’1800’‘‘: Charlotte Square is completed; Stein's large Canongate brewery is built
c[[1800’‘‘: National Museum of Antiquities is established
- ’’’1802’‘‘: The Edinburgh Review is published, offering literary criticism
- ’’’1802-1806’‘‘: The Bank of Scotland head office is built
- ’’’1803’‘‘: Dorothy Wordsworth stays in the "White Hart" inn in the Grassmarket
- ’’’1814’‘‘: A protest meeting against West Indian slavery is held; two coaches a day run to Stirling
- ’’’1816-1819’‘‘: Regent Bridge is built
- ’’’1817’‘‘: Coal gas supplies are available in the city; coal fires lose popularity; the old tolbooth in Waterloo Place is demolished
- ’’’1818’‘‘: The Union Canal is begun; Calton Hill observatory is founded by the Edinburgh Astronomical Association
- ’’’1819’‘‘: Five coaches a day run between Edinburgh and Glasgow
- ’’’1820’‘‘: There are protests at George IV's treatment of Queen Caroline
- ’’’1822’‘‘: George IV visits Edinburgh and wears the kilt; the first Highland and Agricultural Show takes place
- ’’’1823’‘‘: The Bannatyne Club is founded
- ’’’1824’‘‘: A large fire destroys many buildings
- ’’’1825’‘‘: Eight Royal Mail coaches and over fifty stage coaches leave Edinburgh each day
- ’’’1826’‘‘: The Royal Scottish Academy is founded
- ’’’1828’‘‘: Burke of Burke and Hare is tried for murder
- ’’’1829’‘‘: Burke is hanged
- ’’’1831’‘‘: The Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway opens (known as The Innocent Railway), as railways start to come to the city
- ’’’1832’‘‘: A cholera outbreak occurs in the city; The Scotsman newspaper incorporates the Caledonian Mercury
- ’’’1833’‘‘: The city goes bankrupt; partly due to the development of Leith docks
- ’’’1835’‘‘: Edinburgh's New Town is completed, and the Old Town becomes a slum
- ’’’1836’‘‘: The Royal Institution opens, designed by William Playfair
- ’’’1840’‘‘: Barnard's Canongate brewery is expanded
- ’’’1841-1851’‘‘: Donaldson's hospital for the deaf is built
- ’’’1842’‘‘: Edinburgh-Glasgow railway line is open to the public
- ’’’1843’‘‘: Disruption of the Church of Scotland
- ’’’1844-1846’‘‘: The Scott Monument is built
- ’’’1846’‘‘: The North British Railway company is established
- ’’’1847’‘‘: Alexander Graham Bell is born in the city; half Edinburgh's population attend the funeral of Thomas Chalmers
- ’’’1850’‘‘: The foundation stone of the Scottish National Gallery is laid; the Holyrood brewery is enlarged for the third time
- ’’’1851’‘‘: The British Linen Bank head office opens on St Andrews Square
- ’’’1853’‘‘: The Edinburgh Trades Council is established
- ’’’1856’‘‘: The burgh of Canongate becomes part of Edinburgh
- ’’’1859’‘‘: The National Gallery opens
- ’’’1860’‘‘: Bank of Scotland has 43 branches
- ’’’1861’‘‘: Industrial museum built beside university (now the Royal Museum)
- ’’’1864-1870’‘‘: Bank of Scotland head office re-designed and extended
- ’’’1865’‘‘: Report on city’s sanitation paints picture of degradation
- ’’’1867’‘‘: Scottish Women’s Suffrage Society holds meetings for first time
- ’’’1869’‘‘: Sophia Jex-Blake becomes first female medical student
- ’’’1870’‘‘: Fettes College opens
- ’’’1870-1879’‘‘: New buildings for the Royal Infirmary
- ’’’1872’‘‘: Watt Institution and School of Arts begins to be built
- ’’’1875’‘‘: Royal Theatre destroyed by fire; Institute of Bankers founded
- ’’’1881’‘‘: Dean Distillery opens, converted from Dean Mills
- ’’’1882’‘‘: City brought to standstill by severe winter weather
- ’’’1883’‘‘: Chair of Celtic established at the university
- ’’’1885’‘‘: Watt Institution and School of Arts merges with George Heriot’s to become Heriot-Watt College
- ’’’1889’‘‘: City hit by earthquake; Charles Parnell granted freedom of the city
- ’’’1890’‘‘: Free public library opens to public
- ’’’1892’‘‘: Drybroughs’ brewery moves to Craigmillar; McVitie's devise ‘digestive biscuits’
- ’’’1896-1900’‘‘: Abbey brewery built by Robert Younger
1900-1999
- ’’’1900’‘‘: Stockbridge gains a library and hall; character actor Alistair Sim is born
- ’’’1901’‘‘: University appoints its first Professor of Scottish history; the Royal High School has 350 pupils
- ’’’1902’‘‘: Waverley Station is complete, covering 70,000 square metres; the North British Hotel is also built
- ’’’1905’‘‘: Moray House in Canongate becomes a teacher training centre
- ’’’1905-1906’‘‘: King’s Theatre is built at Tollcross
- ’’’1907’‘‘: Work begins on constructing the Edinburgh College of Art
- ’’’1910’‘‘: First electric trams run; Bank of Scotland has 169 branches
- ’’’1911’‘‘: Palladium Cinema opens
- ’’’1911-1914’‘‘: Usher Hall is built
- ’’’1912’‘‘: La Scala Cinema opens
- ’’’1916’‘‘: Bank of Scotland has first female employee
- ’’’1916-1918’‘‘: Tanks are built by Brown Brothers in the city
- ’’’1921’‘‘: Garrick Theatre burns down
- ’’’1925’‘‘: The National Library of Scotland is formed from the former Advocates’ Library
- ’’’1928’‘‘: The Flying Scotsman provides a fast rail link to London; the city’s first traffic lights are at Broughton Street
- ’’’1932’‘‘: George Watson’s College moves to Morningside
- ’’’1932-1935’‘‘: Edinburgh has headquarters for BBC Scotland
- ’’’1936’‘‘:17% of Edinburgh’s houses are overcrowded
- ’’’1939’‘‘: The Bank of Scotland has 266 branches; the headquarters of Edinburgh Savings Bank is built
- ’’’1943’‘‘: The North Scotland Hydro-Electric Board is created, with its headquarters in Edinburgh
- ’’’1946’‘‘: A telephone upgrade takes place, allowing all-city dialling
- ’’’1946-1947’‘‘: Electric trams in the city carry 16 million passengers a month
- ’’’1947’‘‘: The Edinburgh International Festival is launched; restoration of Canongate
- ’’’1949’‘‘: The Abercrombie Plan introduces ring roads and a bypass
- ’’’1950’‘‘: Tram system begins to be run down
- ’’’1951’‘‘: 2 central (manual) phone exchanges handle over 9,500 lines
- ’’’1952’‘‘: Bank of Scotland takes over Union Bank of Scotland, giving 453 combined branches
- ’’’1956’‘‘: Whole tram system closes
- ’’’1958’‘‘: Queen receives last debutantes
- ’’’1959’‘‘: Old Town population declines to 2,000
- ’’’1960’‘‘: Infirmary Street baths are damaged by fire
- ’’’1963’‘‘: ‘’Evening Despatch’’ and ‘’Edinburgh Evening News’’ merge; Empire Theatre becomes bingo hall
- ’’’1966’‘‘: Heriot-Watt gains university status
- ’’’1968’‘‘: Palladium Theatre fails, and becomes a disco
- ’’’1968-1969’‘‘: Royal Bank of Scotland takes over National Commercial Bank of Scotland
- ’’’1969’‘‘: Bank of Scotland absorbs British Linen Bank; Tollcross Bus Depot closes
- ’’’1970’‘‘: The Commonwealth Games are held in the city; the St James’ Centre, including a new St Andrews House, is completed
- ’’’1971’‘‘: Tom Farmer starts Kwik-Fit
- ’’’1972’‘‘: A youth hostel opens at Eglington Crescent; Bell’s Mills are destroyed by an explosion
- ’’’1974’‘‘: David Murray, later connected with Glasgow Rangers, starts Murray International Metals
- ’’’1976’‘‘: A new Fountain Brewery is built by Scottish & Newcastle
- ’’’1980’‘‘: Debenhams open a Princes St store
- ’’’1980s’‘‘: Restoration of houses in the Old Town leads to a population increase in the area
- ’’’1981’‘‘: Royal Insurance Group headquarters moves to Glasgow
- ’’’1985’‘‘: The population of the city is 440,000; Edinburgh University institutes a Chair of Parapsychology
- ’’’1989’‘‘: The National Gallery of Scotland is renovated
- ’’’1990’‘‘: Edinburgh Castle is first, and Holyrood Palace eighth, in ranking of paid Scottish tourist attractions
- ’’’1996’‘‘: Infirmary St baths close
- ’’’1998’‘‘: The Museum of Scotland is built
- ’’’1999’‘‘: The Scottish Parliament is opened by the Queen
2000-2007
- ’’’2004’‘‘: The Scottish Parliament Building opens