History of Scotland
Many of the most important dates in the history of Scotland.
Last updated
Feb 14, 2026
Cards
40
Dates
51
Links
07
Density
30
Timelines published by our users.
Many of the most important dates in the history of Scotland.
Last updated
Feb 14, 2026
Cards
40
Dates
51
Links
07
Density
30
[Abandoned]
A stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. It consisted of ten clustered houses, made of flagstones, in earthen dams that provided support for the walls; the houses included stone hearths, beds, and cupboards. The site was occupied from roughly [3180] BCE to about [2500] BCE and is Europe's most complete Neolithic village.
[Created]
A former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in [122] in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. It was a stone wall with large ditches in front of it and behind it that crossed the whole width of the island. Hadrian's Wall marked the boundary between Roman Britannia and unconquered Caledonia to the north. The wall lies entirely within England and has never formed the Anglo-Scottish border, though it is often loosely described as being such.
[Created]
A turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twenty years after Hadrian's Wall to the south, and intended to supersede it, while it was garrisoned it was the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire. It spanned approximately 63 kilometres and was about 3 metres high and 5 metres wide. Construction began in [142] at the order of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.
[Death]
An Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. According to traditional sources, Columba died in Iona, and was buried by his monks in the abbey he created.
[Established]
An alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland & France against England made in [1295]. The alliance began with the treaty signed by John Balliol and Philip IV of France in [1295] against Edward I of England. The terms of the treaty stipulated that if either country were attacked by England, the other country would invade English territory.
1 link[Start]
The first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in [1296] until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in [1328]. De facto independence was established in [1314] at the Battle of Bannockburn. The wars were caused by the attempts of the English kings to establish their authority over Scotland while Scots fought to keep English rule and authority out of Scotland.
3 links[Death]
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. John de Menteith, a Scottish knight loyal to King Edward I of England, turned Wallace over to English soldiers at Robroyston, which resulted in Wallace's execution.
1 link[Reign Start]
Robert I, known as Robert the Bruce, was King of Scots. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent kingdom and is now revered in Scotland as a national hero.
[Happened]
Was a victory of the army of King of Scots, Robert the Bruce, over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence.
1 link[End]
The first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in [1296] until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in [1328]. De facto independence was established in [1314] at the Battle of Bannockburn. The wars were caused by the attempts of the English kings to establish their authority over Scotland while Scots fought to keep English rule and authority out of Scotland.
3 links[Reign End]
Robert I, known as Robert the Bruce, was King of Scots. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent kingdom and is now revered in Scotland as a national hero.
[Start]
Broke out when Edward Balliol led an English-backed invasion of Scotland. Balliol, the son of a former Scottish king, was attempting to make good his claim to the Scottish throne. He was opposed by Scots loyal to the occupant of the throne, eight-year-old David II. At the Battle of Dupplin Moor Balliol's force defeated a Scottish army ten times their size and Balliol was crowned king. Within three months he was forced out. However, he appealed to the English king, Edward III, who invaded Scotland and besieged Berwick.
[End]
Broke out when Edward Balliol led an English-backed invasion of Scotland. Balliol, the son of a former Scottish king, was attempting to make good his claim to the Scottish throne. He was opposed by Scots loyal to the occupant of the throne, eight-year-old David II. At the Battle of Dupplin Moor Balliol's force defeated a Scottish army ten times their size and Balliol was crowned king. Within three months he was forced out. However, he appealed to the English king, Edward III, who invaded Scotland and besieged Berwick.
[Established]
St Andrews is Scotland's first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world. Teaching began in the community of St Andrews in [1410], and the University was formally constituted by the issue of a papal bull in [1413].
1 link[Start]
Generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs. He was responsible for a major expansion of the Scottish royal navy. He took an active interest in arts, law, literature and science, even personally experimenting in dentistry and bloodletting. With his patronage the printing press came to Scotland, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the University of Aberdeen were founded. He commissioned the building of the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Falkland Palace.
1 link[End]
Generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs. He was responsible for a major expansion of the Scottish royal navy. He took an active interest in arts, law, literature and science, even personally experimenting in dentistry and bloodletting. With his patronage the printing press came to Scotland, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the University of Aberdeen were founded. He commissioned the building of the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Falkland Palace.
1 link[Happened]
A battle that was fought during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey, which resulted in an English victory. James IV was killed in the fighting and became the last monarch from Great Britain to die in battle. That and the loss of a large proportion of the nobility led to a political crisis in Scotland.
1 link[Reign Start]
Also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was queen until her forced abdication. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland, Mary was six days old when her father died and she inherited the throne. During her childhood, Scotland was governed by regents. She was beheaded by Elizabeth I of England, who perceived her as a threat to the throne.
[Legalized]
Scotland had the most persecutions in Great Britain, about 5000. Under the Scottish Witchcraft Act of this year, both the practice of witchcraft and consulting with witches were capital offences.
[Reign End]
Also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was queen until her forced abdication. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland, Mary was six days old when her father died and she inherited the throne. During her childhood, Scotland was governed by regents. She was beheaded by Elizabeth I of England, who perceived her as a threat to the throne.
[Created]
This was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (eg. overseas diplomacy) of the two separate realms under a single individual. Whilst a misnomer, what is popularly known as "The Union of the Crowns" followed the death of James's cousin, Elizabeth I of England, the last Tudor monarch. The union was personal or dynastic, with the Crown of England and the Crown of Scotland remaining distinct.
[Reign Start]
Was King of Scotland as James VI prior to becoming King of England & Ireland as James I. This period called the Jacobian Era. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, though both were ruled by James.
The Statutes of Iona, passed in Scotland in [1609], required that Highland Scottish clan chiefs send their heirs to Lowland Scotland to be educated in English-speaking Protestant schools. As a result, some clans, such as the MacDonalds of Sleat and the MacLeods of Harris, adopted the new religion. Other clans, notably the MacLeans of Morvern & Mull, MacDonalds of Clanranald, Keppoch, Glengarry, and Glencoe, remained resolutely Roman Catholic.
[Invented]
The Scottish mathematician, John Napier, invented logarithms, the inverse of exponentiation, as a means of simplifying calculations. They were rapidly adopted by navigators, scientists, engineers and more.
1 link[Reign End]
Was King of Scotland as James VI prior to becoming King of England & Ireland as James I. This period called the Jacobian Era. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, though both were ruled by James.
[First Rising]
In [1688], concerns about King James II and his designs on an absolute monarchy came to a head. Parliament deposed the Roman Catholic ruler in an act hailed as a Glorious Revolution, ignoring James Francis Edward Stuart, James’s son from his second marriage. So a series of rebellions in Scotland attempted to overthrow the ruling House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the throne. They were encouraged and assisted by Britain’s enemies, who saw their cause as a way of distracting Britain.
1 link[Happened]
About 30 members and associates of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by Scottish government forces, allegedly for failing to pledge allegiance to the new monarchs, William III and Mary II. By May [1690], the Jacobite rising of [1689] had largely been suppressed, but unrest in the Highlands consumed military resources needed for the Nine Years' War in Flanders. The Scottish government agreed to pay the Jacobite clans in return for an oath of fealty, but none had taken it.
[Created]
An unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth & influence by establishing New Caledonia, a colony in the Darién Gap on the Isthmus of Panama, which would create & manage an overland route to connect the Pacific & Atlantic oceans. More than 80% of participants died within a year. The Company of Scotland was backed by approximately 20% of all the money circulating in Scotland, and its failure left the entire Scottish Lowlands in financial ruin.
[Dissolved]
An unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth & influence by establishing New Caledonia, a colony in the Darién Gap on the Isthmus of Panama, which would create & manage an overland route to connect the Pacific & Atlantic oceans. More than 80% of participants died within a year. The Company of Scotland was backed by approximately 20% of all the money circulating in Scotland, and its failure left the entire Scottish Lowlands in financial ruin.
[Happened]
By the two Acts, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland—which at the time were separate states with separate legislatures, but with the same monarch—were, in the words of the Treaty, "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain". The two countries had shared a monarch since the Union of the Crowns in [1603], when King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne from his double first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I.
[Abolished]
Scotland had the most persecutions in Great Britain, about 5000. Under the Scottish Witchcraft Act of this year, both the practice of witchcraft and consulting with witches were capital offences.
[Published]
By Scottish philosopher David Hume, "A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects" is considered to be Hume's most important work and one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy. Impressed by Isaac Newton's achievements in the physical sciences, Hume sought to introduce the same experimental method of reasoning into the study of human psychology, with the aim of discovering the "extent and force of human understanding".
[Last Rising]
In [1688], concerns about King James II and his designs on an absolute monarchy came to a head. Parliament deposed the Roman Catholic ruler in an act hailed as a Glorious Revolution, ignoring James Francis Edward Stuart, James’s son from his second marriage. So a series of rebellions in Scotland attempted to overthrow the ruling House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the throne. They were encouraged and assisted by Britain’s enemies, who saw their cause as a way of distracting Britain.
1 link[Happened]
The final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of [1745]. On this day, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, on Drummossie Moor near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. Charles was the eldest son of James Stuart, the exiled Stuart claimant to the British throne. It was the last pitched battle fought on British soil.
1 link[Birth]
Known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world.
[Published]
[Patented]
The Watt steam engine was an invention of James Watt that was a driving force of the Industrial Revolution. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was "the first truly efficient steam engine".
[Published]
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. The book offers one of the world's first collected descriptions of what builds nations' wealth, and is today a fundamental work in classical economics.
[Published]
By James Hutton, a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the "Father of Modern Geology", he played a key role in establishing geology as a modern science. He advanced the idea that the earth's remote history can be inferred from evidence in present-day rocks. He showed that geological features could not be static but underwent continuing transformation over indefinitely long periods of time.
[Created]
The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, better known by its shorter title The Skating Minister, is an oil painting attributed to Henry Raeburn in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. It is considered an icon of Scottish culture, painted during the Scottish Enlightenment.
[Death]
Known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world.
[Published]
By Walter Scott, a historical novel published as one of the Waverley novels. Set in 12th-century England, it marked a shift away from Scott’s practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more recent past. It became one of Scott’s best-known novels, with colourful descriptions of a tournament, outlaws, a witch trial, and divisions between Jews and Christians, Normans and Saxons, the novel was credited by many with inspiring increased interest in chivalric romance and medievalism.
[Birth]
Responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon.
David Livingstone was born in [1813] in a mill town called Blantyre, in Scotland.
[Death]
Responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon.
[Published]
Written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer.
[Official Opening]
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, 9 miles (14 kilometres) west of central Edinburgh. It is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in 2016), and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bridge carries the Edinburgh–Aberdeen line across the Forth between the villages of South Queensferry and North Queensferry and has a total length of 8,094 feet (2,467 m).
[Invented]
Invented by Scottish chemist & physicist James Dewar, the vacuum flask is an insulating storage vessel that slows the speed at which its contents change in temperature. Dewar refused to patent it; this allowed others to develop the flask using new materials such as glass and aluminium, and it became a significant tool for chemical experiments and also a common household item. Dewar's design was transformed into a commercial item by two German glassblowers 12 years later, branded Thermos.
[Discovered]
Alexander Fleming, a Scottish physician and microbiologist, discovered the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance in this year. He received the Nobel Prize about 2 decades later, together with Howard Florey & Ernst Chain who purified it (with others at Oxford).
[Cloned]
Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. Her birth proved that specialised cells could be used to create an exact copy of the animal they came from. This knowledge changed what scientists thought was possible and opened possibilities in biology and medicine, including the development of personalised stem cells. These experiments were carried out at The Roslin Institute by a team led by Professor Sir Ian Wilmut.
[Created]
After the passing of the Scotland Act ([1998]), the UK Government established a Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive with power and responsibility over the majority of public services in Scotland the following year in [1999].