1583

The University of Edinburgh officially opens

The roles of Principal and Professor of Divinity are separated 1707 The Faculty of Law is founded

The Faculty of Arts is founded

The Faculty of Medicine is founded

1745

Classes are suspended as Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite army marches on the city

1789

The foundation stone is laid at the site of Old College

James Young Simpson, Professor of Midwifery, discovers anaesthetic use of chloroform in childbirth

The Universities (Scotland) Act grants the University full control of its own affairs

1859

W E Gladstone becomes the first Rector to be elected by the student body

1893

The University’s first female students graduate

1897

The University’s graduating hall, McEwan Hall opens

1914

Students and graduates start enlisting in the armed forces during WWI

Student and graduate enlistment numbers are recorded after the WWI ends

1920

The foundation stone is laid at the site of the King’s Buildings campus

1924

Student Eric Liddell wins 400 metres at the Paris Olympics

1958

The University appoints its first female professor Elizabeth Wiskemann

1973

Edinburgh University Students’ Association is founded

1996

Dolly the Sheep is cloned at the Roslin Institute

2002

A new Medical School is opened at Little France

2011

The University merges with Edinburgh College of Art

2013

Emeritus Professor Peter Higgs is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics

Ambitious plans to make Edinburgh the data capital of Europe announced

2018

Professor Evelyn Telfer grows human eggs in the lab paving the way for new fertility treatments

2019

Work begins to install £79m supercomputer ARCHER2 at the University