Timeline of Dundee history

The timeline of Dundee history shows the significant events in the history of Dundee, Scotland.

1100–1799

1190 – Dundee Parish Church established.
1200 – William the Lion deeds his younger brother David, Earl of Huntingdon superiority over Dundee and its port.
1239 – The High School of Dundee opens.
1296 – Dundee Castle surrendered to the English.
1297 – William Wallace besieges and captures Dundee Castle.
1298 – Alexander Scrymgeour appointed keeper of Dundee Castle by William Wallace.
1306 – Dundee Castle retaken by the English.
1313 – Dundee Castle destroyed by Robert the Bruce.
1385 – John of Gaunt & the English captured and partially destroyed the town.
1465 – Birth of Hector Boece a Scottish philosopher and historian.
1518 – Birth of James Halyburton the Scottish Reformer and provost of the town for 33 years.
1564 – The Howff (a burial ground) established.
1580 – Dudhope Castle extended.
1645 – Population of Dundee estimated to be 11,200.
1651 – Siege of Dundee: George Monck besieges and sacks the town on the orders of Oliver Cromwell.
1684 – John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee became constable.
1732 – Birth of George Dempster of Dunnichen an advocate, landowner and politician.
1759 – Birth of William Playfair, inventor of graphical methods of statistics including the line, area and bar chart.
1795 - Birth of William Lyon Mackenzie, a journalist and politician who became the first mayor of Toronto in 1834, playing a key role in its establishment as a city, and later led a failed rebellion in Upper Canada in 1837.
1797 – James Keiller & Son, a jam and marmalade factory, is established.
1798 – Dundee Infirmary opens in King Street.

1800–1899

1801 – The Courier established as the Dundee, Perth and Cupar Advertiser.
1812 – Mary Shelley moves to Dundee from London. Her time in the city influences her writing, eventually inspiring her to write Frankenstein.
1819 – Dundee Infirmary granted royal charter and renamed "Dundee Royal Infirmary and Asylum".
1820 – Dundee Asylum formally established as a separate entity from Dundee Royal Infirmary and opened in premises in Albert Street.
1825 – Walter Scott writes Bonnie Dundee a poem and song in honour of John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee.
1831 – Dundee and Newtyle Railway opens.
1834 – James Chalmers publicly exhibits the adhesive postage stamp.
1835
- James Bowman Lindsay demonstrates a constant electric light at a public meeting at the city's Thistle Hall.
- First jute cargos arrive in Dundee beginning the city's jute trade.
1836 – St Andrew's Cathedral completed.
1838 – Dundee and Arbroath Railway opens.
1839 – James Chalmers submits his adhesive postage stamp proposal to the UK Government.
1847 - Dundee and Perth Railway opens.
1849 - The construction of Camperdown Works begins.
1851 – St Mary, Our Lady of Victories Church opens.
1853 – Royal Arch, built to celebrate a visit by Queen Victoria, is completed.
1855 - New Dundee Royal Infirmary opened in Barrack Road, replacing King Street building.
1855 – St Paul's Cathedral completed.
1857 – Birth of Williamina Fleming, an astronomer who discovered the Horsehead Nebula and white dwarf stars, and catalogued hundreds of stars.
1860 - Dundee Convalescent Hospital opened in Union Place.
1863 – Baxter Park opens.
1864 – Thomas John MacLagan begins working at Dundee Royal Infirmary, where his use of salicin to treat patients lays the groundwork for the development of aspirin.
1867 – The McManus Art Gallery and Museum opens as the Albert Institute.
1870 – Balgay Hill and Victoria Park were acquired by the City as public parks.
1871 – Legislation for slum clearing was established with the City Improvement Act.
1878 – First Tay Rail Bridge opens.
1879 - Foundation stone laid for new home of Dundee Royal Asylum at Liff. The institution will completely transfer there from the site in Albert Street by October 1882.
1879 – Tay Bridge Disaster: The Tay Rail Bridge collapses killing around 75 people.
1881 – University of Dundee established as University College, Dundee by deed of endowment.
1885 – Harris Academy, Dundee’s first public school, opens to pupils.
1887 – Second Tay Rail Bridge opens.
1888 – Abertay University established as Dundee Institute of Technology.
1889
- Dundee becomes the first Scottish city to be granted city status.
- King's Cross Hospital opens as a fever hospital for patients suffering from infectious diseases.
1891 – Population of Dundee estimated to be 153,587.
1893 – The East Poorhouse Hospital, which will later become Maryfield Hospital, opens as a hospital for the poor.
1897 – Dundee Women's Hospital opens.
1899 – Royal Victoria Hospital opens as the Victoria Hospital for Incurables.

1900–1999

1901
- Population of Dundee estimated to be 161,173.
- RRS Discovery, the world’s first purpose built scientific research ship is built and launched.
1905 – DC Thomson is established.
1906 – 1906 Dundee fire: a large fire breaks out in a warehouse storing whisky.
1909 – Dundee United F.C. forms as Dundee Hibernian.
1914 – Dundee Dental Hospital opens.
1915
- Dundee Women's Hospital moves to a new building in Elliot Road.
- The 4th (City of Dundee) Battalion Black Watch sustains significant losses at the Battle of Loos.
1918 – Association of Jute Spinners and Manufacturers founded in Dundee, initially to protect the prices of its members' products.
1919 - The Kingsway opens to the public, becoming the first ring road system in the UK.
1920 - Several of Dundee's leading jute firms including Cox Brothers, Gilroy and Sons and J. and A. D. Grimond are amalgamated as Jute Industries Ltd.
1923 – The Caird Hall concert auditorium formally opened by Edward, Prince of Wales.
1925 – War memorial opens at the summit of Dundee Law.
1933 – Dundee City Chambers opens.
1935 – Mills Observatory opens.
1936 – Green's Playhouse opens.
1938 – The Beano is first published by DC Thomson.
1939 - Dundee Repertory Theatre founded, initially based in Nicoll Street.
1946
- Camperdown Country Park opens.
- A twinning agreement is established between Dundee and Orleans, France. Dundee’s first twin city.
1959 — Dundee and Zadar, Croatia become twin cities.
1962 — Dundee twins with Alexandria, Virginia in the United States and Würzburg in Germany.
1963
- Royal Arch, built to celebrate a visit by Queen Victoria, is demolished.
- Dundee Repertory Theatre's premises at Nicoll Street is destroyed in a fire.
- Dundee Airport opens.
- "Beatlemania" is coined for the first time at The Beatles' concert at the Caird Hall.
1966 – Tay Road Bridge opens.
1967 – University of Dundee gains independent status.
1974 – Ninewells Hospital opens.
1978
- The Wellgate Centre opens.
- Dundee Synagogue opens.
1980
- Scottish League Cup Final takes place at Dens Park.
- Dundee and Nablus, Palestine become twin cities.
1982 – New Dundee Repertory Theatre opens.
1984 – DMA Design is established.
1986 – RRS Discovery returns to Dundee from London.
1991 – Lemmings is released by DMA Design.
1993
- Timex strike: Industrial dispute between workers and management takes place over seven months resulting in the closure of the factory and the loss of hundreds of jobs.
- Discovery Point, a visitor centre dedicated to the RRS Discovery, opens.
1994 – Abertay University gains university status.
1996 – Verdant Works Museum opens.
1997
- The world's first computer games design degree is introduced at Abertay University.
- Grand Theft Auto is first released by DMA Design.
- Green's Playhouse is rebuilt after a fire and operates as a Mecca Bingo Hall.
1998
- Dundee Royal Infirmary closes.
- Last jute cargo arrives in Dundee bringing an end to the city's jute trade.
1999 – Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre opens.

2000–present

2000
- Dundee Central Mosque opens.
- Dundee Science Centre opens.
- Dundee International Book Prize established.
- The Overgate Centre opens.
2004 — Dundee and Dubai, United Arab Emirates become twin cities.
2006
- The world's first ethical hacking degree is introduced at Abertay University.
- Radio 1's Big Weekend takes place at Camperdown Country Park.
2007 – Scottish Challenge Cup Final takes place in Dens Park.
2009 – Dundee International Submarine Memorial dedicated.
2010 – Dundee Museum of Transport established.
2011 – Dundee House, the headquarters of the city council, opens.
2013
- Dundee is shortlisted for the UK City of Culture in 2017, but loses out to Hull.
- Dundee and West Dundee in the United States become twin cities.
2014
- Dundee granted UNESCO City of Design status, the first city in the UK to receive the designation.
- The University of Dundee's Discovery Centre opens.
2015 – A memorial for Mary Slessor is unveiled outside the Steeple Church in Dundee’s Nethergate area on the 100th anniversary of her death.
2016 – Beano Studios is established by DC Thomson.
2017
- Dundee International Book Prize disestablished.
- Carnival 56, Dundee’s own music festival, takes place at Camperdown Country Park, but it is scrapped after one year.
- Dundee bids to be European Capital of Culture for 2023, but due to Brexit, the bid is terminated.
2018
- First Dundee pride event held.
- V&A Dundee Museum opens.
2019 – Dundee Synagogue closes.
2020 – NHS Tayside announces that they have "effectively eliminated" hepatitis C.
2021
- Dundee is named as the UK's only "City of the Future" by Cognizant.
- Emanata Studios is established as a division of Beano Studios by DC Thomson.
2022
- 2022 Kirkton riot: Disturbance takes place in the Kirkton area of the city which leads to multiple arrests.
- Dundee, along with Perth and Fife form a bid to be UK City of Culture in 2025, but the bid does not get shortlisted.
2023
- Radio 1's Big Weekend takes place at Camperdown Country Park for the second time. Dundee becomes the first Scottish city to host the event twice.
- The first Scottish Esports degree is introduced by Dundee and Angus College.

2024 – The Competitive Games Lab and Wacom Cintiq Lab opens at Abertay University, specialising in research and development in gaming, esports and digital art.
2025
- The CoSTAR Realtime Lab opens at Dundee’s waterfront, specialising in developing new technologies for TV, film and gaming.
- LIVEHOUSE Dundee, a 4,500-seat live entertainment venue is expected to open at the former Green's Playhouse site.
- Doof in the Park, an EDM festival organised by Hannah Laing, is set to take place at Camperdown Country Park.

Notes

Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1910). "Dundee" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 674–676.
Lynch, Michael (2001). The Oxford companion to Scottish history. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-211696-7.