2004 Opening of the new Scottish Parliament Building

Before 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign independent state which had its own legislature - the Parliament of Scotland - which met, latterly, at Parliament House on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. The Act of Union, passed in 1707, created an incorporating political union between the Kingdoms of Scotland and England. The Union merged the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England into the Parliament of Great Britain which was housed in the Palace of Westminster in London. As a consequence, Scotland was directly governed from London for the next 292 years without a legislature or a Parliament building of its own. The formal opening by Queen Elizabeth took place on 9 October 2004. Enric Miralles, the Catalan architect who designed the building, died before its completion.

1996 The Stone of Destiny

The Stone of Scone - also known as the Stone of Destiny, and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone - is an oblong block (152 kg) of red sandstone that was used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland, and later the monarchs of England and the Kingdom of Great Britain. Historically, the artefact was kept at the now-ruined Scone Abbey in Scone, near Perth, Scotland. It is also known as Jacob's Pillow Stone and the Tanist Stone. The Stone of Scone was last used in 1953 for the coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

1957 Scottish Television

Scottish Television (known as STV Central Ltd and referred to on-air as STV) is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active (Granada Television being the oldest). Along with STV North and ITV Tyne Tees & Border, STV Central is a commercial rival to the publicly funded national broadcaster, BBC Scotland, and is based alongside its studios at Pacific Quay in Glasgow. STV were awarded local TV licenses in 2013 to operate two digital television channels for up to 12 years. STV Glasgow launched in 2014 with an expanded schedule of local news, features and entertainment programming. STV Edinburgh is due to launch later in the year. Existing regional news bulletins continue to air on the main STV Central service.

1947 Edinburgh International Festival

The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual festival of performing arts in Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music (especially classical music), theatre, opera and dance from around the world to perform. The idea of creating an international festival within the UK was first conceived by Rudolf Bing, the General Manager of Glyndebourne Opera Festival, and Audrey Mildmay (wife of John Christie) during a wartime tour of a small-scale Glyndebourne production of The Beggar's Opera.

1934 Scottish National Party founded

The Scottish National Party is a Scottish nationalist and social-democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP was formed through the merger of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party. It is the third largest political party by membership in the United Kingdom, behind the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence. The party has an active youth wing, the Young Scots for Independence, as well as a student wing, the Federation of Student Nationalists. There is also an SNP Trade Union Group. There is an independently-owned monthly newspaper, The Scots Independent, which is highly supportive of the party.

1896 Opening of the Glasgow Subway

The Glasgow Subway is an underground metro line in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. It is the only heavy rail underground metro system in the British Isles outside London, and also the only one outside London which operates completely underground. The line was originally known as the Glasgow District Subway. Formerly a cable railway, the Subway was later electrified, but its twin circular lines were never expanded.

1879 Tay Bridge disaster

The Tay Bridge disaster occurred during a violent storm when the first Tay Rail Bridge collapsed while a train was passing over it from Wormit to Dundee, killing all aboard. The bridge – designed by Sir Thomas Bouch – used lattice girders supported by iron piers, with cast iron columns and wrought iron cross-bracing. Bouch had sought expert advice on "wind loading" when designing a proposed rail bridge over the Firth of Forth; as a result of that advice he had made no explicit allowance for wind loading in the design of the Tay Bridge. He died within the year, with his reputation as an engineer ruined. Bouch's design for the Forth Rail Bridge was not used.