Scotland

The invention of the telephone, the early years of the steamboat and other great Scottish firsts.

The historical debate over the United Kingdom has been led by those who wish to bring the Union to an end. David Torrance believes the public deserves a more balanced discussion.

David Torrance examines a pioneering article, first published in History Today in 1990, which argued that the Scottish Enlightenment was not restricted to Edinburgh but was a genuinely national phenomenon.

The story of a country that has long punched above its weight is told in Scotland’s refurbished National Museum, says David Forsyth.

Mary Queen of Scots left Calais for Scotland on August 14th, 1561, aged 18 years old.

James Boswell, Samuel Johnson’s future biographer, found Glasgow a dull place. Yet it was at the city’s university that he came into contact with the political economist Adam Smith, whose insights forced the student to grapple with competing claims on his conscience, as Robert Zaretsky explains.

Richard Cavendish traces the evolution of today's 'mega-bucks' sports industry back to 17 October 1860 and a small competition in Scotland.

Martin Greig reveals the intimate relationship between the powerful Earl of Lauderdale, Charles II's Secretary for Scotland in the 1660s, and a Scottish spinster who became the earl's 'Presbyterian conscience' during a tumultuous period for kirk and crown.

Richard Cavendish remembers the death of an ill-fated medieval Scottish king, on August 3rd 1460.

The visually spectacular Scottish capital witnessed fierce dynastic struggle before it welcomed the spirit of the Enlightenment, as Patricia Cleveland-Peck discovers.