1292 - Dundee became a Royal Burgh while
under control of David's descendant John
1296 - 1328 - Dundee and its Castle were
occupied by English forces during the First War of
1312 - Dundee was re-taken by Robert the
1480s - the Steeple Church is built on
Nethergate by the High Street.
1543 - 1550 - Dundee was extensively damaged
during the 1500s Battles
between England and Scotland as the English
tried to force Mary Queen of Scots to mary the
son of King Henry VIII.
1548 - the English occupiers burned much of
Dundee before fleeing from advancing Scots
1586 - the Market Cross was built by the Old
1645 - Dundee was besieged during the
Wars of the Three
Kingdoms by the Royalists. This war was
over religious difference throughout Great
1651 - Dundee was destroyed by
1688 - James II Stuart was forced to flee to
France during the Glorious
Revolution as English Parliamentarians
claimed he was a Catholic with close ties to
their enemy France.
1689 - John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee,
raised the Stuart standard on Dundee Law in
support of James II. These supporters would
become known as Jacobite's
1716 January 6th - James Francis Edward
Stuart, son of King James II, visited Dundee as
many locals regarded him as the rightful king.
A series of battles were fought between 1715
and 1746 with the Jacobite's finally defeated
by Government forces at the Battle of
1742 - a government subsidy led to large
Mills opening in Dundee for producing Linen and
Twine from Flax and Jute. This industry
employed 50,000 people at one point.
1750s - Whaling out of Dundee to the Arctic
escalated with local shipbuilders building many
Whaling ships. Whale oil was used in the
treatment of Jute, lighting, and in soap.
1820s - Steam Ferries
began operating over the River Tay, over one
mile in distance.
1836 - St Andrew's Catholic Cathedral is
1841 - the Steeple Church and St Mary's were
damaged by fire.
1844 - The Steeple church and St Mary's were
1855 - St Paul's Anglican Cathedral was
1867 - the McManus Museum and Art Gallery
1874 - the Market Cross was moved in front
of the Steeple Church after many of the older
buildings in Dundee were demolished such as the
Tolbooth and Castle.
1878 - the First Tay Rail Bridge was opened
at just under 3 miles long.
1879 December - the First Tay Rail Bridge
collapsed as a train carrying 75 passengers and
crew was crossing with all 75 dying.
1887 - the Second Tay Rail
Bridge is opened next to where the first
1892-93 - the first known photographs of
Antarctica were taken by a Dundee whaling
1893 - Dundee Football
Club was formed.
1901 - the ship RRS Discovery was launched
in Dundee. This ship was famous for being used
in three Antarctic voyages with Captain Scott
1909 - Dundee United
Football Club was formed.
1947 - the US business Timex opens a large
factory in Dundee to make watches for sale
around the world.
1963 - the last Whaling ships in Scotland
were sold off. Mineral and plant oil had had
become more abundant and less expensive to
1966 - the Tay Road Bridge
is opened at over one mile long, replacing the
1969 - Broughty Castle 4 miles north of
Dundee centre is opened as a free museum.
1981 - Timex at Dundee begin manufacturing
ZX81 and ZX Spectrum home computers fo Sinclair
1986 - RRS Discovery was transported to
Dundee to serve as a museum.
1993 - the Timex factory in Dundee
1996 - The Verdant Works
Jute Mill was transformed into a museum showing
machinery and the lives of those who worked in
the Jute Mills.
1999 - the last of the Jute Spinners in
Dundee closed. There were 150 Jute spinners in
Dundee at its peak, 39 by 1950 as many had
relocated to India.
2000 - Dundee Science Centre opened by the
2001 - a 30 year regeneration scheme began
transforming the Dundee Waterside into one of
the top attractions in Scotland.
2001 - a statue of Desperate Dan of the
Beano comic was erected at the City Square.
2013 - Lemings Statues
were erected on Perth Road in Dundee. The
statues are in honour of the company Acme
Software founded in Dundee in 1984 by local
classmates. Lemmings is a dynamic puzzle game
originally released for Amiga in February 1991.
2016 - a statue of Oor Wullie from the
Sunday Post comic strip was placed outside the
2018 September - the V&A Design Museum
opens at Dundee Waterfront.
Today - Dundee is home to a number of Tech
companies involved in the Gaming industry with
games such as Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto.,
fiting considering the City is where the first
modern home computers were built in the