Edinburgh Evening News 150th anniversary sees us take a look back at how the city has changed since 1873

On the 150th anniversary of the Edinburgh Evening News, we celebrate the paper’s long and remarkable history

It is 150 years today since the first issue of the Edinburgh Evening News rolled off the printing press. And ever since, day in, day out, we have continued to report on the big issues and turning points in the city.

From the analog age of just the newspaper right through to the multimedia, always-on world we now live in, the News has been with you through it all.

Our paper precedes the city’s biggest football teams, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian, which will mark the incredible milestone we celebrate today in 2024 and 2025 respectively. We were here long before many of the recognisable buildings which make up Edinburgh’s famous skyline, which many across the world travel thousands of miles to see. And announcements of world wars, devastating fires, pandemics and more, were all made to the people of Edinburgh through our pages.

A late 19th century photograph of Edinburgh's Waterloo Place, including the General Post Office, now Waverley Gate.

Over the next year, we will be looking back over the last century and a half, and how our city has changed in that time. We have delved into our extensive archives to bring you a flavour of what life was like in 1873, when our paper - then just four pages in length - was founded by the three Wilson brothers who wanted to create “a newspaper worthy of Edinburgh”.

And we will revisit some of the biggest stories, from the Zeppelin raid in 1916 which took the lives of 13 people to the many controversies surrounding the Scottish Parliament building saga, which without the News may otherwise have gone untold.

The print edition, in all good newsagents and supermarkets this weekend, has a special 24 page supplement charting the history of both our city and our paper. Copies of the anniversary edition can also be purchased online.

Over the next two weeks we will be looking at 150 of the most famous faces to come out of Edinburgh before handing over to you, our readers, to choose the defining Edinburgher. And during the year there will be more to come - all while continuing to bring you the very latest news from Scotland’s greatest city just as we have done for the past 150 years.