Aberdeen

History

The city started as 2 distinct burghs, the Old Aberdeen and the New Aberdeen. In 1179, the city received its first charter which was given by William the Lion. The Great Charter of Robert the Bruce changed the city into a financially independent and property-owning community in 1319.  Robert the Bruce put blockade to the Aberdeen Castle before putting an end to it in 1308, during the period of the Wars of Scottish Independence. In 1336, Edward III of England also called the King of England burnt the city, but was then reconstructed and stretched. After the Battle of Aberdeen, the city was looted by Royalist troops. In 1646, Marquis of Hunty commanded the Royalist forces to capture the city and so the city was stormed. During the 18th century, the first social services took place in the city came into view and a novel Town Hall was also constructed. In the late 18th century, the roads of the city began to improve with the main roads of King Street, Union Street and George Street all completed in the early 19th century. The city experienced an economic slump right after the Napoleonic War as it became bankrupt due to the expensive infrastructure works in Aberdeen. Later on, the city had a significant rise in income due to the fishing and shipbuilding industries.

Education

Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen are two old universities based in the city. The University of Aberdeen was formerly King’s College which was established in 1495 by Scotland’s Chancellor, Bishop of Aberdeen and William Elphinstone. The university is the fifth oldest in the English speaking world and is consistently ranked within the top 200 universities in the world. The main campus of the university is based in Old Aberdeen and has over 13,000 students. The university includes various courses such as cultural history, philosophy, sociology, anthropology and biological sciences. The Robert Gordon University, also known as RGU, gained a university status in 1992 and was voted as the best modern university in the United Kingdom by the Times Good University Guide in 2013. Robert Gordon was the founder of the university and named the university after his name. He established the university in 1750. In 1881, the university was reorganized as a night and day school for technical and secondary education. The university has two campuses, one at Garthdee and another based in the city centre. The city houses two artistic schools: the Built Environment and the Gray’s School and the Scott Sutherland School of architecture. Both schools are based in the campus of the RGU, which lies at Garthdee. Currently, the city is home to 54 primary schools and 12 secondary schools.