Discover the unforgettable moments in history The P&J was there for

By Samantha Leckie, Irina Florian and Kirsty Smith

February 17 2023, 6:00 am

The P&J has helped to document history as it happened for 275 years.

From the rediscovery of the lost city of Pompeii to America’s Declaration of Independence and Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne – all momentous events in history – The P&J was there for them.

In 1748, three months before a Spanish engineer rediscovered Italy’s famous ruins, James Chalmers founded The Aberdeen’s Journal – your P&J.

The Press and Journal has been accurately telling stories – from the north, north-east, across the country and around the world – ever since, for 275 years.

The Press and Journal continues to evolve

The P&J has experienced many changes over its 275 years of journalism.

From printing Scotland’s first colour newspaper in 1902, to undergoing a digital transformation in 2021, and seeing its name change from The Aberdeen’s Journal to The Press and Journal, the paper has been shaped by its editors over hundreds of years to become the newspaper it is today.

In our interactive timeline, you can discover unforgettable moments from around the world which were documented by The Press and Journal, as well as uncover the paper’s own fascinating history.

Learn how The Aberdeen’s Journal started as just a four-page weekly paper, produced on the city’s Castle Street, to becoming a digital-facing news brand based in Aberdeen’s £107 million Marischal Square development.

Find out how much the paper cost when it first hit the streets in 1748, and read about the moment when The P&J split itself into regional editions in a bid to bring more local news to the north and north-east.