THE Herald today reaches a milestone in its long and illustrious history. The Glasgow Advertiser (as The Herald was then known) first appeared on January 27, 1783.

In the 235 years since, The Herald has reported on the fortunes of nine heads of state, from George III to the present Queen, 65 premierships, from the Earl of Shelburne to Theresa May, and five First Ministers, from Donald Dewar to Nicola Sturgeon. The newspaper became The Herald and Advertiser in 1802 and the Glasgow Herald in 1805. It was renamed The Herald in 1992.

The Herald has covered the great events of the past 235 years, from the French Revolutionary Wars to the referendums on Scottish independence in 2014 and, this year, leaving the European Union.

The title has had 26 editors. The incumbent, Graeme Smith, said: “A strong, indigenous press is vital to hold authority to account and scrutinise our politicians and institutions, a role our journalists carry out with pride and rigour, consistently producing compelling news coverage, analysis and comment.

“We are delighted to celebrate 235 years of serving our readers and we thank them for their loyalty and support. Our anniversary coincides with us achieving a combined print and online audience bigger than at any point in our history.”

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