1582 Unlike many universities established under the Pope's Charter in the early years, the University of Edinburgh was established under the Royal Charter of King James VI of Scotland and the support of Edinburgh City Council. The following year, the university was formally established. As the first civic university after the Reformation in Europe, formerly known as "Tunis College", it is the fourth Scottish university and the sixth in the English-speaking circle.

In the tide of European Enlightenment in the18th century, Edinburgh University gradually became an academic center and one of the major universities in Europe. David hume, a famous great philosopher, was educated and grew up in school when he was young. 1789 before the establishment of the old college, the school did not have its own campus. Today, this building still stands at the junction of the South Bridge and Chambers Street in Edinburgh Old Town. It was originally designed by the famous architect robert adam.

The University of Edinburgh had a very important leading position in the European Enlightenment era, which made Edinburgh one of the enlightenment centers at that time and enjoyed the reputation of "Athens in the North". Its famous alumni include: naturalist Charles Darwin, physicist james clerk maxwell, father of economics Adam Smith, great philosopher david hume, enlightenment thinker Adam Ferguson, mathematician Thomas Bayes, writers Arthur Conan Doyle and J·K· Rowling, inventor alexander bell, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, signers of the American Declaration of Independence John Witherspoon and Benjamin Rush, and the so-called "Grinch of the Late Qing Dynasty". The University of Edinburgh has produced 2 1 Nobel Prize winners, 2 Turing Prize winners and 1 Abel Prize winners in mathematics. The University of Edinburgh has a good relationship with the British royal family. From 1953 to 20 10, Prince Philip served as Chancellor (honorary president of Edinburgh University), and from March 2065438 to +0 1 year, Princess Anne served as Chancellor.

The University of Edinburgh not only cherishes its past honors, but also pursues and innovates constantly today, and is world-renowned for its excellent and diverse teaching and research. The University of Edinburgh is divided into two parts: the old college and the new college. The old college is currently home to the Law School and the European Institute. Nearby is McEwan Hall, a symbolic building of Victoria's agricultural harvest, with 2,200 seats, specially designed for graduation ceremonies and some large-scale formal negotiation meetings. The new college is located at the top of Mond Mountain, overlooking Prince Street, where the theological seminary is located. The University of Edinburgh has three main campuses: George Square, King's Building and Pollock Hall. Some original buildings in the old college can be traced back to 1776, but most of them are modern. And the main library); University of Edinburgh in George Square; The King's residence is located about 3 kilometers south of George Square, where most science and engineering schools are located, such as the School of Electronic Engineering, the School of Ecology, the School of Engineering Information and some government scientific research institutions. Most of these buildings were built in the1920s, and were expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, adding meteorological departments, physical astronomy departments and university computer service facilities. Pollock Hall consists of 10 independent modern halls, which can accommodate nearly 2,000 students.

Today, Edinburgh University has always enjoyed a high reputation in Britain and the world. Edinburgh University is one of the earliest comprehensive universities listed by Russell Group, one of the founding members of coimbra group and Universitas 2 1, and also a member of the European Union of Research Universities (LERU). It enjoys a high international reputation in teaching and scientific research.