1821 – on 5 May John Edward Taylor publishes the first Manchester Guardian as a newspaper in the liberal interest. It appears weekly on a Saturday for  7d.  

1924 – John Russell Scott buys the Manchester Evening News, bringing both papers under the same ownership. 

1959 – the newspaper changes its title from the Manchester Guardian to the Guardian, to reflect the growing importance of national and international affairs in the newspaper. 

1967 – Guardian Newspapers Ltd and The Manchester Evening News Ltd are formed as wholly owned subsidiary companies of The Manchester Guardian and Evening News Ltd, each with their own board of directors. 

1972 – The name of the company is changed to The Guardian and Manchester Evening News Ltd (GMEN). 

1973 – Sir Peter Gibbings becomes chair of the company, succeeding Laurence Scott. GMEN acquires 10% of Greater Manchester Independent Radio Limited, owners of Piccadilly Radio. 

2004 – In March, digital editions of the papers launched, allowing access to articles, images and adverts as they appeared in print. In July the soulmates dating service interactive website goes live. The paper also introduces a weekly tabloid edition aimed at students and distributed throughout UK university campuses.