The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of Holyrood Abbey in 1128 in which it is termed Inverlet (Inverleith).

The earliest evidence of settlement in Leith comes from several archaeological digs undertaken in The Shore area in the late 20th century.

[5] The town was burnt by the Earl of Hertford (on the orders of Henry VIII) in retaliation for the rejection of the Treaty of Greenwich by the Parliament of Scotland in 1543.

Artifacts from the demolished residence are held by the National Museum of Scotland, and her sculptured coat of arms, dated 1560, can be seen in South Leith Parish Church.

When the large French garrison stationed in Leith was attacked by Scottish Protestant lords, reinforced by troops and artillery sent from England, Mary of Guise was forced to shut herself in Edinburgh Castle.

John Knox records the delight of Mary of Guise at the failure of the attack, and English sources report 1000 casualties.

[7] On 19 August 1561, Mary, Queen of Scots, arrived in Leith and, finding no welcoming party to receive her, made a brief stop at the house of Andrew Lamb, before being collected and escorted by coach to Holyrood Palace, to begin her ill-fated six-year-long reign.

[8] Mary's court came to the sands of Leith to enjoy equestrian tournaments of "running at the ring" performed by courtiers and diplomats in exotic costumes.

Three Dutch ships, commanded by Willem de Zoete, Lord of Hautain, Admiral of Zeeland, arrived and attacked the Dunkirker through the night.

Archaeological excavations in 2016 at St Mary's RC Primary School, by Wardell Armstrong, as part of a planning condition, found a mass grave of 81 bodies from the 1645 plague.

After Cromwell's victory at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 and subsequent occupation of Scotland, a fort known as Leith Citadel was erected in 1656 to regulate the port traffic.

He intended to capture the port of Leith and hold it for ransom, but his plan was thwarted when a gale on 16 September kept him at the mouth of the Firth of Forth.

The scare he caused led to the hasty erection of Leith Fort, with a battery of nine guns, designed by James Craig, the architect of Edinburgh's New Town, and built in 1780.

[17] On 20 May 1806, there was a procession of the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Baillies, and Council, along with a numerous company of ladies and gentleman, for the opening of the first new wet dock, the first of its kind in Scotland.

The Fife packet called The Buccleuch was the first to enter the dock, with the civic dignitaries on board, amid discharges of artillery from the fort and His Majesty's warships in Leith Roads.

The foundation stone for the second (middle) wet dock was laid on 14 March 1811, which was completed and opened with due ceremony in 1817 by Lord Provost Arbuthnot.

[20] Historically Leith was governed by the Town Council of Edinburgh, with separately organised baillies appointed by various bodies without contact with each other.

4. c. cxii) arranged for municipal government and administration of justice in the town, providing watching, paving, cleansing, and lighting, with Edinburgh Council responding to the views of Leith townspeople.

Leith has undergone significant regeneration and is now a busy port with visits from cruise liners and the home of the Royal Yacht Britannia, the Ocean Terminal shopping centre, and administrative offices for several departments of the Scottish Government.

[31][32] On 6 November 2003, Leith was the location for the MTV Europe Music Awards, with a temporary venue being built next to Ocean Terminal.

Of these the most notable are: After decades of industrial decline, deindustrialisation, slum clearance and resultant depopulation in the post-war era, Leith gradually began to enjoy an upturn in fortunes in the late 1980s.

The Shore developed a clutch of upmarket restaurants, including the first of the chain of Malmaison hotels in a conversion of a seamen's mission, whilst the once industrially-polluted and desolate banks of the Water of Leith were cleaned up and a public walkway opened.

Further large-scale service and tourist development followed, including Ocean Terminal and the permanently moored Royal Yacht Britannia.

The Edinburgh Trams light rail line extension, from the city centre to Newhaven opened to passengers in June 2023 providing Leith and the new dock developments with a fast and convenient route for both local commuters and visitors.

[clarification needed] Although the preceptory (small monastery) of St Anthony's was destroyed soon after 1560 the other churches were quickly adapted to Protestant use.

Leith had one horse-drawn line pre-dating steam-trains, bringing coal from Dalkeith to a station at the north end of Constitution Street, to serve the glassworks there.

Although there are no longer any passenger rail services serving Leith, two station buildings partially remain: The SS Sirius (built in Leith) beat the SS Great Western by one day in being the first steamship to cross the Atlantic but, as a much smaller ship, was eclipsed by the press coverage given to the larger ship.

[49] Leith has a long history of pioneering social advances, some of which were the first of their kind in Scotland: All boys were educated for free from 1555 onwards.

Scottish folk rock duo The Proclaimers titled their second album Sunshine on Leith after the town, including the eponymous track.

Leith is significant in the historical development of the rules of golf, as the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers played there before moving to Musselburgh Links and later Muirfield.