# Timeline of Hong Kong history

The following is a timeline of the history of Hong Kong.

## Imperial China

| Date | Ruling entity | Events | Other people/events |
| 221 BC | Qin dynasty | First records of the territory in Chinese history | |
| 206 BC | Han dynasty | Inhabitants in Ma Wan Island | |
| 25 AD | | Building of Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb (est.) | |
| 901 AD | | Punti settlement | |
| 1075 | Song dynasty | Founding of Li Ying College | |
| 1163 | | Salt fields in Hong Kong first officially managed | |
| 1277 | | China's Imperial court found refuge in Silvermine Bay on Lantau Island during the Battle of Yamen | |
| 1513 | Ming dynasty | Jorge Álvares arrives in Tuen Mun | |
| 1521 | | Battle of Tunmen | |
| 1562 | | Battle of Sincouwaan | |
| 1661 | Qing dynasty | Kangxi Emperor orders the Great Clearance, which requires the evacuation of the coastal areas of Guangdong. What is now the territory of Hong Kong became largely wasteland during the ban. | |
| 1669 | | The coastal ban is lifted | |
| 1685 | | | Kangxi Emperor opens limited trade on a regular basis starting with Canton |
| 1757 | | | British East India Company pursued a monopoly on opium production beginning with India in the far east |
| 1793 | | | Anglo-Chinese relations |
| 1839 | | Battle of Kowloon | First Opium War (1839–42) |

## Colonial Hong Kong
### British Crown colony

| Date | Governor | Events | Other people/events |
| 1841 | Charles Elliot | Convention of Chuenpi Commodore Gordon Bremer at Possession Point | |
| 1842 | Henry Pottinger | Treaty of Nanjing | |
| 1843 | | Formation of the Legislative Council and Executive Council | Ying Wa College, world's first Anglo-Chinese school relocated to Hong Kong |
| 1844 | | | |
| 1847 | John Francis Davis | Building of Kowloon Walled city | |
| 1848 | | | |
| 1851 | George Bonham | | Taiping Rebellion |
| 1853 | | Chinese serial | |
| 1854 | | | |
| 1855 | John Bowring | First proposal of Praya Reclamation Scheme Battle of Ty-ho Bay | |
| 1856 | | Second Opium War | |
| 1859 | Hercules Robinson | | |
| 1860 | | Convention of Peking, British rules Kowloon south of Boundary Street, Establishment of Diocesan Girls' School | |
| 1861 | | British acquired Kowloon Peninsula | Frederick Stewart modernise HK education |
| 1865 | | Establishment of HK Shanghai Bank | |
| 1866 | Richard Graves MacDonnell | Four big families of Hong Kong (est.) | |
| 1868 | | The Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi, ordered four customs stations to be established in waterways surrounding Hong Kong and Kowloon at Fat Tong Chau, Ma Wan, Cheung Chau and Kowloon Walled City. It was so-called "blockade of Hong Kong" by the Hong Kong Government. These stations ceased to operate in 1899 after the lease of the New Territories to Britain. | |
| 1872 | | Tung Wah Hospital established | |
| 1874 | Arthur Kennedy | 1874 Hong Kong Typhoon | Founding of the Universal Circulating Herald |
| 1877 | Arthur Kennedy | | |
| 1882 | John Pope Hennessy | | |
| 1883 | George Bowen | | |
| 1887 | William Des Vœux | Western medical science reaches Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese | |
| 1888 | | Founding of Peak Tram | |
| 1891 | William Robinson | | |
| 1894 | | Third Pandemic of Bubonic Plague | |
| 1898 | | Second Convention of Peking, British rules New Territories and New Kowloon | |
| 1899 | | Six-Day War | |
| 1904 | Henry Arthur Blake | Peak Reservation Ordinance | |
| 1906 | | 1906 Hong Kong typhoon | |
| 1907 | Matthew Nathan | | |
| 1908 | | 1908 Hong Kong Typhoon | |
| 1910 | | Opening of Kowloon–Canton Railway | |
| 1912 | Frederick Lugard | | Establishment of the Republic of China, Qing dynasty overthrown |
| 1918 | | Happy Valley Racecourse fire Gresson Street shootout | |
| 1919 | Francis Henry May | | |
| 1921 | | Praya East Reclamation Scheme | |
| 1922 | | Seamen's strike of 1922 | |
| 1923 | Reginald Edward Stubbs | Sun Yat-sen proclaimed his anti-corruption revolutionary ideas came from Hong Kong during HK university speech | |
| 1924 | | Land allocation for Kai Tak Airport | |
| 1925 | | Canton-Hong Kong strike | |
| 1926 | Cecil Clementi | First Chinese member appointed to Executive Council | |
| 1928 | | First pre-RTHK radio broadcast | |
| 1930 | William Peel | | |
| 1933 | | Founding of Kowloon Motor Bus | |
| 1935 | Andrew Caldecott | | |
| 1937 | | Great Hong Kong Typhoon of 1937 | |

### British Crown colony

| Date | Governor | Events | Other people/events |
| 1947 | | First government count of Hong Kong Taxi | |
| 1948 | Alexander Grantham | HK Social Welfare Department formed | |
| 1949 | | | Establishment of People's Republic of China |
| 1953 | | Shek Kip Mei Fire | |
| 1955 | | | Kashmir Princess assassination attempt |
| 1956 | | Hong Kong 1956 riots | |
| 1957 | | RTV a first terrestrial television station | Asian Flu |
| 1958 | Robert Brown Black | | |
| 1960 | | Four Asian Tigers (est.) Typhoon Mary | |
| 1962 | | Typhoon Wanda | |
| 1964 | David Clive Crosbie Trench | | |
| 1966 | | Hong Kong 1966 riots Visit of Princess Margaret in March | Cultural Revolution in China |
| 1967 | | Hong Kong 1967 riots TVB a second terrestrial television station | |
| 1968 | | Hong Kong flu | |
| 1971 | Murray MacLehose | 6-year free Primary education funded | Typhoon Rose |
| 1972 | | Small House Policy 1972 Hong Kong landslides | PRC request HK and Macau off United Nations list |
| 1974 | | Independent Commission Against Corruption established Home Ownership Scheme introduced | |
| 1976 | | Home Ownership Scheme introduced | |
| 1978 | | | Chinese Economic Reform begins in China |
| 1979 | | Establishment of Mass Transit Railway | |
| 1980 | | United front in Hong Kong (est.) | |
| 1982 | Edward Youde | ATV replacing RTV | |
| 1983 | | Black Saturday | |
| 1984 | | Sino-British Joint Declaration and the proposal of One country, two systems | |
| 1985 | | Braemar Hill murders | |
| 1987 | David Wilson | Black Monday | |
| 1989 | | More than 1 million people marched for three consecutive Sundays in Hong Kong, including 1.5 million on May 28. | 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre |
| 1990 | | Basic Law proclaimed | |
| 1991 | | STAR TV a first satellite television station | |
| 1992 | Chris Patten | United States-Hong Kong Policy Act | |
| 1993 | | Cable TV Hong Kong a first pay television station Lan Kwai Fong stampede | |
| 1996 | | Garley Building fire Phoenix Satellite Television a first satellite television station based in Hong Kong | |
| 1997 | | Tsing Ma Bridge opened. Hong Kong transferred to the People's Republic of China. | |

## HKSAR

| Date | Chief Executive | Events | Other people/events |
| 1997 | Tung Chee Hwa | First Special Administrative Region government formed. Beginning of mass poultry disposal as part of Bird Flu crisis. | Asian Financial Crisis |
| 1998 | Tung Chee Hwa | Kai Tak International Airport replaced by Hong Kong International Airport First post-handover elections | |
| 1999 | Tung Chee Hwa | Right of Abode debate Hello Kitty murder Flight 642 crash | PRC bans Falun Gong cult |
| 2001 | Tung Chee Hwa | Director of Immigration v Chong Fung Yuen | |
| 2003 | Tung Chee Hwa | SARS outbreak, 1:99 Concert Leslie Cheung suicide CEPA Demonstration against Article 23 Harbour Fest Murder of Robert Kissel Death of Anita Mui | |
| 2005 | Donald Tsang | Resignation of Tung Chee-hwa Opening of Hong Kong Disneyland 2005 Hong Kong electoral reform 2005 protest for democracy WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference | |
| 2006 | Donald Tsang | Opening of Ngong Ping 360 Demolition of Star Ferry Pier The Bus Uncle | |
| 2007 | Donald Tsang | MTR–KCR merger 2007 HK Island by-election | |
| 2008 | Donald Tsang | Edison Chen photo scandal Leung Chin-man appointment controversy HK holds 2008 Olympics Equestrian event HK holds 2008 Paralympics Equestrian event ATV management debacle Citizens' Radio raided Mong Kok acid attacks Demolition of Queen's Pier | Beijing Olympics Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Sichuan earthquake Artistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign |
| 2009 | Donald Tsang | 2009 East Asian Games 20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre 2009 Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority forum 2009 flu pandemic in Hong Kong | Hong Kong Macau cultural exchange July 2009 Ürümqi riots Global financial crisis Xinjiang journalist attack Artistes 88 Fund Raising Campaign Release of Bitcoin, the world first successful decentralized cryptocurrency |
| 2010 | Donald Tsang | 2010 Hong Kong new year march Five Constituencies referendum TVB monopoly case 21st anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre CE and LegCo selection document | Opposition to the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Express Rail Link Artistes 414 Fund Raising Campaign Manila hostage crisis |
| 2011 | Donald Tsang | Hong Kong 818 incident Vallejos v. Commissioner of Registration 2011 Fa Yuen street fire | Free Ai Weiwei street art campaign |
| 2012 | Donald Tsang | Dolce & Gabbana photo incident Early 2012 Hong Kong protests Moral and National Education controversy Hong Kong plastic disaster Lamma Island ferry collision | Hong Kong mainland China driving scheme |
| 2013 | CY Leung | Comilang v. Commissioner of Registration Vallejos v. Commissioner of Registration 2013 Hong Kong dock strike | |
| 2014 | CY Leung | Knife attack on Kevin Lau 2014 electoral reform 2014 Hong Kong Protests (Umbrella Revolution) | |
| 2015 | CY Leung | Causeway Bay Books disappearances Heavy metal in drinking water incidents HKU pro-vice-chancellor selection controversy | |
| 2016 | CY Leung | January 2016 East Asia cold wave Mong Kok civil unrest Hong Kong Legislative Council oath-taking controversy Hong Kong LegCo candidates' disqualification controversy | |
| 2017 | Carrie Lam | Imprisonment of Hong Kong democracy activists | |
| 2018 | Carrie Lam | Opening of Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link Hong Kong section Tai Po Road bus accident Opening of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge Victor Mallet visa controversy Typhoon Mangkhut | |
| 2019 | Carrie Lam | Extradition law controversy (protests) | |
| 2020 | Carrie Lam | COVID-19 pandemic National Anthem Ordinance passed National Security Law passed Opening of Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Link |
| 2021 | Carrie Lam | 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes Massive resign and disqualification of District Councilor Opening of Tuen Ma Line 2021 Hong Kong legislative election | |
| 2022 | John Lee Ka-chiu | Hong Kong recorded more than 2.6 million COVID-19 cases. | Russian invasion of Ukraine Chinese Fraud Factory involves Human trafficking in numerous of South East Asia countries Public Release of ChatGPT |
| 2023 | John Lee Ka-chiu | End of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions Implementation of Real-name Registration for SIM Card 2023 Hong Kong electoral changes | End of Zero-COVID Policy Release of GPT-4 Israel–Hamas war |
| 2024 | John Lee Ka-chiu | Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (aka Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23) passed Banning of the song Glory to Hong Kong | |