# Timeline of Bulawayo

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

## 19th century

Part of a series on the :
History of Zimbabwe :
| Leopard's Kopje | c. 650 – c. 1075 |
| Mapungubwe Kingdom | c. 1220 – c. 1300 |
| Zimbabwe Kingdom | c. 1300 – c. 1450 |
| Mutapa Kingdom | c. 1430–1760 |
| Butua Kingdom | c. 1450–1683 |
| Rozvi Empire | c. 1660–1866 |
| Mthwakazi | 1840–1893 |
| Rudd Concession | 1888 |
| BSA Company rule | 1890–1923 |
| First Matabele War | 1893–1894 |
| Second Matabele War | 1896–1897 |
| World War I involvement | 1914–1918 |
| Colony of Southern Rhodesia | 1923–1965 |
| World War II involvement | 1939–1945 |
| Malayan Emergency involvement | 1948–1960 |
| Federation with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland | 1953–1963 |
| Rhodesian Bush War | 1964–1979 |
| Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) | 1965 |
| Rhodesia | 1965–1979 |
| Zimbabwe-Rhodesia | June–December 1979 |
| Lancaster House Agreement | December 1979 |
| British Dependency | 1979–1980 |
| Zimbabwe | 1980–present |
| Gukurahundi | 1982–1987 |
| Second Congo War | 1998–2003 |
| Coup d'état | 2017 |
vte :
* 1830s - Ndebele Mzilikazi Khumalo locates seat of Mthwakazi nation in Bulawayo, in Matabeleland (approximate date).
* 1893 - Ndebele capital "GuBulawayo" besieged, demolished by British South Africa Company forces during the First Matabele War.
* 1894
** Bulawayo town established near former settlement by British South Africa Company.
** Telegraph begins operating.
** Chronicle newspaper begins publication.
* 1896/97 - Siege of Bulawayo during the Second Matabele War
* 1897
** Bulawayo becomes a municipality.
** State House, Bulawayo completed as "Government House".
** I.G. Hirschler becomes mayor.
** Railway to South Africa begins operating.
* 1899 - Railway to Salisbury and Mozambique begins operating.
* 1900 - Beira–Bulawayo railway opened.

## 20th century

* 1902 - Cecil Rhodes was buried at the Matoppo Hills at Malindidzimu
* 1904
** Statue of Cecil Rhodes erected.
** "White" population: 3,840.
* 1905 - Railway to Victoria Falls and Zambia begins operating.
* 1919 - James Cowden becomes mayor.
* 1926 - Rhodes Matopos National Park established near Bulawayo.
* 1927 - Bulawayo Technical School established.
* 1931 - Catholic Mission of Bulawayo established.
* 1934 - Bulawayo Club building constructed.
* 1943 - Bulawayo attains city status.
* 1950 - Rainbow Hotel built.
* 1957 - Bulawayo Thermal Power Station (coal-fired thermal power plant) opens.
* 1960 - Trade fair begins.
* 1964 - Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe opens.
* 1970 - National Gallery of Zimbabwe branch opens.
* 1972 - Bulawayo Railway Museum opens.
* 1973 - Population: 307,000 (estimate).
* 1981 - February: 1981 Entumbane uprising.
* 1983 - Population: 429,000 (estimate).
* 1985 - National Railways of Zimbabwe headquarters building constructed.
* 1991 - National University of Science and Technology established.
* 1992 - Population: 621,742.
* 1999 - Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway (Beitbridge-Bulawayo) begins operating.
* 2000 - June: Political activist Patrick Nabanyama of the Movement for Democratic Change kidnapped.

## 21st century

* 2001
** August: Municipal election postponed by Mugabe administration.
** November: Political unrest.
** Japhet Ndabeni Ncube becomes mayor.
* 2008 - Patrick Thaba-Moyo becomes mayor.
* 2012 - Population: 653,337.
* 2013
** Joshua Nkomo statue erected.
** Martin Moyo becomes mayor.
** Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport new terminal opens.
2024: Zoe Ncube is born