# Timeline of Seattle

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Seattle, Washington, USA.

## Before the 19th century

* Native Americans explore and settle throughout the Puget Sound region which includes the Seattle area.

## 19th century

* 1851
** September 14: The Collins Party led by Luther Collins finds a settlement in present-day Georgetown. Scouts from the Denny Party arrive at Alki shortly after.
** November 13: The remainder of the Denny Party arrives at Alki Point to spend a rainy winter.
* 1852 – The Denny Party moves to present day Downtown Seattle in April.
* 1853 – Seattle becomes seat of King County, Washington Territory.
* 1854 – School opens.
* 1855 – Population: 300.
* 1856 – Hostile Native American tribesmen attack Seattle in a single-day battle.
* 1858 – The arrival of Manuel Lopes, the city's first Black resident.
* 1861 – Washington Territorial University established.
* 1863 – Washington Gazette newspaper begins publication.
* 1864 – May 16: The Mercer Girls arrive.
* 1867 – Weekly Intelligencer newspaper begins publication.
* 1868 – The Seattle Library Association is founded.
* 1869 – Henry A. Atkins becomes mayor.
* 1870
** Central School opens.
** Church of Our Lady of Good Help founded.
** Population: 1,107.
* 1873 – Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad organized.
* 1874 – Gas street lamps installed.
* 1875
** San Francisco–Seattle steamship service begins.
** Ms. Maynard's Reading Room opens.
* 1878 – Seattle Daily Post begins publication.
* 1879 – Squire opera house built.
* 1880
** City chartered.
** Frye opera house built.
** Population: 3,533.
* 1883 – Telephone and Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad begin operating.
* 1885 – Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway organized.
* 1886 – February: Most Chinese were expelled by White mobs.
* 1888 – Rainier Club established.
* 1889
** Seattle Federation of Women's Clubs organized.
** June 6: Great Seattle Fire.
** Seattle Fire Department established.
** Electric streetcar begins operating.
** City becomes part of the new U.S. State of Washington.
* 1890
** Telegraph newspaper begins publication.
** Country Club established.
** Population: 42,837.
* 1891 – Seattle Public Library opens.
* 1892 – Pioneer Building constructed.
* 1893
** Great Northern Railway begins operating.
** Seattle Athletic Club organized.
** Seattle Theatre opens.
** Curtis & Guptil photographers in business.
* 1894 – The Argus newspaper begins publication.
** The Seattle Republican daily newspaper beings publication
* 1895 – Seattle General Hospital established.
* 1898 – U.S. assay office opens.
* 1899
** The Seattle Star newspaper begins publication.
** Tlingit totem pole installed in Pioneer Place.
* 1900
** Population: 80,671.
** Seattle General Hospital re-opened in a new building.

## 20th century
### 1900s–1940s

* 1901 – Renton Hill Community Improvement Club organized.
* 1903
** July 30: Semi-centennial of founding of Seattle.
** City hires Olmsted Brothers to design public parks.
* 1905
** South Seattle becomes part of city.
** Seattle Fine Arts Society established.
* 1906
** The Mountaineers (club) formed.
** Public Library building opens.
** King Street Station opens.
* 1907
** City expands, annexing Atlantic City, Ballard, Columbia, Dunlap, Rainier Beach, Ravenna, South-East Seattle, South Park, and West Seattle.
** Pike Place Market opens.
** St. James Cathedral built.
* 1908
** The Great White Fleet visits Seattle and Puget Sound area.
* 1909
** June 1: Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition opens.
** Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad begins operating.
* 1910
** Georgetown becomes part of city.
** Municipal League of Seattle founded.
** Population: 237,194.
* 1911 – Port of Seattle established.
* 1913
** National Association for the Advancement of Colored People branch established.
** 20th Avenue NE Bridge opens.
* 1914 – Smith Tower built.
* 1916
** Seattle Audubon Society established.
** Coliseum Theater opens.
* 1918 – Bessaroth Synagogue dedicated.
* 1919 – February: Seattle General Strike.
* 1920 – Seattle Northwest Enterprise newspaper begins publication.
* 1922 – The first Miss Seattle is crowned.
* 1923
** Seattle Goodwill Industries established.
** Mountaineers Players (theatre troupe) active.
* 1924
** September 28: First aerial circumnavigation of the world lands at Sand Point.
** Seattle Camera Club founded.
* 1925
** Sears, Roebuck store in business.
** Eagles Auditorium Building constructed.
** Seattle Planning Commission established.
* 1926 – U.S. Naval Air Station established at Sand Point.
* 1928 – Civic Auditorium and Paramount Theatre open.
* 1929 – Seattle Urban League founded.
* 1930
** Pike Place Fish Market and Japanese American Citizen's League established.
** Exchange Building constructed.
* 1932 – Grace Hospital established.
* 1933 – Seattle Art Museum opens.
* 1938 – Vedanta Society of Western Washington founded.
* 1940 – Population: 368,302.
** April 28: Seattle trolleybus system opens.
* 1941
** April 12: Last streetcar line closed.
* 1946 – Seattle Foundation established.
* 1947
** Airport begins operating.
** Memorial Stadium opens.
* 1949 – Free port opens.

### 1950s–1990s

* 1950
** Seattle Chinese Golf Club formed.
** Population: 467,591.
* 1957 – Sister city relationship established with Kobe, Japan.
* 1959 – City joins Puget Sound Governmental Conference.
* 1960 – Population: 557,087.
* 1961
** Space Needle erected.
** American Institute of Architects Seattle chapter active.
* 1962
** Alweg Monorail begins operating.
** April 21 – Seattle World's Fair opens.
** Congress of Racial Equality chapter established.
** Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church built.
* 1963
** Seattle Opera and Seattle Repertory Theatre founded.
** Martin Cinerama opens.
* 1964
** August 21: The Beatles perform at the Seattle Center Coliseum; they would do so once more just over two years later.
* 1965
** April 29: The 6.7 M$_w$ Puget Sound earthquake affected western Washington with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), causing seven deaths and $12.5–28 million in financial losses in the Puget Sound region.
** ACT Theatre founded.
* 1967
** November: Radical Women founded.Seattle Radical Women, one of first women's liberation groups in the United States, forms in November 1967.
** Allied Arts of Seattle founded.
** Sister city relationship established with Bergen, Norway.
* 1969
** Little Bread Co. and Brasserie Pittsbourg in business.
** Seafirst Building constructed. It becomes Seattle's tallest building for 16 years.
* 1970 – Seattle Marathon, and negative income tax program begin.
* 1971
** Mayor's Arts Festival begins (later known as Bumbershoot).
** Starbucks in business.
* 1972
** Pacific Northwest Dance Association established.
** Intiman Theatre Festival begins.
* 1973 – Sister city relationship established with Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
* 1974 – Seattle Seahawks franchise established, would begin play in 1976.
* 1975 – World's first "commercial software for personal computers" invented in Seattle.
* 1976 – Daybreak Star Cultural Center opens.
* 1977
** Seattle Mariners baseball team formed.
** Sister city relationship established with Beersheba, Israel.
* 1978 – Central Co-op established.
* 1979
** P-Patch Advisory Council established.
** Music Magazine The Rocket begins publishing.
** June 1: Seattle SuperSonics basketball team wins NBA Finals.
** Sister city relationship established with Mazatlán, Mexico.
* 1980
** Subterranean Pop fanzine begins publication.
** Sister city relationship established with Nantes, France.
** The last Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad train leaves Seattle before abandonment.
* 1981 – Sister city relationships established with Christchurch, New Zealand; and Mombasa, Kenya.
* 1982 – Market Park landscaped.
* 1983 – Sister city relationship established with Chongqing, China.
* 1984
** 911 Media Arts Center and Weird Science Salon founded.
** Sister city relationship established with Limbe, Cameroon.
* 1985
** Seattle Municipal Archives established.
** The 76-story Columbia Seafirst Center is built and becomes the city's tallest building. In response, the Citizen Alternative Plan (CAP) advocates for height limits in Downtown.
* 1986 – Sister city relationships established with Galway, Ireland; and Reykjavík, Iceland.
* 1988
** Washington State Convention Center and Telephone Museum open.
** Nirvana releases its first album on Seattle's SubPop Records.
* 1989
** Jim McDermott becomes U.S. representative for Washington's 7th congressional district.
** Sister city relationship established with Daejeon, South Korea.
* 1990
** September 15: Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel opens.
** Norm Rice becomes mayor.
** October: Pearl Jam plays its first concert ever in Seattle's Off Ramp Café.
** Population: 516,259.
* 1991
** Sustainable Seattle nonprofit established.
** Washington Hemp Expo begins.
** Seattle Art Museum rebuilt.
** Sister city relationships established with Cebu, Philippines; and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
* 1992 – Sister city relationship established with Pécs, Hungary; and Surabaya, Indonesia.
* 1993
** Seattle Knights jousting acting troupe founded.
** Fictional movie Sleepless in Seattle released.
** Sister city relationships established with Gdynia, Poland; and Perugia, Italy.
* 1994
** Amazon.com in business.
** Seattle Asian Art Museum opens.
** City Public Access Network online.
* 1996 – Sister city relationship established with Haiphong, Vietnam.
* 1997
** Seattle Internet Exchange and Seattle Channel established.
** Jet City Maven newspaper begins publication.
* 1998 – Paul Schell becomes mayor.
* 1999
** November 30: Anti-globalization protest during World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference.
** Town Hall Seattle opens.
** Sister city relationship established with Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
* 2000
** Experience Music Project opens.
** Music Magazine The Rocket ends publishing.

## 21st century

* 2001
** February 27: Seattle Mardi Gras Riots
** February 28: Nisqually earthquake
** September: Boeing relocates its corporate headquarters to Chicago, Illinois.
* 2002
** July 28: The first sporting event at Seahawks Stadium, a Seattle Sounders soccer match, is held
* 2004
** Seattle Central Library building opens.
** Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project founded.
** Rat City Rollergirls (rollerderby league) founded.
* 2006
** Seattle Metropolitan begins publication.
** Kavana Cooperative founded.
* 2007
** December 12: South Lake Union Streetcar line opened.
* 2008
** Tilted Thunder Rail Birds (rollerderby league) formed.
** Seattle SuperSonics move to Oklahoma City
* 2009
** July 18: Central Link light rail begins service between Westlake and Tukwila.
** December 19: Central Link is extended to SeaTac Airport.
** InvestigateWest news headquartered in Seattle.
** Upping Technology for Underserved Neighbors and Jigsaw Renaissance founded.
** CondoInternet in business.
* 2010
** Northwest Chocolate Festival begins.
** Michael McGinn becomes mayor.
** Population: 608,660; metro 3,439,809.
* 2011
** Seattle Shorts Film Fest begins.
** Citizen University headquartered in city.
* 2012
** Ban against plastic shopping bags in effect.
** Chihuly Garden and Glass and Living Computer Museum open.
* 2013
** Construction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel by the tunnel-boring machine Bertha begins.
** Population: 652,405.
* 2014
** January: Ed Murray becomes mayor.
** February: Seattle Seahawks win Super Bowl football contest.
** May: City minimum wage hike announced.
* 2015
** May: A large kayak protest against Arctic oil drilling is held on Elliott Bay in response to a Shell oil platform arriving at the Port of Seattle.
** September: School teacher labor strike
* 2016
** January 23: First Hill Streetcar line opens.
** March 19: University Link Tunnel extends light rail to Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium.
* 2020
** Beginning in March: During the week, in response to the COVID pandemic across Washington, 3 counties in the Seattle metropolitan area issued directives for residents to shelter-in-place until at least the 7th of April.
** Beginning in May: George Floyd protests in Seattle begin.
* 2023
** February 21: Seattle became the first city in the United States to ban discrimination based on caste.