Timeline of Austin, Texas

19th century

1839

Austin designated capital of the Republic of Texas.

December 27: Austin incorporated.

1840

Edwin Waller becomes first mayor.

Population: 856.

1841

Houston-Austin coach begins operating.

Austin Lyceum active.

French Legation built.

1842 - Texas seat of government relocated from Austin to Houston.

1845 - Austin becomes part of the new U.S. state of Texas.

1846 - Texas seat of government relocated back to Austin from Houston.

1850 - Population: 3,841.

1854 - Swenson Building and Ziller Building constructed.

1855

Texas State Capitol built.

St. David's Episcopal Church consecrated.

1857 - General Land Office Building constructed.

1859 - Buaas's Hall (assembly room) renovated.

1860 - Wharton College opens.

1871

Houston and Texas Central Railroad begins operating.

Democratic Statesman newspaper begins publication.

1872

Connectional High School and Institute founded.

Penn's Circulating Library in business.

1873 - Austin Library Association active.

1874 - St. Mary's Academy founded.

1875 - Austin City Railroad begins operating.

1876 - International–Great Northern Railroad begins operating.

1877

Stuart Female Seminary founded.

Tillotson College chartered.

1878 - St. Edward's University founded.

1881

November 9: State Capitol building burns down.

University of Texas at Austin established.

Austin High School opens.

1884

Congregation Beth Israel synagogue established.

Servant Girl Annihilator murders begin (ending in 1885.)

1885 - St. Edward's College established.

1886

Driskill Hotel in business.

Hill City Quartet formed.

1887 - Negro Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute opens.

1888 - Texas State Capitol rebuilt.

1894 - Heart's Ease Circle of King's Daughters (women's group) founded.

1895 - Moonlight towers installed.

1900s-1940s

1900

April: Austin Dam failure.

Samuel Huston College opens.

1902 - Nixon-Clay College and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary established.

1908 - Confederate Woman's Home opens.

1910 - Congress Avenue Bridge rebuilt.

1911 - Texas Fine Arts Association and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 205 established.

1917 - University of Texas' School for Military Aeronautics opens.

1918 - State Office Building constructed.

1921 - Austin Civic Theatre founded.

1926

Council-manager form of government effected.

University Airport in operation.

1929 - Howson Community Center established.

1930

Municipal Airport opens.

Population: 53,120.

1933

Austin Public Library building opens.

State Highway Building constructed.

1934

O. Henry House museum opens.

Junior League of Austin organized.

1935

Texas Federation of Women's Clubs Headquarters built.

Flood.

1937

UT Tower built.

Lyndon B. Johnson becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district.

1938 - Montopolis Bridge built.

1941 - Austin Daily Tribune Building constructed.

1942

Bergstrom Army Air Field established.

Lamar Boulevard Bridge built.

1947 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin established.

1950s-1990s

1950 – Population: 132,459.

1952 - Burnet Drive-In cinema opens.

1953 - Young Men's Christian Association of Austin chartered.

1956 - Ballet Academy founded.

1958

Goodwill Industries of Central Texas established.

Town & Country Food Stores in business.

1959 - Palmer Auditorium opens.

1960 – Population: 186,545.

1962 - Austin Aqua Festival begins.

1963 - Jake Pickle becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district.

1965

August 1: Texas tower shooting.

The Citizen newspaper in publication.

1966 - August 1: Whitman shootings.

1967

Vulcan Gas Company music venue active.

Fair Housing Ordinance established.

1968

Crockett High School opens.

Sister city relationship established with Saltillo, Mexico.

1970

Armadillo World Headquarters music venue active.

University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs established.

Population: 251,808.

1971 - Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum dedicated.

1973

Austin Community College and regional Austin Transportation Study established.

L.C. Anderson High School (Mesa Drive) and Aquarius cinema open.

1975 - Austin Community Gardens created.

1976 - Austin City Limits television music program begins national broadcast.

1978 - Sister city relationship established with Maseru, Lesotho.

1979

Austin Public Library new main branch building opens.

Austin Shambhala Center founded.

1980

Whole Foods Market in business.

Population: 345,496.

1981

Capital Area Food Bank of Texas and Le Chef College of Hospitality Careers established.

Austin Chronicle and Austin Press newspapers begin publication.

Sister city relationship established with Lima, Peru.

1982

National Wildflower Research Center founded.

Pennybacker Bridge opens.

1983

Austin History Center active.

Austin Children's Museum established.

Sister city relationship established with Adelaide, Australia.

1984 - St. Michael's Catholic Academy established.

1985

Austin Film Society organized.

Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival begins.

1986

Austin Lyric Opera founded.

Sister city relationship established with Taichung, Taiwan.

1987

South by Southwest music festival begins.

Lamar Smith becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 21st congressional district.

1988

Dell Computer Corporation in business.

Bowie High School established.

1990

Sister city relationship established with Ōita City, Japan.

Population: 465,622.

1991 - Sister city relationship established with Koblenz, Germany.

1992

Austin Convention Center opens.

Hyde Park Theatre founded.

1993 - Sustainable Food Center and Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association chapter founded.

1994

Um-Al-Mumeneen-Sayeda-Khadija Mosque built.

Goodwill Computer Museum founded.[1]

1995

Lloyd Doggett becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district.

Ordinary Mind Zen Group formed.

City website online.

1997 - Sister city relationship established with Xishuangbanna, China.

1998 - Linh-Son Buddhist Temple established.

1999

Austin–Bergstrom International Airport opens.

Dell Foundation and Foodways of Austin club established.

21st century

2000

Akins High School established.

George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000 headquartered in Austin.

Area of city: 251 square miles.

Population: 656,562.

Sister city relationship established with Orlu, Nigeria.

2001 - Sister city relationship established with Gwangmyeong, South Korea.

2002 - Texas Archive of the Moving Image headquartered in city.

2003

Texas Rollergirls founded.

Frost Bank Tower built.

2005 - Austin Film Critics Association founded.

2009

Texas Tribune headquartered in city.

Sister city relationship established with Antalya Kepez, Turkey.

2010

February 18: 2010 Austin suicide attack.

Capital MetroRail begins operating.

Austin Bulldog begins publication.

Area of city: 297.90 square miles.

Population: city 790,390; megaregion 19,728,244.

2011 - Sister city relationship established with Angers, France.

2012 - Austin Food & Wine Alliance established.

2013 - Population: 885,400.

2014

November 28: Larry Steven McQuilliams, 49, fired at least 100 shots at several government buildings and a police station before dying of a gunshot wound.

Sister city relationship established with Hackney, London.