Timeline of Kansas City, Missouri

19th century

1838 - Settlement named "Town of Kansas".

1846 - Population: 700.

1840 - City Market active.

1850 - "City of Kansas" incorporated.

1854 - Bleeding Kansas

1857 - Chamber of Commerce established.

1860 - Population: 4,418.

1864 - October 23: Battle of Westport.

1869 - Missouri River railroad bridge opens.

1870 - Population: 32,260.

1871 - Kansas City Bar Library Assoc. formed.

1872 - Elmwood Cemetery established.

1875 - Fetterman Circulating Library in business.

1880 - Population: 55,785.

1882

Kansas City Club founded.

First electric lights used in KC; implemented by KCP&L

1889

"Kansas City" formed by merger of Westport and City of Kansas.

Kansas City Public Library building opens.

1890 - Population: 132,716.

1892 - Court House built.

1893

City Hall built.

Kansas City Athletic Club active.

1895 - Kansas City School of Law founded.

1900s-1940s

1900

July: 1900 Democratic National Convention held.

Federal Building constructed.

Population: 163,752.

1903 - Automobile Club of Kansas City active.

1904 - Children's Mercy Hospital active.

1908 - City Hospital built.

1909 Kansas City Zoo opens in Swope Park

1910

Hall Brothers in business.

Population: 248,381.

1913 - Cook Paint and Varnish Company in business.

1914

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and Paseo YMCA open.

Union Station rebuilt.

1915 - Kansas City Polytechnic Institute established.

1917 - Rockhurst College opens.

1919 - Truman and Jacobson's haberdashery in business.

1920 - Population: 324,410.

1922 - WPE radio begins broadcasting.

1923 Fairyland Amusement Park opens at 7501 Prospect

1926

Ararat Shrine Temple and Bagdad Theatre open.

Liberty Memorial dedicated to World War I veterans, opens

1927 Downtown Airport opens, dedicated by Charles Lindbergh

1928

June: 1928 Republican National Convention.

F. W. Woolworth Building constructed.

1931 - Kansas City Power and Light Building constructed.

1933 - June 17: Kansas City massacre.

1936 - Holy Land Christian Mission founded.

1945 - K.C. native Harry S Truman sworn in as President of the United States after President Franklin Roosevelt's sudden death

1937 - Kansas City City Hall rebuilt.

1946

Linda Hall Library established.

William E. Kemp becomes mayor.

1948 - Harry S Truman wins Presidential election

1949

Crest Drive-In cinema active (approximate date).

Richard Walker Bolling becomes U.S. representative for Missouri's 5th congressional district.

1945 K.C native Harry S Truman sworn in as President of the United States.

1950s-1990s

1951 - July: Great Flood of 1951.

1954 - U.S. Weather Bureau Severe Local Storms Unit relocated to Kansas City.

1954 - Paseo Bridge opens

1955 - H. Roe Bartle becomes mayor.

1956 - First runway opens at Kansas City Industrial Airport, now KCI

1957

Kansas City Ballet founded.

Ruskin Heights Tornado (F-5)

1959 - 5 KC firefighters killed in gas tank explosion on Southwest Blvd.

1963

University of Missouri–Kansas City established.

Ilus W. Davis becomes mayor.

1967 - Sister city relationship established with Seville, Spain.

1968 - April: 1968 Kansas City, Missouri riot.

1969

Kansas City Royals baseball team formed.,

Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl

1970 - Population: 507,330.

1971

Crown Center opens.

Charles Wheeler becomes mayor.

1972

Sister city relationship established with Kurashiki, Japan.

Arrowhead Stadium opens

1973

Sister city relationship established with Morelia, Mexico.

Worlds of Fun opens

Kauffman Stadium opens as Royals Stadium

1974

Kemper Arena opens.

Sister city relationship established with Freetown, Sierra Leone.

1976 - World Science Fiction Convention held.

1977 - Fairyland Amusement Park closes after extensive damage by windstorm

1978 - Sister city relationship established with Tainan, Taiwan.

1979 - Richard L. Berkley becomes mayor.

1980 - Hyatt Regency hotel opens.

1981 - July 17: Hyatt Regency walkway collapse.

1982

Kansas City Symphony active.

Oceans of Fun opens

1985 - Kansas City Royals and Manager Dick Howser win I-70 World Series

1986 - Town Pavilion hi-rise built.

1988

ACT UP chapter founded.

One Kansas City Place built.

Serial killer Bob Berdella apprehended, pleaded guilty to first degree murder, given life in prison sentence

1989 - Sister city relationship established with Xi'an, China.

1990 - Population: 435,146.

1991

Kansas City Stockyards close.

Emanuel Cleaver becomes mayor.

Firefighters' Memorial Fountain dedicated, at 31st & Broadway

Sister city relationship established with Guadalajara, Mexico.

1993

Sister city relationships established with Hannover, Germany and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Great Flood of 1993

1994 - Bartle Hall Convention Center opens.

1995 - Sister city relationship established with Arusha, Tanzania.

1997

City website online (approximate date).

Sister city relationship established with San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico.

1998 - Sister city relationship established with Ramla, Israel.

1999 - Kay Barnes becomes mayor.

21st century

2000 - Population: 441,545.

2001 - Regional Kansas City SmartPort economic development group established.

2004 - Sister city relationship established with Metz, France.

2005

Penn Valley skatepark opens.

Emanuel Cleaver becomes U.S. representative for Missouri's 5th congressional district.

2007

Sprint Center (arena) opens.

Irish Museum and Cultural Center active.

Mark Funkhouser becomes mayor.

2010

Population: 459,787.

Paseo Bridge closed, demolished

Christopher S. Bond Bridge opens, replacing Paseo Bridge

2011

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opens.

Sly James becomes mayor.

Population: 463,202; metro 2,052,676.

2012

Google Fiber service begins.

Kansas City Startup Village established.

CityCampKC and IgniteKC begin.

2014 - Liberty Memorial designated National World War I Monument