Timeline of Louisville, Kentucky

Prior to 19th century

1778 – George Rogers Clark settles on Corn Island.

1780 – Louisville chartered.

1798 – Jefferson Seminary chartered.

19th century

1807 – Louisville Gazette newspaper begins publication.

1820 – Population: 4,012.

1828 – John Bucklin becomes mayor.

1829

Lewis Pottery Company incorporated.

Dover's Pottery in business.

1830

Louisville Daily Journal newspaper begins publication.

Louisville and Portland Canal opens.

Population: 10,341.

1831 – Louisville Lyceum established.

1837 – Louisville Medical Institute founded.

1838 – Louisville Gas and Water established.

1839 – Kentucky Institution for the Education of the Blind founded.

1840

Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Company began on the banks of the Ohio River.

Louisville Collegiate Institute founded.

Franklin Lyceum founded.

1841

Louisville Law Library in operation.

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville established.

1842

Jefferson County Courthouse opens.

Mercantile Library Association founded.

1844 – Louisville Morning Courier newspaper begins publication.

1846 – University of Louisville formed.

1848 – Cave Hill Cemetery dedicated.

1850

Louisville and Nashville Railroad begins operating.

Kentucky Glass Works in business.

1851 – German Protestant Orphan's Home founded.

1859 – J. F. Hillerich in business.

1860 – Population: 68,033.

1862 – Board of Trade organized.

1868

Fourteenth Street Bridge built.

The Courier-Journal newspaper begins publication.

1872 – Industrial Exposition.

1874 – Louisville Jockey Club and Driving Park Association formed.

1875 – Kentucky Derby begins; Churchill Downs opens.

1876 – Polytechnic Society of Kentucky organized.

1877 – Southern Baptist Theological Seminary relocates to Louisville.

1879 – Kaufman-Straus department store opens.

1880 – Population: 123,758.

1882 – Louisville Eclipse baseball team formed.

1883 – Southern Exposition begins.

1884

Filson Club founded.

The Louisville Times newspaper begins publication.

Chestnut Street Baptist Church built.

1886 – Kentucky & Indiana Terminal Bridge opens.

1888 - Louisville Camera Club formed.

1889 – Union Station built.

1890

Columbia Building constructed.

Tornado.

Population: 161,129.

1893 – Southern Parkway opens.

1894 – St. Peter's German Evangelical Church built.

1895 – Big Four Bridge opens.

1897 – Louisville Business Women's Club founded.

1900

Louisville Bar Association established.

Jennie Benedict opens catering business.

Population: 204,731.

1901–1959

1905

Louisville Free Public Library, Western Colored Branch opens.

Louisville Gardens opens.

Jefferson School of Law opens.

Fontaine Ferry Park (amusement park) opens.

1907 - The annual Kentucky State Fair moves permanently to Louisville.

1908 - Louisville Free Public Library main branch opens.

1910

Snead Manufacturing Building constructed.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium opens.

Population: 223,928.

1920 – Population: 234,891.

1921

Bowman airfield opens.

Legal Aid Society of Louisville and Urban League branch established.

1923

Brown Hotel opened.

Brown Hotel chef Fred Schmidt introduces the Hot Brown sandwich.

Chickasaw Park laid out (approximate date).

1926 - Zachary Taylor National Cemetery created by the Taylor family.

1929 - Louisville Municipal Bridge opens.

1930

Masonic Temple built.

Population: 307,745.

1932 - U.S. Post Office, Court House and Custom House built.

1937

Louisville Orchestra is founded.

Ohio River flood.

1941 - Standiford Field airport built.

1946 - Jefferson County Memorial Forest inaugurated.

1947 - Standiford Field opens for commercial flights.

1949 - Carriage House Players active.

1950 - Bellarmine College opens.

1952 - Big Spring Country Club hosted the annual PGA Championship; Jim Turnesa won the event.

1954 - The annual WHAS Crusade for Children telethon begins.

1956

Freedom Hall opened on the Kentucky Fairgrounds.

Kentucky Derby Festival begins as two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby.

1957 - St. James Court Art Show held its first annual arts and craft show in the Old Louisville neighborhood.

1958 - Freedom Hall hosted the 1958 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; University of Kentucky won the National Championship.

1959 - Freedom Hall hosted the 1959 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; University of California-Berkeley won the National Championship.

1960–2000

1962

Sherman Minton Bridge opened.

Mid-City Mall opened.

Freedom Hall hosted the 1962 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; University of Cincinnati won the National Championship.

1963

John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge opened.

Freedom Hall hosted the 1963 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; Loyola University (IL) won the National Championship.

1964

Kennedy Interchange (Spaghetti Junction) opened.

Actors Theatre of Louisville opened.

1965

Louisville and Jefferson County Riverport Authority established as a public agency.

Republican Kenneth A. Schmied was elected mayor; he was the last Republican to be elected mayor.

1967

Kentucky Colonels basketball team founded.

Freedom Hall hosted the 1967 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; UCLA won the National Championship.

1969

Louisville Zoo opens as "State Zoo of Kentucky".

Freedom Hall hosted the 1969 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; UCLA won the National Championship.

Democrat Frank W. Burke was elected mayor.

1971 - Romano Mazzoli becomes U.S. representative for Kentucky's 3rd congressional district.

1973

Democrat Harvey I. Sloane was elected mayor for the first time.

Triple Crown Winner Secretariat ran the fastest time ever at the annual Kentucky Derby.

1974

Tornado occurs in the east end of Louisville.

Actors Theatre of Louisville opened is designated the "State Theater of Kentucky"

TARC began operating as the city bus line in 1974.

1977

Foreign trade zone established for the Riverport Authority.

Democrat William B. Stansbury was elected mayor.

1982 - Democrat Harvey I. Sloane was elected mayor for the second time.

1986 - Democrat Jerry Abramson was elected mayor for the first time.

1987

Kentucky Kingdom amusement park opened the Kentucky Exposition Center.

The Courier-Journal was purchased by media giant Gannett.

1988 - Louisville Motor Speedway opened.

1990

Thunder Over Louisville has its first annual event and becomes the first event of the annual Kentucky Derby Festival.

Population: 269,063.

1993 - AEGON Center is completed and becomes the tallest building in Kentucky.

1995 - Standiford Field is renamed to Louisville International Airport.

1996 - Louisville Slugger Museum opened in Downtown Louisville.

1999

Louisville Waterfront Park dedicated.

Democrat David L. Armstrong was elected mayor.

2000

Louisville Slugger Field opened for the newly renamed Louisville Bats, who became a minor league affiliate for the Cincinnati Reds the same year.

Valhalla Golf Club hosts the annual PGA Championship, Tiger Woods won the competition.

City website online (approximate date).

21st century

2001 - Louisville Bats win the Governors' Cup, AAA Championship

2002

Louisville Extreme Park opens.

Valley Sports wins the 2002 Little League World Series.

Forecastle Festival begins its annual music festival.

2003

City–county merger increases Louisville's total population to near one-million.

Democrat Jerry Abramson is elected mayor for the second time.

2004

Fourth Street Live opened as entertainment complex/venue in downtown Louisville.

Valhalla Golf Club hosts the annual PGA Championship, Hale Irwin won the competition.

2005

Muhammad Ali Center opens as a tribute to the champion boxer Muhammad Ali.

The annual Abbey Road on the River is held in Louisville for the first time.

Jim Patterson Stadium opens.

2006 - Churchill Downs hosts the annual Breeders Cup.

2007

University of Louisville competes in its first BCS game by defeating Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl

Thunder Over Louisville sets record crowd of over 800,000 people.'

John Yarmuth becomes U.S. representative for Kentucky's 3rd congressional district.

2008 - Valhalla Golf Club hosts the annual Ryder Cup, the United States won the competition.

2009

McAlpine Locks and Dam are expanded.

Widely publicized extortion trial between University of Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino and Karen Sypher occurred.

Dedication ceremony held for Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park.

2010

2010 US Census Population: 602,011.

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom closed due to the rejection of an amended lease by the Kentucky State Fair Board.

KFC Yum! Center opened as Louisville's new downtown multi-use arena.

Churchill Downs hosted the annual Breeders Cup.

2011

Democrat Greg Fischer is elected mayor after Jerry Abramson becomes Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky

Valhalla Golf Club hosted the annual PGA Championship; Tom Watson won the competition.

Sherman Minton Bridge temporarily closed in September after construction crews found cracks in the main load-bearing structural element.

Churchill Downs hosts the annual Breeders Cup.

2012

Sherman Minton Bridge reopened in February after months of repairs.

KFC Yum! Center hosted second and third-round games of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

2013

Big Four Bridge opened as a converted pedestrian walkway from Louisville into Jeffersonville, Indiana.

University of Louisville won its third men's basketball NCAA Championship.

University of Louisville competed in its second BCS game, defeats Florida in the Sugar Bowl

2014

Kentucky Kingdom reopened as Louisville's theme park.

Valhalla Golf Club hosted the annual PGA Championship; Rory McIlroy won the competition.

Mayor Fischer is re-elected in November.

Construction of the Ohio River Bridges Project begins.

2015

KFC Yum! Center hosted second and third-round games of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Abraham Lincoln Bridge (part of the Ohio River Bridges Project) opened for public use.

2016

Speed Art Museum reopened after a 3 1/2-year, $60 million expansion project.

Death of Muhammad Ali, his globally televised funeral procession, and private interment at Cave Hill Cemetery.