Timeline of Miami

19th century

1870 - William Brickell establishes a trading post on the south side of the Miami River.

1880 - Population: county 100.

1884 - The first hotel, The Peacock Inn, is established in Coconut Grove.

1886

Ralph Munroe builds a home on the bay in Coconut Grove.

Kirk Munroe establishes a home in Coconut Grove.

1889 - Teaching begins in the first school building in Coconut Grove.

1891 - Julia Tuttle moves to Miami.

1895 - The first public library is established in Coconut Grove by the ladies of the Pine Needles Club.

1896

Miami incorporated; John B. Reilly becomes mayor.

Florida East Coast Railway (Jacksonville-Miami) arrives in Miami.

Miami Metropolis newspaper begins publication.

Biscayne Hotel built.

1897

Royal Palm Hotel in business.

City of Miami Cemetery established.

1898

Burdines in business.

David Fairchild establishes the USDA Plant Introduction Garden.

1899 - Dade County seat relocated to Miami from Juno.

1900

Flagler Public Library, Miami Board of Trade, and Woman's Club founded.

Population: 1,681.

1900s-1940s

1902 - Carpenters Local 993 labor union established.

1903

John Sewell becomes mayor.

Ransom Everglades School is established in Coconut Grove.

The Miami Herald newspaper begins publication.

1906

Streetcars begin operating.

Automobile parade.

1909

City Hall built.

Lummus Park opens.

1910 - Population: 5,471; county 11,933.

1912 - Airport established near Miami.

1913

Bridge to Miami Beach constructed.

Lyric Theater opens.

1914 - Construction of Vizcaya begins.

1915

Miami Chamber of Commerce established.

Town of Miami Beach incorporated near Miami.

1916 - David Fairchild establishes The Kampong, his winter home in Coconut Grove.

1917 - Elser Pier opens.

1918 - Airdrome Theatre and Strand Theatre open.

1919

Coconut Grove is incorporated.

Great Miami Employers' Association established.

1920

Universal Negro Improvement Association chapter established.

Population: 29,549; county 42,753.

1921 - Commission-manager form of government adopted.

1923 - Miami Times newspaper begins publication.

1924

Buena Vista becomes part of Miami.

Fotosho Theatre opens.

1925

Allapattah, Coconut Grove, Lemon City, Silver Bluff, and West Little River become part of Miami.

Bayfront Park opens.

Towns of Coral Gables and Hialeah incorporated near Miami.

University of Miami established in Coral Gables.

1926

January 10: Prinz Valdemar ship sinks offshore.

September: Hurricane.

Player's State Theater built.

Booker T. Washington High School, Olympia Theater, and Tower Theater open.

Town of Miami Shores incorporated near Miami.

Wometco - first movie theater, the Capital, opens.

1927

Flagler Theater opens.

E. G. Sewell becomes mayor.

Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church built.

1928

Pan American Field (airfield) begins operating.

Dade County Agricultural High school built.

Al Capone buys a home in Miami Beach.

1929 - Sears, Roebuck and Company Department Store opens.

1930

Miami Civic Center opens.

Population: 110,637.

1933

February 15: Chicago mayor Anton Cermak killed by anarchist in Bayfront Park.

E. G. Sewell becomes mayor again.

Ryder, the truck leasing company, founded in Miami.

1935

January 1: Orange Bowl football contest begins.

November: Hurricane.

1936 - Parrot Jungle established.

1937 - Miami Municipal Airport, Burdine Stadium, and Liberty Square (housing complex) open.

1938 - Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden opens to the public.

1939 - E. G. Sewell becomes mayor yet again.

1940

Historical Museum of Southern Florida established.

Population: 172,172; county 267,739.

1941 - Dorsey Memorial Library opens.

1942 - May: Portero del Llano ship sinks offshore.

1943 - Urban League of Greater Miami established.

1946 - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People branch established in Liberty City.

1948 - Coconut Grove Citizens Committee for Slum Clearance and Civil Rights Congress chapter organized.

1950s-1970s

1950 - Population: 249,276; county 495,084.

1952 - Museum of Science and Natural History opens on Bayshore Drive.

1953

Diario Las Américas Spanish-language newspaper begins publication.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute founded in Miami.

1954 - Burger King founded in Miami.

1955 - Miami Seaquarium established.

1957

DuPont Plaza Hotel opens for business.

Robert King High elected mayor of Miami.

1958 - Catholic Diocese of Miami established.

1959

City public schools racially desegregated.

Dade County Junior College and Centro Hispano Católico founded.

Miami International Airport dedicated.

1960 - Population: 291,688; county 935,047.

1961 - Colegio de Belén relocates to Miami from Cuba.

1962 - Cruzada Educativa Cubana founded.

1964

February 25. Cassius Clay defeats Sonny Liston for heavyweight champion of the world.

Chuck Hall becomes mayor of Dade County.

1965

Cuban exiles begin to arrive in city via U.S.-sponsored "freedom flights".

Florida International University established.

Ediciones Universal in business.

1966 The Miami Dolphins enter the American Football League as an expansion franchise

1968

August 5–8: 1968 Republican National Convention held in nearby Miami Beach.

August 7–8: Unrest in Liberty City.

Miami Pop Festivals held near city in May and December.

1970

David T. Kennedy becomes mayor of city; Stephen P. Clark becomes mayor of Dade County.

Population: 334,859; county 1,267,792.

1971 - Latin Chamber of Commerce established.

1972

August: 1972 Republican National Convention held in nearby Miami Beach.

One Biscayne Tower built.

Jack Orr becomes mayor of Dade County.

1973

Maurice Ferre becomes city mayor.

April: U.S.-sponsored "freedom flight" arrivals to Miami of Cuban exiles ends.

1974

Stephen P. Clark becomes mayor of Dade County again.

Spanish American League Against Discrimination headquartered in city.

1975

The Bee Gees move to Miami Beach.

1976

El Miami Herald Spanish-language newspaper begins publication.

Bicentennial Park opens.

1977

Foreign trade zone established.

Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South Florida headquartered in city.

Omni International Mall in business.

1980s-1990s

1980

May: race riots in Overtown and Liberty City after the death of Arthur McDuffie.

April–October: Cubans arrive in city via Mariel boatlift.

Miami MetroZoo opens near city.

Population: 346,865;

1981

Palace apartment building constructed.

Cuban American National Foundation headquartered in city.

1982

Knight International Center (convention center) opens.

Facts About Cuban Exiles organization established.

1983

The movie Scarface is filmed in Miami.

Christo unveils Surrounded Islands.

1984

Metrorail begins operating.

Center for Fine Arts founded.

Miami International Film Festival begins.

Southeast Financial Center built on Biscayne Boulevard.

Fictional Miami Vice television program begins national broadcast.

First edition of the Miami International Book Fair.

1985

Miami SunPost newspaper begins publication.

Xavier Suarez becomes city mayor.

Stephen P. Clark Government Center built.

The Golden Girls, a television sitcom, begins its seven-year run.

Miami City Ballet debuts.

1986 - Lincoln Center built.

1987

November: Pope John Paul II visits city.

Miami Tower built.

1989

Nelson Mandela visits city.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen becomes U.S. representative for Florida's 18th congressional district.

1990

Knight Foundation headquartered in city.

Population: 358,548; county 1,937,094.

1992 - August: Hurricane Andrew.

1993

Stephen P. Clark becomes city mayor.

Carrie P. Meek becomes U.S. representative for Florida's 17th congressional district.

1994

Eleventh Street (Metromover station) opens.

1st Summit of the Americas held in city.

1996

Willy Gort becomes mayor of city, succeeded by Joe Carollo; Alex Penelas becomes mayor of Dade County.

City website online (approximate date).

Pottinger v. City of Miami homeless-related lawsuit decided.

Liberty City Charter School established.

1997

November: Mayoral election held.

Dade County renamed Miami-Dade County.

1998

January: Xavier Suarez becomes mayor again.

March: Mayoral election results of 1997 judged invalid; Carollo becomes mayor again.

1999

American Airlines Arena opens.

Ultra Festival begins.

2000

Elián González affair.

Population: 362,470; county 2,253,362.

Town of Miami Lakes incorporated near Miami.

2000s

2001

Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami founded.

Manny Diaz becomes city mayor.

2002 - Art Basel begins in Miami Beach.

2003

Four Seasons Hotel Miami built.

City of Miami Gardens incorporated near Miami.

2004 - Carlos Alvarez becomes mayor of Miami-Dade County.

2006 - Carnival Center opens.

2007

Ferguson U.S. Courthouse built.

Fictional Burn Notice television series begins its seven-year run.

2008 - Marquis Residences and 900 Biscayne Bay built on Biscayne Boulevard.

2009 - Tomás Regalado becomes city mayor.

2010s

2010

Port of Miami Tunnel construction begins.

Population: 399,457; county 2,496,435; metro 5,564,635.

2011

Carlos A. Giménez becomes mayor of Miami-Dade County.

Vice City Rollers (roller derby league) formed.

Frederica Wilson becomes U.S. representative for Florida's 17th congressional district.

2015 - Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016 headquartered in Miami.