Timeline of Kansas City, Missouri

The following is a timeline of the history of Kansas City, Missouri, United States.

This is an incomplete list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

19th century

Part of a series on the
History of Missouri
Exploration and colonization
1673–1803
Early statehood period
1804–1860
Civil War and Reconstruction
1861–1874
Industrialization and growth
1875–1919
The Depression and World War II
1920–1945
Moderation and recent events
1946–present
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• 1838 - Settlement named "Town of Kansas".^[1]
• 1846 - Population: 700.^[2]
• 1840 - City Market active.^[1]
• 1850 - "City of Kansas" incorporated.^[1]
• 1857 - Chamber of Commerce established.^[2]
• 1860 - Population: 4,418.^[3]
• 1864 - October 23: Battle of Westport.
• 1869 - Missouri River railroad bridge opens.^[1]
• 1870 - Population: 32,260.^[3]
• 1871 - Kansas City Bar Library Assoc. formed.^[4]
• 1872 - Elmwood Cemetery established.
• 1875 - Fetterman Circulating Library in business.^[4]
• 1880 - Population: 55,785.^[3]
• 1882 - Kansas City Club founded.
  • 1882 First electric lights used in KC; implemented by KCP&L
• 1889
  • "Kansas City" formed by merger of Westport and City of Kansas.^[1]
  • Kansas City Public Library building opens.^[5]
• 1890 - Population: 132,716.^[3]
• 1892 - Court House built.^[3]
• 1893
  • City Hall built.^[3]
  • Kansas City Athletic Club active.
• 1895 - Kansas City School of Law founded.

20th century

• 1900
  • July: 1900 Democratic National Convention held.
  • Federal Building constructed.^[3]
  • Population: 163,752.^[3]
• 1903 - Automobile Club of Kansas City active.
• 1904 - Children's Mercy Hospital active.^[6]
• 1908 - City Hospital built.^[3]
• 1909 Kansas City Zoo opens in Swope Park
• 1910
  • Hall Brothers in business.
  • Population: 248,381.^[3]
• 1913 - Cook Paint and Varnish Company in business.
• 1914
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City opens.
  • Union Station rebuilt.^[7]
• 1915 - Kansas City Polytechnic Institute established.^[8]
• 1917 - Rockhurst College opens.^[1]
• 1919 - Truman and Jacobson's haberdashery in business.^[9]
• 1920 - Population: 324,410.^[1]
• 1922 - WPE radio begins broadcasting.
• 1923 Fairyland Amusement Park opens at 7501 Prospect
• 1926 - Ararat Shrine Temple and Bagdad Theatre^[10] open.
  • 1926 Liberty Memorial dedicated to World War I veterans, opens
• 1927 Downtown Airport opens, dedicated by Charles Lindbergh
• 1928 - June: 1928 Republican National Convention.
• 1931 - Kansas City Power and Light Building constructed.
• 1933 - June 17: Kansas City massacre.
• 1936 - Holy Land Christian Mission founded.^[6]
• 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).^[10]
  • Richard Walker Bolling becomes U.S. representative for Missouri's 5th congressional district.^[11]
• 1945 K.C native Harry S Truman sworn in as President of the United States
• 1951 - July: Great Flood of 1951.^[12]
• 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.
  • 1957 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.^[13]
• 1968 - April: 1968 Kansas City, Missouri riot.
• 1969 - Kansas City Royals baseball team formed.,^[14]
  • 1969 Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl
• 1970 - Population: 507,330.^[1]
• 1971
  • Crown Center opens.
  • Charles Wheeler becomes mayor.
• 1972 - Sister city relationship established with Kurashiki, Japan.^[13]
  • 1972 Arrowhead Stadium opens
• 1973 - Sister city relationship established with Morelia, Mexico.^[13]
  • 1973 Worlds of Fun opens
    • 1973 Kauffman Stadium opens as Royals Stadium
• 1974
  • Kemper Arena opens.
  • Sister city relationship established with Freetown, Sierra Leone.^[13]
• 1976 - World Science Fiction Convention held.
• 1977 Fairyland Amusement Park closes after extensive damage by windstorm
• 1978 - Sister city relationship established with Tainan, Taiwan.^[13]
• 1979 - Richard L. Berkley becomes mayor.
• 1980 - Hyatt Regency hotel opens.
• 1981 - July 17: Hyatt Regency walkway collapse.
• 1982 - Kansas City Symphony active.
  • 1982 - 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.^[12]
  • One Kansas City Place built.
    • 1988 Serial killer Bob Berdella apprehended, pled guilty to first degree murder, given life in prison sentence
• 1989 - Sister city relationship established with Xi'an, China.^[13]
• 1991
  • Kansas City Stockyards close.
  • Emanuel Cleaver becomes mayor.
    • Firefighters' Memorial Fountain dedicated, at 31st & Broadway
  • Sister city relationship established with Guadalajara, Mexico.^[13]
• 1993 - Sister city relationships established with Hannover, Germany and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.^[13]
  • 1993 Great Flood of 1993
• 1994 - Bartle Hall Convention Center opens.
• 1995 - Sister city relationship established with Arusha, Tanzania.^[13]
• 1997 - Sister city relationship established with San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico.^[13]
• 1998 - Sister city relationship established with Ramla, Israel.^[13]
• 1999 - Kay Barnes becomes mayor.

21st century

• 2000 - Population: 441,545.^[15]
• 2004 - Sister city relationship established with Metz, France.^[13]
• 2005
  • Penn Valley skatepark opens.
  • Emanuel Cleaver becomes U.S. representative for Missouri's 5th congressional district.^[16]
• 2007
  • Sprint Center (arena) opens.
  • Irish Museum and Cultural Center active.
  • Mark Funkhouser becomes mayor.
• 2010 - Population: 459,787.^[17]
  • 2010 Paseo Bridge closed, demolished
    • 2010 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.^[18]
• 2012
  • Google Fiber service begins.^[19][20]
  • Kansas City Startup Village established.^[21]
  • CityCampKC and IgniteKC begin.
• 2014 Liberty Memorial designated National World War I Monument

See also

• List of mayors of Kansas City, Missouri
• History of the Kansas City metropolitan area
• Timeline of St. Louis

References

Further reading

Published in the 19th century

• Business directory, 1866
• Theo. S. Case, ed. (1888). History of Kansas City, Missouri. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason. 

Published in the 20th century

• William Griffith (1900), History of Kansas City, Kansas City, Mo: Hudson-Kimberly Pub. Co., OCLC 181275439 
• "Kansas City, Mo.". Kansas State Gazeteer and Business Directory, including a complete business directory of Kansas City, Mo. R.L. Polk & Co. 1908. 
• "Kansas City, Heartland U.S.A.", National Geographic Magazine (Washington DC) 150, 1976 
• Rick Montgomery; Shirl Kasper (1999). Kansas City: An American Story. Kansas City Star Books. ISBN 978-0-9604884-0-7. 

Published in the 21st century

• Paul S. Boyer, ed. (2001). "Kansas City". Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. p. 417. ISBN 978-0-19-508209-8. 
• David J. Wishart, ed. (2004). "Cities and Towns: Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri". Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-4787-7. 
• American Cities Project (2013). "Kansas City (MO)". America's Big Cities in Volatile Times: City Profiles. Washington, DC: Pew Charitable Trusts. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kansas City, Missouri.

• Kansas City Public Library. "Local History and Genealogy Research Guides". 
• Digital Public Library of America. Items related to Kansas City, Mo., various dates

Coordinates: 39°05′59″N 94°34′42″W / 39.099722°N 94.578333°W / 39.099722; -94.578333