Timeline of San Diego

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of San Diego, California, United States.

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

Before the 19th century

Part of a series on the
History of California
Periods
Before 1900 Gold Rush (1848–55) U.S. Civil War (1861–65) Since 1900
Topics
Maritime Railroad Highways Slavery
Cities
Chico Los Angeles Pasadena Piedmont Riverside Sacramento San Bernardino San Diego San Fernando Valley San Francisco San Jose Santa Barbara Santa Monica Visalia
California portal

• 1542 – First European contact with the area, as Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo enters San Diego Bay.
• 1602 – Second European contact, as Sebastián Vizcaíno maps and names San Diego Bay.
• 1769 – Presidio of San Diego and Mission San Diego de Alcalá established; first settlements of Alta California in New Spain.^[1]
• 1774 – Mission is moved from Presidio Hill to current site 6 miles away, near San Diego River
• 1795 – Public school opens.^[2]

19th century

• 1821 – Mexico gains its independence from Spain; San Diego becomes part of the Mexican province of Alta California.
• 1834
  • Mission secularized; Mission lands sold or given to wealthy Californios
  • San Diego becomes a pueblo.
  • Richard Henry Dana, Jr. visits San Diego as a sailor, later writing about his experiences in the best-selling book Two Years Before the Mast.
• 1835 – Juan María Osuna becomes alcalde.
• 1838 – San Diego loses pueblo status because of declining population
• 1840 – Population: 140.^[3]
• 1846-47 Mexican-American War
  • Battle of San Pasqual on December 6–7, 1846
  • Treaty of Cahuenga ceasefire signed January 13, 1847
• 1848 – Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (proclaimed July 4, 1848) transfers San Diego and all of Alta California to the United States of America
• 1850
  • California is admitted to the United States; San Diego becomes seat of San Diego County; San Diego is granted a city charter by the California legislature
  • William Heath Davis proposes "New San Diego" by the bay front, builds a pier and lays out streets, but proposed development is unsuccessful
• 1851 – Herald newspaper begins publication.^[2]
• 1852
  • City goes bankrupt; city charter repealed by legislature; city placed under control of a board of trustees^[4]
  • U.S. Army sets aside southern part of Point Loma for military uses, later developed into Fort Rosecrans
• 1855 – Point Loma Lighthouse built.^[2]
• 1858 – October: Hurricane.
• 1866 – Louis Rose lays out town of Roseville, later incorporated into San Diego
• 1867 – Alonzo Horton promotes move to "New Town", site of current Downtown.
• 1868
  • City reserves 1,400 acres (570 ha) of land as City Park, now Balboa Park
  • San Diego Union newspaper begins publication.^[5]
• 1870
  • Chamber of Commerce established.^[6]
  • Horton House hotel in business.
• 1871 – City and County records are moved from Old Town to New Town, establishing New Town as the city's hub
• 1872 – San Diego incorporated.^[3]
• 1880 – Population: 2,637;^[3] county 8,018.
• 1881 – The Sun newspaper begins publication.^[5]
• 1882 –
  • San Diego Free Public Library established.^[7]
  • Russ High School (now San Diego High School) opens; first high school in the city.
  • YMCA established.^[2]
• 1883-1886 - John J. Montgomery makes successful flights with manned gliders at Otay Mesa, the first controlled flights in a heavier-than-air flying machine in America.^[8]
• 1885 – Santa Fe railway begins operating.^[2]
• 1886 – Horse-drawn streetcar line established downtown.^[2]
• 1887
  • Ocean Beach founded.
  • San Diego Daily Bee newspaper begins publication.^[5]
  • National City & Otay Rail Road begins operating.^[2]
  • Electric streetcar line established between Downtown and Old Town.
• 1888 – Sweetwater Dam completed.
• 1889
  • City rechartered; mayor-council form of government adopted.^[9]
  • Beth Israel synagogue built.
• 1892 – San Diego Electric Railway begins operating.
• 1895 – Evening Tribune newspaper begins publication.^[5]
• 1897 – San Diego State Normal School (now San Diego State University) established.^[10]
• 1898 – Lomaland established by the Theosophical Society in Point Loma.^[11]

20th century

1900s–1940s

• 1901 – Raja Yoga Academy established at Lomaland.
• 1903 – Marine Biological Association of San Diego founded; now Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
• 1904 – Navy Coaling Station established on Point Loma; first navy establishment in the city.^[12]
• 1905 – USS Bennington (PG-4) explodes in the harbor due to a faulty boiler, killing 66 and injuring 46; burial and memorial at what later becomes Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
• 1906 – Navy wireless radio station established on Point Loma.^[12]
• 1908 – Great White Fleet visits San Diego.^[13]
• 1909
  • Scripps Building constructed.
  • Construction begins on Broadway Fountain in Horton Plaza.^[14]
  • William Smythe founds San Ysidro, later (1957) annexed to San Diego.^[15]
• 1910
  • "City Park" renamed Balboa Park.
  • U.S. Grant Hotel built.
  • San Diego Civic Orchestra active.
  • Aero Club established.^[16]
  • Population: 39,578;^[3] county 61,665.
  • Broadway Fountain completed and dedicated October 15, 1910.^[14]
• 1912 – February: San Diego free speech fight begins.
• 1913 – Cabrillo National Monument established.
• 1915
  • Santa Fe Depot opens.
  • March 9: Panama–California Exposition opens.
  • May: San Diego stadium opens; now Balboa Stadium.^[2]
• 1916 – January–February: the "Hatfield flood", a major flood blamed by San Diegans on Charles Hatfield, a rainmaker they had hired.
• 1917
  • Army Camp Kearny established at the site of what would later become Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
  • Marine Corps Camp Matthews marksmanship range established at the site of what would later become the University of California, San Diego
• 1919
  • San Diego and Arizona Railway completed.^[2]
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People branch established.^[17]
  • Holy Cross Cemetery dedicated.
• 1920 – Population: 74,683;^[2] county 112,248.
• 1921
  • U.S. Marine Corps training base commissioned.
  • San Diego Zoo established.
• 1922
  • U.S. Navy Destroyer Base, San Diego established; now Naval Base San Diego.^[18]
  • Rancho Santa Fe settled near San Diego.^[2]
• 1923 – Naval Training Center San Diego established.
• 1924 – The first United States aircraft carrier USS Langley began operating out of North Island.^[19]
• 1925
  • Mission Beach Amusement Center (amusement park) opens.
  • U.S. Naval hospital built.
• 1926
  • Star of India is towed into San Diego harbor; later renovated and opened as a museum ship
  • Fine Arts Gallery opens; now the San Diego Museum of Art.
• 1927
  • Charles Lindbergh's plane The Spirit of St. Louis is designed and built in San Diego by the Ryan Airline Company.
  • Prudden-San Diego Airplane Company in business; later Solar Aircraft Company, now Solar Turbines.
  • El Cortez Hotel built.
• 1928
  • San Diego Municipal Airport dedicated as Lindbergh Field.
  • San Diego Historical Society founded; now the San Diego History Center.^[20]
• 1929 – Fox Theatre dedicated.^[2]
• 1930 – Population: 147,995; county 209,659.
• 1931 – San Diego State College dedicated; formerly San Diego State Normal School, now San Diego State University.
• 1933 – Aztec Brewing Company relocates to city.
• 1934 – Ryan Aeronautical Company in business.
• 1935
  • May 29: California Pacific International Exposition opens.
  • Old Globe Theatre established.
  • Consolidated Aircraft Company relocates to city.^[19]
• 1936
  • San Diego Padres established as a minor league team within the Pacific Coast League.
  • Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego established.^[21]
• 1937 – U.S. Coast Guard Air Station San Diego commissioned.
• 1938 – San Diego Civic Center dedicated; now the San Diego County Administration Center.
• 1940
  • Marine base Camp Elliott established adjacent to Camp Kearny.
  • Population: 203,341; county 289,348.
• 1941 – Consolidated Aircraft becomes San Diego's largest employer with 25,000 employees.^[22]
• 1942
  • U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton established near city.
  • Japanese submarine I-17 lands secretly at Point Loma before heading north to attack Santa Barbara.^[23]
• 1943
  • Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft merge to become Convair.
  • Camp Kearny recommissioned as Naval Auxiliary Air Station Camp Kearny and Marine Corps Air Depot Miramar.
• 1945 – Navy Electronics Laboratory established, now part of Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific.^[24]
• 1946 – Submarine Group San Diego established, now part of Naval Base Point Loma.^[24]

1950s–1990s

• 1950 – Population: 333,865; county 556,808.
• 1952
  • San Diego College for Women opens; now the University of San Diego.
  • Miramar Naval Air Station established.^[25]
• 1953 – Urban League established.^[17]
• 1955
  • General Atomics in business.
  • Journal of San Diego History begins publication.^[26]
• 1957
  • Fort Rosecrans transferred to U.S. Navy.^[27]
  • Sister city relationship established with Yokohama, Japan.^[28]
• 1960
  • University of California, San Diego and Salk Institute for Biological Studies established.
  • Population: 573,224; county 1,033,011.
• 1961
  • San Diego Chargers move to San Diego after one season in Los Angeles.
  • San Diego harbor depth was increased to 42 feet (13 m) to allow stationing supercarriers in San Diego. USS Kitty Hawk was the first supercarrier based in San Diego.^[29]
• 1963
  • Navy Submarine Support Facility established, now part of Naval Base Point Loma.
  • San Diego Aerospace Museum established.
  • Executive Complex built.
• 1964
  • San Diego Community Concourse and City Hall open.
  • SeaWorld San Diego opens.
• 1965 – Timken Museum of Art established.
• 1966 – San Diego County Comprehensive Planning Organization established, now San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).^[30]
• 1967
  • San Diego Stadium opens, later Jack Murphy Stadium, now Qualcomm Stadium.
  • Historical Resources Board established.
• 1969
  • San Diego Padres established as a major league team.
  • San Diego–Coronado Bridge^[31] and Union Bank of California Building constructed.
  • TOPGUN United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program was established at Miramar Naval Sir Station.^[31]
  • Sister city relationships established with Cavite City, Philippines; and León, Mexico.^[28]
• 1970
  • Golden State Comic Book Convention begins, now San Diego Comic-Con International.
  • Chicano Park established in Barrio Logan.
• 1972 – The 1972 Republican National Convention, scheduled to take place in San Diego, was moved to Miami on three months' notice; Mayor Pete Wilson proclaimed "America's Finest City Week" during what would have been convention week.
• 1975 – Centre City Development Corporation formed.^[32]
• 1976 - Sister city relationship established with Tema, Ghana.^[28]
• 1977 - Sister city relationship established with Edinburgh, UK.^[28]
• 1978 – September 25 – PSA Flight 182 crashes on approach to San Diego Airport, killing all 137 people on board and 7 people on the ground; at the time the deadliest plane crash in the U.S.
• 1980 – Population: 875,538; county 1,861,846.
• 1981 – San Diego Trolley begins operating.
• 1982 - Sister city relationships established with Alcalá de Henares, Spain; and Jeonju, South Korea.^[28]
• 1983 - Sister city relationship established with Taichung City, Taiwan.^[28]
• 1985
  • Westfield Horton Plaza in business.
  • Sister city relationship established with Yantai, China.^[28]
• 1986 - Sister city relationship established with Perth, Australia.^[28]
• 1989
  • San Diego Convention Center opens.
  • Symphony Towers built.
• 1990 - Population: 1,110,549.^[33]
• 1991
  • One America Plaza built.
  • Sister city relationship established with Vladivostok, USSR.^[28]
• 1992 – inSITE art exhibition begins.^[34]
• 1993 - Sister city relationship established with Tijuana, Mexico.^[28]
• 1994 - City website online.^[35][36]
• 1995
  • May 17 – Shawn Nelson steals an M60A3 Patton tank and goes on a rampage with it before being shot and killed by police.
  • Sister city relationship established with Campinas, Brazil.^[28]
• 1996
  • August: 1996 Republican National Convention held.
  • Sister city relationship established with Warsaw, Poland.^[28]
• 1997 – U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command ("SPAWAR") headquarters relocated to San Diego.

21st century

• 2000 - Population: 1,223,400.^[37]
• 2001 – San Diego River Park Foundation established.
• 2004
  • Petco Park (ballpark) opens.
  • Sister city relationship established with Jalalabad, Afghanistan.^[28]
• 2005
  • Voice of San Diego begins publication.^[38]
  • San Diego Derby Dolls (rollerderby league) formed.
• 2007 – Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego sex abuse trial held.^[39]
• 2008 – Electra highrise built.
• 2009 – Watchdog Institute established at San Diego State University.^[38][40]
• 2010 – Population: 1,307,402; metro 3,095,313.^[41]
• 2011
  • March 18 – Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge opens.
  • September 8 – 2011 Southwest blackout occurs. 1.4 million customers in San Diego County are left without power.
• 2013 - Population: 1,355,896.^[42]
• 2015 - Carlsbad desalination plant opens December 14.^[43]

See also

• History of San Diego
• List of pre-statehood mayors of San Diego
• List of mayors of San Diego (since 1850)
• List of San Diego Historic Landmarks
• Timeline of Tijuana history
• Timeline of California^[44]

Other cities in California

• Timeline of Anaheim, California
• Timeline of Bakersfield, California
• Timeline of Fresno, California
• Timeline of Long Beach, California
• Timeline of Los Angeles
• Timeline of Mountain View, California
• Timeline of Oakland, California
• Timeline of Riverside, California
• Timeline of Sacramento, California
• Timeline of San Bernardino, California
• Timeline of San Francisco
• Timeline of San Jose, California
• Timeline of Santa Ana, California

References

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Diego, California.

• San Diego Public Library. "San Diego Information Sources: History". Resource Guides. 
• Library. "San Diego". Research Guides. San Diego State University. 
• Library, Special Collections & University Archives. "Browse by Subject: San Diego". San Diego State University. 
• Digital Public Library of America. Items related to San Diego, various dates
• San Diego History Center

Coordinates: 32°42′54″N 117°09′45″W / 32.715°N 117.1625°W / 32.715; -117.1625

City of San Diego History Geography Beaches Parks Climate Neighborhoods Demographics Economy Companies Education Schools Politics Culture Museums Transportation Military People Sports San Diego County & metropolitan area San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area California United States

San Diego–Tijuana History Geography Geology Populace Economy Transportation Education Communication Border Other Infrastructure Culture Counties and Municipalities Rosarito Beach San Diego Tecate Tijuana Major cities San Diego Tijuana Cities 100k - 250k Carlsbad Chula Vista Escondido Oceanside Cities and towns 20k - 99k Coronado El Cajon El Refugio Encinitas Fallbrook Imperial Beach La Joya La Mesa La Presa Lemon Grove National City Pórticos de San Antonio Poway Rancho San Diego Rosarito Beach San Marcos Santee Spring Valley Tecate Terrazas del Valle Vista Cities and towns 10k-19k Alpine Bonita Bostonia Casa de Oro-Mount Helix Las Delicias Ramona Rancho San Diego San Diego Country Esates Solana Beach Villa del Campo Villa del Prado Winter Gardens Bodies of water Agua Hedionda Lagoon Batiquitos Lagoon El Capitan Lake Abelardo L. Rodriguez Lake Hodges Lake Sutherland Lower Otay Reservoir Loveland Reservoir Mission Bay Pacific Ocean San Elijo Lagoon San Diego Bay San Vicente Reservoir Sweetwater Reservoir Tijuana River Estuary Sub-regions Anza Borrego Coronado Peninsula Cuyamaca East County Mountain Empire North County Palm Valley Rosarito San Diego South Bay Tecate Tijuana Category Images Portal

Years in California (1850–present) 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029