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

• 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.
• 1774 – Mission is moved from Presidio Hill to current site 6 miles away, near San Diego River
• 1795 – Public school opens.

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.
• 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.
• 1852
  • City goes bankrupt; city charter repealed by legislature; city placed under control of a board of trustees
  • U.S. Army sets aside southern part of Point Loma for military uses, later developed into Fort Rosecrans
• 1855 – Point Loma Lighthouse built.
• 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.
• 1870
  • Chamber of Commerce established.
  • 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.
• 1880 – Population: 2,637; county 8,018.
• 1881 – The Sun newspaper begins publication.
• 1882 –
  • San Diego Free Public Library established.
  • Russ High School (now San Diego High School) opens; first high school in the city.
  • YMCA established.
• 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.
• 1885 – Santa Fe railway begins operating.
• 1886 – Horse-drawn streetcar line established downtown.
• 1887
  • Ocean Beach founded.
  • San Diego Daily Bee newspaper begins publication.
  • National City & Otay Rail Road begins operating.
  • Electric streetcar line established between Downtown and Old Town.
• 1888 – Sweetwater Dam completed.
• 1889
  • City rechartered; mayor-council form of government adopted.
  • Beth Israel synagogue built.
• 1892 – San Diego Electric Railway begins operating.
• 1895 – Evening Tribune newspaper begins publication.
• 1897 – San Diego State Normal School (now San Diego State University) established.
• 1898 – Lomaland established by the Theosophical Society in Point Loma.

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.
• 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.
• 1908 – Great White Fleet visits San Diego.
• 1909
  • Scripps Building constructed.
  • Construction begins on Broadway Fountain in Horton Plaza.
  • William Smythe founds San Ysidro, later (1957) annexed to San Diego.
• 1910
  • "City Park" renamed Balboa Park.
  • U.S. Grant Hotel built.
  • San Diego Civic Orchestra active.
  • Aero Club established.
  • Population: 39,578; county 61,665.
  • Broadway Fountain completed and dedicated October 15, 1910.
• 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.
• 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.
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People branch established.
  • Holy Cross Cemetery dedicated.
• 1920 – Population: 74,683; 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.
  • Rancho Santa Fe settled near San Diego.
• 1923 – Naval Training Center San Diego established.
• 1924 – The first United States aircraft carrier USS Langley began operating out of North Island.
• 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.
• 1929 – Fox Theatre dedicated.
• 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.
• 1936
  • San Diego Padres established as a minor league team within the Pacific Coast League.
  • Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego established.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 1946 – Submarine Group San Diego established, now part of Naval Base Point Loma.

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.
• 1953 – Urban League established.
• 1955
  • General Atomics in business.
  • Journal of San Diego History begins publication.
• 1957
  • Fort Rosecrans transferred to U.S. Navy.
  • Sister city relationship established with Yokohama, Japan.
• 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.
• 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).
• 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 and Union Bank of California Building constructed.
  • TOPGUN United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program was established at Miramar Naval Sir Station.
  • Sister city relationships established with Cavite City, Philippines; and León, Mexico.
• 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.
• 1976 - Sister city relationship established with Tema, Ghana.
• 1977 - Sister city relationship established with Edinburgh, UK.
• 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.
• 1983 - Sister city relationship established with Taichung City, Taiwan.
• 1985
  • Westfield Horton Plaza in business.
  • Sister city relationship established with Yantai, China.
• 1986 - Sister city relationship established with Perth, Australia.
• 1989
  • San Diego Convention Center opens.
  • Symphony Towers built.
• 1990 - Population: 1,110,549.
• 1991
  • One America Plaza built.
  • Sister city relationship established with Vladivostok, USSR.
• 1992 – inSITE art exhibition begins.
• 1993 - Sister city relationship established with Tijuana, Mexico.
• 1994 - City website online.
• 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.
• 1996
  • August: 1996 Republican National Convention held.
  • Sister city relationship established with Warsaw, Poland.
• 1997 – U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command ("SPAWAR") headquarters relocated to San Diego.

21st century

• 2000 - Population: 1,223,400.
• 2001 – San Diego River Park Foundation established.
• 2004
  • Petco Park (ballpark) opens.
  • Sister city relationship established with Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
• 2005
  • Voice of San Diego begins publication.
  • San Diego Derby Dolls (rollerderby league) formed.
• 2007 – Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego sex abuse trial held.
• 2008 – Electra highrise built.
• 2009 – Watchdog Institute established at San Diego State University.
• 2010 – Population: 1,307,402; metro 3,095,313.
• 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.
• 2015 - Carlsbad desalination plant opens December 14.

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

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

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• • 1899

Published in the 20th century

• • 1909, 1916, 1923, 1925

Published in the 21st century

External links

• Digital Public Library of America. Items related to San Diego, various dates
• San Diego History Center