Timeline of St. Louis

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of St. Louis, Missouri, United States.

Prior to 19th-century

 * 1764 – St. Louis founded by Pierre Laclède in Louisiana, New Spain.
 * 1767 - It was "a log-cabin village of perhaps 500 inhabitants".
 * 1770 - Spanish in power.
 * 1780 – "Indian attack."
 * 1785 - Floods.
 * 1799 – Population: 925.

1800s–1850s

 * 1800 – St. Louis becomes part of French Louisiana.
 * 1804
 * St. Louis becomes part of U.S. territory per Louisiana Purchase.
 * Post Office established.
 * 1805 – St. Louis becomes capital of the U.S. Louisiana Territory.
 * 1808 – Missouri Gazette newspaper begins publication.
 * 1809
 * Town incorporated.
 * Missouri Fur Company established.
 * First drug store opens.
 * 1811 – December 16: New Madrid earthquake.
 * 1812 – St. Louis County established.
 * 1815 – Theatre opens.
 * 1816 – Bank of St. Louis incorporated.
 * 1818
 * Saint Louis Academy founded.
 * Baptist Church built.
 * 1819 – Erin Benevolent Society founded.
 * 1820
 * June: Missouri constitutional convention held.
 * September: Missouri General Assembly convenes.
 * 1821
 * St. Louis becomes part of the new U.S. state of Missouri.
 * City Directory begins publication.
 * 1822
 * City of St. Louis incorporated.
 * Area of city: 385 acres.
 * 1823 – William Carr Lane becomes mayor.
 * 1825 – Lafayette visits town.
 * 1826 – Catholic Diocese of St. Louis established.
 * 1828 – County Courthouse built.
 * 1830 – Population: 4,977.
 * 1832 - Cholera.
 * 1834
 * Daily Evening Herald newspaper begins publication.
 * Cathedral of St. Louis consecrated.
 * 1835 – Anzeiger des Westens German-language newspaper begins publication.
 * 1836 – Chamber of Commerce established.
 * 1837 – Daniel Webster visits city.
 * 1840
 * City boundaries expanded.
 * Population: 16,469.
 * 1841
 * United Hebrew Congregation founded.
 * Area of city: 4.5 square miles.
 * 1844
 * Anti-immigration unrest.
 * Floods.
 * 1846
 * Dred Scott files lawsuit.
 * Mercantile Library Association established.
 * 1847 – Boatmen's Savings Institution chartered.
 * 1849
 * Concordia Seminary relocates to St. Louis.
 * Cholera epidemic.
 * Fire.
 * Bellefontaine Cemetery established.
 * 1850
 * Third Baptist Church established.
 * Population: 77,860.
 * 1851 – Bates' Theatre opens.
 * 1852
 * Iron Mountain railroad built.
 * Bavarian Brewery in business.
 * Grand Opera House opens under the name Varieties Theatre
 * 1853 – Washington University founded.
 * 1854 – Czech Slavonic Benevolent Society founded.
 * 1856
 * Academy of Science founded.
 * St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Fair begins.
 * 1857
 * For the next quarter century, the city was "the centre of an idealistic philosophical movement".
 * St. Louis Fire Department established.
 * Lindell Hotel in business.
 * Dred Scott decision in March, 1857.
 * Westliche Post (German language newspaper) established. (closed 1938)
 * 1859
 * Horse-drawn streetcars begin operating.
 * Mary Institute founded.
 * Synagogue consecrated on Sixth Street.
 * Missouri Botanical Garden founded.

1860s–1890s

 * 1860 – Population: 160,773.
 * 1861 – Western Sanitary Commission and Ladies Union Aid Society established.
 * 1862 – Hoelke and Benecke photo studio in business.
 * 1865
 * Sokol sport club, and Germania Association established.
 * St. Louis Public Library established.
 * Southern Hotel and Meyer & Brother drug store in business.
 * 1866
 * Cholera epidemic.
 * Missouri Historical Society headquartered in city.
 * Olympic Theatre opens.
 * 1867 – City Board of Health and Compton Hill Reservoir Park established.
 * 1869 – Congregation Shaare Emeth founded.
 * 1870
 * Carondelet becomes part of St. Louis.
 * Area of city: 17.98 square miles.
 * Population: 310,864.
 * 1871
 * 1871 St. Louis tornado.
 * Puck German-language magazine begins publication.
 * 1872
 * Maryville College of the Sacred Heart and University Club founded.
 * Catholic Amerika begins publication.
 * Smallpox outbreak.
 * 1873 – Laclede Gas Light Company in business.
 * 1874 – Eads Bridge opened.
 * 1875
 * Merchants Exchange opens.
 * Brownell and Wight Car Company in business.
 * 1876
 * June: City hosts 1876 Democratic National Convention.
 * Forest Park opens.
 * Busch's Budweiser beer introduced.
 * Area of city: 61.37 square miles.
 * 1877
 * City secedes from St. Louis County.
 * July: 1877 St. Louis general strike.
 * 1878 – St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper begins publication.
 * 1879
 * Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association and J.C. Strauss photo studio in business.
 * St. Louis Children's Hospital opened.
 * St. Louis School of Fine Arts opened.
 * Pope's Theatre opens.
 * 1880
 * St. Stanislaus Kostka Church built.
 * Population: 350,518.
 * 1882 – Mallinckrodt Chemical Works incorporated.
 * 1883 – St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall opens.
 * 1884 – St. Louis Maroons baseball team active.
 * 1886
 * May 1: Labour strike.
 * St. Louis Watchmaking School and Congregation Temple Israel founded.
 * 1888 – City hosts 1888 Democratic National Convention.
 * 1889
 * Missouri Botanical Garden established.
 * Tower Grove Park established.
 * Merchants Bridge opened.
 * 1890
 * Portland and Westmoreland Places begin to develop.
 * Population: 451,770.
 * 1891
 * Rubicam Business School established.
 * Wainwright Building constructed.
 * Washington University School of Medicine opened.
 * American Car Company in business.
 * Air conditioning installed in the Ice Palace beerhall.
 * 1892
 * St. Louis Browns baseball team active.
 * St. Louis Country Club established.
 * Stix Baer & Fuller (shop) in business.
 * National People's Party founded in St. Louis.
 * 1894 – Union Station opens.
 * 1896
 * May: 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado.
 * June: Flood.
 * City hosts 1896 Republican National Convention.
 * Busch's Michelob beer introduced.
 * 1898 – Compton Hill Water Tower erected.

1900s–1970s

 * 1900
 * St. Louis Streetcar Strike of 1900.
 * Monsanto Chemical Works in business.
 * Population: 575,238.
 * 1902 – Sportsman's Park opens.
 * 1903 – Missouri Athletic Club founded.
 * 1904
 * Buckingham Hotel built.
 * Inside Inn an hotel built of wood.
 * April: St. Louis World's Fair opens;
 * Saint Louis Art Museum built.
 * City hosts 1904 Summer Olympics and 1904 Democratic National Convention.
 * Louisiana Purchase Exposition held.
 * 1905
 * May Department Store relocates to St. Louis.
 * Shaare Zedek Synagogue founded.
 * 1906
 * Racquet Club of St. Louis founded.
 * Statue of Louis IX of France unveiled in Forest Park.
 * 1908
 * Aero Club of St. Louis incorporated.
 * Aeronautic Supply Company in business.
 * St. Louis Coliseum re-built.
 * Fairground Park established.
 * 1909 – October: City centennial.
 * 1910 – Population: 687,029.
 * 1911
 * Urban League branch established.
 * Famous-Barr (shop) in business.
 * Benoist Flying School established.
 * 1912
 * Ethical Society building constructed.
 * St. Louis Argus newspaper begins publication.
 * Missouri Peace Society founded.
 * 1913 – Henry Kiel becomes mayor.
 * 1914
 * Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis begins operating.
 * National Association for the Advancement of Colored People branch established.
 * Railway Exchange Building constructed.
 * "Pageant and Masque of Saint Louis" held.
 * St. Louis Zoo incorporated.
 * Barnes Hospital opened.
 * New charter adopted reducong the elective officers to terms of four years.
 * Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis completed.
 * 1915 – Junior League of St. Louis organized.
 * 1917
 * MacArthur Bridge opens.
 * St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (The Muny) opens
 * 1918
 * Poro beauty school opens.
 * 1919
 * League of Women Voters of St. Louis organized.
 * City Hospital No. 2 begins operating.
 * Pine Street YMCA opens.
 * 1920
 * Chase Hotel built.
 * Population: 772,897.
 * 1921
 * WEW radio begins broadcasting.
 * American Association of University Women chapter active.
 * 1925 – St. Louis Theater opens.
 * 1926
 * Southwestern Bell Building constructed.
 * New Masonic Temple built.
 * 1927
 * Racquet Club of St. Louis funds Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis airplane.
 * Tornado.
 * B.F. Mahoney Aircraft Corporation in business.
 * 1928 – St. Louis American newspaper begins publication.
 * 1929
 * Fox Theatre opens.
 * St. Louis Arena opened.
 * 1930 – Lambert-St. Louis Municipal Airport dedicated.
 * 1931 – Rombauer's Joy of Cooking published.
 * 1933
 * Firmin Desloge Hospital opens.
 * Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser Clydesdales established.
 * 1935 – Neighborhood Gardens (housing) opens.
 * 1937 – Floral Conservatory built in Forest Park.
 * 1939
 * 1939 St. Louis smog.
 * Oldani's restaurant in business.
 * 1940 – Population: 816,048.
 * 1942 – George Hudson Orchestra debuts.
 * 1943 – Campbell House Museum opens.
 * 1947 – Congress of Racial Equality chapter organized.
 * 1948 – U.S. Supreme Court decides Shelley v. Kraemer lawsuit.
 * 1949 – Fairground Park riot.
 * 1950 – Population: 856,796.
 * 1951 – Veterans' Memorial Bridge built.
 * 1954
 * KETC television begins broadcasting.
 * Pruitt–Igoe housing built.
 * 1955
 * Peabody Coal Company relocates to St. Louis.
 * Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum architects in business.
 * 1958 – Landmarks Association of St. Louis established.
 * 1959 – St. Louis sit-in during the Civil Rights Movement.
 * 1960
 * Population: 750,026.
 * Sister city relationship established with Stuttgart, Germany.
 * The National Football League's Chicago Cardinals relocate to St. Louis. They will remain through 1987.
 * 1962 – St. Louis Community College established.
 * 1963
 * University of Missouri–St. Louis established.
 * MetroBus begins operating.
 * Planetarium opens.
 * 1964
 * LaClede Town (housing) opens.
 * Imo's Pizza in business in Shaw.
 * Cardinals win the World Series, defeating New York Yankees in seven games
 * 1965
 * Gateway Arch erected.
 * Regional East-West Gateway Council of Governments established.
 * 1966 – Busch Stadium opens.
 * 1967
 * Poplar Street Bridge completed.
 * St. Louis Blues - National Hockey League - NHL Expansion ice hockey team formed.
 * K-SHE 95 (94.7) FM radio station begins broadcasting its current Rock n' Roll format.
 * Cardinals win the World Series, defeating Boston Red Sox in seven games
 * 1969 – Laclede Gas Building constructed.
 * 1970
 * Student antiwar demonstration.
 * Population: 622,236.
 * 1972 - Demolition of Pruitt-Igoe begins and will last four years.
 * 1974
 * St. Louis Port Authority created.
 * Sister city relationship established with Suwa, Japan.
 * 1976 – Sister city relationship established with Lyon, France.
 * 1977
 * St. Louis Convention Center opens.
 * James F. Conway becomes mayor.
 * Sister city relationship established with Galway, Ireland.
 * 1979 – Sister city relationship established with Nanjing, China.

1980s–1990s

 * 1980 - Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis established.
 * 1981 – Gwen B. Giles is the first woman and first African-American appointed to lead the St. Louis City Assessor's Office.
 * 1982 - Cardinals win World Series, defeating Milwaukee Brewers in seven games
 * 1986
 * Express Scripts and Galleria Cinema in business.
 * Southwestern Bell Telephone Building constructed.
 * 1987
 * Sister city relationship established with Bologna, Italy.
 * Lindbergh Plaza cinema in business.
 * Football Cardinals play final season in St. Louis before relocating to Arizona
 * 1989 – One Metropolitan Square (hi-rise) built.
 * 1990
 * Population: 396,685.
 * Sister city relationship established with Georgetown, Guyana.
 * 1991 - Hindu Temple of St. Louis founded.
 * 1992 – Sister city relationships established with Szczecin, Poland and Samara, Russia.
 * 1993 – MetroLink begins operating.
 * 1994
 * Kiel Center arena opens.
 * Sister city relationship established with Saint-Louis, Senegal.
 * 1995
 * St. Louis Rams football team relocates from Los Angeles..
 * Trans World Dome (stadium) opens.
 * 1997
 * City website online (approximate date).
 * Ameren Corporation in business.
 * Clarence Harmon becomes mayor.
 * St. Louis Missouri Temple inaugurated.

21st-century

 * 2000 – Population: 348,189.
 * 2001
 * Pulitzer Arts Foundation museum opens.
 * Francis G. Slay becomes mayor.
 * William Lacy Clay, Jr. becomes U.S. representative for Missouri's 1st congressional district.
 * Veterans for Peace headquartered in St. Louis.
 * 2002 – St. Louis Building Arts Foundation active (approximate date).
 * 2003 – St. Louis Area Regional Response System headquartered in city.
 * 2004 – Sister city relationship established with Bogor, Indonesia.
 * 2006
 * New Busch Stadium built.
 * Cardinals win World Series, defeating Detroit Tigers in five games
 * 2007 – Center for Citizen Leadership headquartered in St. Louis.
 * 2008 – Sister city relationship established with Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 * 2009 – Citygarden opens.
 * 2010 – Population: 319,294; metro 2,812,896.
 * 2011
 * October: Occupy St. Louis begins.
 * Cardinals win World Series, defeating Texas Rangers in seven games
 * 2014
 * August 9: Shooting in nearby Ferguson, unrest ensues.
 * Musial Bridge and Center for Jazz open.
 * 2016
 * Rams leave St. Louis and become the L.A. Rams once again.
 * 2019 - Blues win Stanley Cup for the first time, defeating Boston Bruins in seven games
 * 2022 - CityPark opens