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.[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  • City goes bankrupt; city charter repealed by legislature; city placed under control of a board of trustees[4]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 International Sports Center opens, later known as San Diego Sports Arena, iPay One Center, and Valley View Casino Center, now Pechanga Arena.
  • San Diego County Comprehensive Planning Organization established, now San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).[30]
• 1967
  • San Diego Stadium opens, later known as Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium, now SDCCU 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.
• 2000 - Population: 1,223,400.[37]

21st century

• 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]
• Timelines of other cities in the Southern California area of California: Anaheim, Bakersfield, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Ana

References

1. Paulson 1875.
2. Federal Writers' Project 1937.
3. Britannica 1910.
4. "A History of San Diego Government". Office of the City Clerk. City of San Diego. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
5. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
6. California Digital Library. "Browse the Collections". Online Archive of California. University of California. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
7. American Library Annual, 1917-1918. New York: R.R. Bowker Co. 1918.
8. Harwood, Craig; Fogel, Gary (2012). Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806142647.
9. "City Charter". Office of the City Clerk. City of San Diego. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
10. Patterson's American Educational Directory. 13. Chicago. 1916. hdl:2027/nyp.33433075985949.
11. Benson John Lossing, ed. (1905), Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History, 9, New York: Harper & Brothers
12. "Chronology: The Navy in San Diego". U-T San Diego: 2. 4 July 2014.
13. "Chronology: The Navy in San Diego". U-T San Diego: 3. 4 July 2014.
14. Amero, Richard W. "Horton Plaza Park: Where People Meet and Opposites Collide". Balboa Park History. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
15. "History" (PDF). San Ysidro Community Plan. City of San Diego. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
16. Roger W. Lotchin (2002), Fortress California, 1910–1961, University of Illinois Press, ISBN 9780252071034
17. Broussard 2006.
18. "Chronology: The Navy in San Diego". U-T San Diego: 7. 4 July 2014.
19. "Chronology: The Navy in San Diego". U-T San Diego: 8. 4 July 2014.
20. "Our History". San Diego History Center. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
21. "Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA". Norway: Oslo katolske bispedømme (Oslo Catholic Diocese). Retrieved May 30, 2015.
22. Linder, Bruce (2001). San Diego's Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 122. ISBN 1-55750-531-4.
23. Linder, Bruce (2001). San Diego's Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 120. ISBN 1-55750-531-4.
24. "Chronology: The Navy in San Diego". U-T San Diego: 14. 4 July 2014.
25. "Chronology: The Navy in San Diego". U-T San Diego: 15. 4 July 2014.
26. "About The Journal of San Diego History". San Diego History Center. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
27. Office of Historical Preservation. "San Diego County". California Historical Resources. California State Parks. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
28. "Sister Cities". City of San Diego. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
29. "Chronology: The Navy in San Diego". U-T San Diego: 17. 4 July 2014.
30. "About SANDAG: History". San Diego Association of Governments. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
31. "Chronology: The Navy in San Diego". U-T San Diego: 18. 4 July 2014.
32. Jordan Ervin (2008–2009). "San Diego's Urban Trophy: Horton Plaza Redevelopment Project". Southern California Quarterly. 90 (4): 419–453. doi:10.2307/41172445. JSTOR 41172445.
33. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, US Census Bureau, 1998
34. "Side by Side". Los Angeles Times. October 21, 2000. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
35. "City of San Diego Homepage". Archived from the original on November 1998 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
36. "Official Website of the city of San Diego". Archived from the original on March 2001.
37. U.S. Census Bureau, "Mini-Historical Statistics: Population of the Largest 75 Cities: 1900 to 2000" (PDF), Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003
38. "California". CJR's Guide to Online News Startups. New York: Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
39. Allison Hoffman (September 8, 2007). "Diocese settles abuse claims for $198M". USA Today.
40. "Watchdog Institute Changes Name, Watchdog Mission Remains Strong". Investigative News Network. September 26, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
41. "Largest Urbanized Areas With Selected Cities and Metro Areas (2010)". US Census Bureau. 2012.
42. "The 15 Cities with the Largest Numeric Increase from July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2013" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 2014. Vintage 2013 Population Estimates
43. "Carlsbad Desalination Plant Opens". NBC 7 San Diego. December 14, 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
44. Federal Writers' Project (1939), "Chronology", California: Guide to the Golden State, American Guide Series, New York: Hastings House – via Open Library

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• "General Description of San Diego County", Hand-book and Directory of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern, San Bernardino, Los Angeles & San Diego Counties, San Francisco: L.L. Paulson, 1875
• "San Diego City", Place's Southern California Guide Book, Los Angeles: G.E. Place & Co., 1886
• Maxwell's Directory of San Diego City and County, Geo. W. Maxwell, 1887
• San Diego City and County Directory, Olmstead Company, 1895
  • 1899

Published in the 20th century

• San Diego City and County Directory, San Diego Directory Co., 1901
  • 1909, 1916, 1923, 1925
• "Sán Diego", Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.), New York, 1910, OCLC 14782424 – via Internet Archive
• Clarence Alan McGrew (1922), City of San Diego and San Diego County, Chicago: American Historical Society, OL 13492998M
• Federal Writers' Project (1937), "Chronology", San Diego: A California City, American Guide Series, San Diego Historical Society, hdl:2027/mdp.39015066092878
• Robert Mayer (1978), Howard B. Furer (ed.), San Diego: a chronological & documentary history, 1535–1976, American Cities Chronology Series, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana Publications, ISBN 0379006138
• Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "San Diego, CA", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, OL 4120668M
• Robert W. Duemling (1981), San Diego and Tijuana: conflict and cooperation between two border communities; a case study, Executive Seminar in National and International Affairs, Rosslyn, Va.: U.S. Department of State, Foreign Service Institute
• Gregg R. Hennessey (1993). "San Diego, the U.S. Navy, and Urban Development: West Coast City Building, 1912–1929". California History. 72 (2): 128–149. doi:10.2307/25177342. JSTOR 25177342.
• Abraham Shragge (1994). "'A New Federal City': San Diego during World War II". Pacific Historical Review. 63 (3): 333–361. doi:10.2307/3640970. JSTOR 3640970.
• "San Diego", California, Let's Go, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998, OL 10387102M

Published in the 21st century

• Glen Sparrow (2001). "San Diego-Tijuana: Not quite a binational city or region". GeoJournal. 54 (1): 73–83. doi:10.1023/A:1021144816403. JSTOR 41147639.
• Laura A. Schiesl (2001). "Problems in Paradise: Citizen Activism and Rapid Growth in San Diego, 1970–1990". Southern California Quarterly. 83 (2): 181–220. doi:10.2307/41172070. JSTOR 41172070.
• Albert S. Broussard (2006). "Percy H. Steele, Jr., and the Urban League: Race Relations and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Post-World War II San Diego". California History. 83 (4): 7–23. doi:10.2307/25161838. JSTOR 25161838.

External links

• 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