The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
Prior to 19th century
1251 – Market active. 1294 Bradford fair active. Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln granted a weekly market on Thursdays. 1458 – Oldest parts of Bradford Cathedral completed. 1548 – Bradford Grammar School founded. 1642 – Attempted siege of town by Royalists. 1663 – Free Grammar School incorporated. 1760 – Bradford Club (business club) formed (approximate date). 1773 – Piece Hall built. 1774 Bradford Canal completed. Subscription library established. 1784 – Airedale College founded. 1788 – Bowling Iron Works in business. 1791 – Low Moor Ironworks established near town.
19th century
1800–1849 1801 – Population: 13,264. 1816 – 21 April: Charlotte Brontë, novelist and poet, born in Thornton on the outskirts of Bradford. 1817 – 26 June: Branwell Brontë, painter, writer and poet born in Thornton. 1818 – 30 July: Emily Brontë, novelist and poet, born in Thornton. 1820 – 17 January: Anne Brontë, novelist and poet, born in Thornton 1821 Bradford Gaslight Company and Bradford Musical Friendly Society founded. George Ripley & Son dyeworks in business near town, in Bowling. 1822 – April: Labour unrest. 1824 – Market-place opens. 1825 – Labour strike. 1830 Exchange buildings open. Bradford Grammar School rebuilt. 1831 – Population: 23,223. 1832 Bradford becomes a parliamentary borough. Bradford Mechanics' Institute established. 1834 – Bradford Observer newspaper begins publication. 1836 – Sir Titus Salt develops the alpaca manufacture. 1838 Jacob Behrens moves to Bradford, opening a factory in Thornton Road. Lister Mills founded in Manningham. 1839 – Philosophical Society established. 1841 – Population: 34,560. 1844 – Bradford Moor Barracks completedWhite's 1853 Directory & Gazetteer of Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield & Wakefield. 1846 – 1 July: Leeds and Bradford Railway begins operating. 1847 – Bradford municipal borough charter granted, uniting townships of Bowling, Bradford, Horton, Manningham. 1848 Bradford Borough Police established (did not become City Police until 1897). Titus Salt becomes mayor.
1850–1899 1850 – Bradford Exchange railway station opened. 1851 – Bradford Chamber of Commerce founded. 1853 St George's Hall (auditorium) and Peel Park opened. Salts Mill built near town, in Saltaire. 1855 – Bradford Advertiser newspaper begins publication. 1856 Bradford Festival Choral Society established. Henry Brown becomes mayor. 1858 October: 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning. Bradford Review newspaper begins publication. 1859 – Isaac Wright becomes mayor. 1860 – 2nd Yorkshire (West Riding) Artillery Volunteer Corps formed. 1862 – Frederick Delius, CH, composer, born in Bradford. 1863 – Original Bradford Rugby Club founded by Oates Ingham, owner of a Dye works in Thornton Road. 1864 All-Saints' Church consecrated. Textile exporter Charles Semon becomes the first foreign-born and Jewish mayor of Bradford. 1865 Holy Trinity Church built. Springfield Soap Works in business. 1866 – Construction of Ripley Ville "model village" commenced.Walker, R L (2008) When was Ripleyville Built? SEQUALS, 1867 – Wool Exchange building constructed. 1868 – Bradford Daily Telegraph newspaper begins publication. 1871 Bradford Free Library established. Population: 145,830 (municipal borough). 1872 29 January: William Rothenstein, painter, draughtsman and author, born in Bradford. December: St Bartholomew's Church in Ripley Ville consecrated."Service of Consecration". Leeds Times, 14 December 1872. 1873 – Bradford Town Hall and Mechanics' Institute building constructed. 1874 – Friederich Wilhelm Eurich, a professor of forensic medicine and bacteriologist who does much to conquer the disease of anthrax in the wool trade, moves to Bradford. 1875 Lister Park opens. Bradford Naturalists' Society founded. Bradford Grammar School for Girls founded. 1877 – Briggs Priestley becomes mayor. 1878 Bradford Historical and Antiquarian Society founded. Angus Holden becomes mayor. Horton Park opens. 1879 – Art Gallery and Museum established in Darley Street. 1880 Bowling Park opens. Swan Arcade built. 1881 Bradford Reform Synagogue is opened. Population: 183,032 (municipal borough). 1882 Bradford Technical College established. Bradford Photographic Society and Bradford Microscopical Society founded. 1884 – Bradford Moor Park opens. 1885 – Harold Park and Wibsey park open. 1886 – Valley Parade Stadium opens. 1887 – Post-Office established in Forster Square. 1888 – United Yorkshire Independent College formed. 1890 – December: Manningham Mills labour strike begins. 1891 Conditioning House established. April: Labour unrest. Population: 265,728. 1892 – Edward Appleton, physicist and Nobel prizewinner who discovers the ionosphere, born in Bradford 1893 – Independent Labour Party founded. 1894 – 13 September: J. B. Priestley, OM, novelist, playwright and broadcaster born in Bradford. 1895 – Bradford Rugby Club is one of 22 clubs to secede from Rugby Football Union to form Northern Rugby Union (later Rugby Football League) 1896 – Manningham F.C. become the first champions on the newly formed Northern Rugby Football Union. 1897 Bradford attains city status. Bradford Dyers' Association founded. First electric tram service runs on 30 July to Bolton Junction. Bradford power station (an electricity generating station) commissioned.
20th century
1900–1949 1901 – Population: 279,767. 1903 – Bradford City Football Club formed. 1904 Cartwright Hall opened. Bradford Exhibition held. Jowett Motor Manufacturing Company in business. 1906 – Bradford RLFC reach Challenge Cup Final for first time, beating Salford RLFC 5–0 at Headingley Stadium. 1907 15 April: Bradford Rugby Club splits ("The Great Betrayal"): Bradford Park Avenue Association Football Club and Bradford Northern Northern Rugby Football Union (league) are created. 28 October: First organised British school meal service for all pupils, a dinner of scotch barley broth and fruit tart, served to pupils at Green Lane Primary School in Manningham, by headmaster Jonathan Priestley (father of J. B. Priestley). 1908 Bradford City Football Club are promoted to the First Tier of the English Football League as Champions. The Scott Motorcycle Company founded. 1909 Trial of May Wilson (also known as Clement Mitchell), a deserter from the Seaforth Highlanders, who appeared in court dressed as a woman, since she had been living as one since she left the army 1910 Jacob Moser becomes Lord Mayor of Bradford and Chief Magistrate. Picturedrome opens. 1911 26 April: Bradford City Football Club win the FA Cup (in a replay in Manchester). This is the first time a new trophy, made by Fattorini and Sons of Bradford, is awarded. 20 June: Trolleybuses in Bradford officially begin operation. 1914 – Bradford Alhambra theatre and Birch Lane Cinema open. 1915 – Fred Hoyle, astronomer and mathematician, born in Bingley. 1916 1 July: An estimated 1,394 young men from Bradford and District (The Bradford Pals, the 16th and 18th Battalions of the Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment) leave their trenches in Northern France to advance across No Man's Land, in the first hour of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. 21–24 August: Low Moor Explosion: A series of explosions at a munitions factory kills 40 people and injures over 100. 1919 – The Diocese of Bradford is founded and the Church of Saint Peter is elevated to cathedral status. 1923 – Coronet Picture House opens. 1929 Bradford Playhouse Company formed. Bradford City Football Club are promoted to the second tier of English Football as Champions. 1930 – New Victoria Cinema opens. 1931 – Leeds and Bradford Municipal Aerodrome opens. 1933 – Bradford Northern sign a ten-year lease on former quary and household waste site, beginning construction of Odsal Stadium the largest British stadium other than Wembley Stadium. 1937 – 9 July: David Hockney, CH, RA, painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, born in Bradford 1939 Carlton Hostel building bought and funded by both Bradford's Jewish community and non-Jews, as part of the Kindertransport scheme, to house German Jewish refugee children throughout the years of the Second World War. The Challenge Cup semi-final between Halifax RLFC, and Leeds RLFC held at Odsal Stadium. Record-breaking 64,453 people see Halifax win. 1944 – Bradford Northern win Challenge Cup beating Wigan RLFC over two legs (Wigan 0–3 Bradford Northern at Central Park and Bradford Northern 5–0 Wigan at Odsal Stadium). 1945 – Bradford Northern again reach Challenge Cup Final but are beaten over two legs by Huddersfield RLFC (Huddersfield 7–4 Bradford Northern at Fartown Ground and Bradford Northern 5–6 Huddersfield at Odsal Stadium. 1947 – Bradford Northern beat Leeds RLFC 8–4 in Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. 1948 – Bradford Northern reach final of Challenge Cup, but fail to keep hold of the trophy losing to Wigan RLFC 8–3 at Wembley Stadium. 1949 – Bradford Northern reach Challenge Cup Final for the third year running, beating Halifax RLFC 12–0 at Wembley Stadium.
1950–1999 1954 – Odsal Stadium hosts the replay of the Challenge Cup final. A record-breaking crowd of 102,569 (official but estimates put number at over 120,000)) see Warrington RLFC defeat Halifax RLFC 8–4. 1961 – Morrisons open their first supermarket, 'Victoria' in Girlington. 1963 – Bradford Northern goes out of business. 1964 – Bradford Northern reformed and accepted back into Rugby Football League. 1966 – University of Bradford chartered. 1972 – 26 March: Trolleybuses in Bradford cease operation, the last system in the UK. 1973 – Bradford Exchange railway station closed. 1974 – City of Bradford local government district created, combining Bingley, Bradford, Denholme, Haworth, Ilkley, Keighley, Shipley, Silsden. 1982 – Bradford and Ilkley Community College, and Peace Action Group formed. 1983 – National Science and Media Museum opens as The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television. 1985 11 May: Bradford City stadium fire. Mohammed Ajeeb becomes Lord Mayor. Bradford City Football Club are promoted to the second tier of English football (later called the Championship) as Champions. 1987 – Jonathan Silver buys Salts Mill as a commercial, retail and cultural venue and opens the 1853 Gallery here. 1992 – Pictureville Cinema opens. 1993 – Bradford Animation Festival begins. 1994 – Railways to Bradford electrified. 1995 Bradford International Film Festival begins. Bradford Northern changes name to Bradford Bulls with advent of Super League. June: Manningham riot. 1996 Bradford City Football Club make their first ever appearance at Wembley Stadium when winning the 3rd tier (now called the 1st division) playoff final. Bradford Bulls return to Wembley Stadium, losing the Challenge Cup Final again St. Helens RLFC 40–32. Robbie Paul became the first man to score a hat trick at Wembley and then won the Lance Todd Trophy. 1997 – Bradford Bulls win their first Super League title, including a record-breaking 20 straight victories, and are beaten Challenge Cup finalists. 1998 – Infest (festival) begins. 1999 Bradford City Football Club are promoted to the Premier League. Super League record attendance is beaten with 24,020 watching Bradford Bulls beat Leeds Rhinos 19–18 at Odsal Stadium. A further Super League record is broken as 50,717 see St. Helens RLFC defeat Bradford Bulls 8–6 at Old Trafford Stadium. 2000 – Bradford Bulls win Challenge Cup for first time in over 50 years, beating Leeds Rhinos 24–18 at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh (due to rebuilding work at Wembley Stadium).
21st century
2001 Saltaire village becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site.