The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US.
18th century 1742 John Fraser is given what will become Braddock's Field. 1754 February: Construction on Fort Prince George is started April 18: Fort Prince George is surrendered. April: Fort Duquesne established by French. 1755 July 9: French and Indian forces defeat the British Army. 1758 September 14: The Battle of Fort Duquesne takes place November 25: British take Fort Duquesne, rename it Pittsburgh (variously spelled). December 19: Construction on Mercer's Fort begun 1760 Population: 464. 1761 April 14: Census counts 332 people"A List of Houses and Inhabitants at Fort Pitt, 14 April, 1761." in Bouquet, H., Kent, D. H., Stevens, S. Kirby., British Library., Pennsylvania Historical Commission., Frontier Forts and Trails Survey. (1940). The papers of Col: Henry Bouquet, vol. 7. Harrisburg: Department of public instruction, Pennsylvania historical commission, pp 103-108Chapman, Thomas Jefferson, Old Pittsburgh Days. J. R. Weldin & Company, 1900.Bausman, Joseph Henderson. History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania: And Its Centennial Celebration. Knickerbocker Press, 1904. 1763 June 22: Siege of Fort Pitt begins August 20: Siege of Fort Pitt ends 1764 The Fort Pitt Blockhouse is completed. 1768 November 5: Fort Pitt is annexed into Pennsylvania with the signing of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. 1786 Gazette newspaper begins publication. 1787 Pittsburgh Academy established. 1788 Allegheny County is created from parts of Westmoreland and Washington counties. Allegheny County Sheriff's Office is established. Town of Allegheny is laid out north of Pittsburgh. September 17: Treaty of Fort Pitt is signed. Mechanical Society organized. 1792 Fort Pitt is abandoned by the U.S. Army. Fort Lafayette is established. 1793 September 12: The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire is established. 1794 Pittsburgh is incorporated as a borough. The Pittsburgh Night Watchmen, the predecessor to the Pittsburgh Police Department is established. August 1: Rebellious militiamen and farmers march on the city during the Whiskey Rebellion 1797 August 3: Fort Pitt is officially decommissioned by the army and is subsequently demolished. 1798 Gilkison Bookstore and Circulating Library in business. 1800 Population: 1,565.
19th century 1800s-1840s
1803 Fort Lafayette serves as a staging base for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. McClurg iron foundry in business. 1810 Eagle Fire Company formed. Population: 4,768. 1811 Pittsburgh Engine Company in business. 1812 Fort Lafayette serves as a supply base for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. 1813 Pittsburgh Humane Society and Chemical and Physiological Society established. 1814 Fort Lafayette is abandoned. Pittsburgh Permanent Library Company established. 1816 March 18: Pittsburgh borough is incorporated as a city. Ebenezer Denny becomes mayor. 1820 Population: 7,248. 1825 Pittsburgh Apprentices' Library founded. 1828 Town of Allegheny incorporated as a borough. City water pumping system put into effect for the Allegheny River. 1829 City wards created: East, North, South, West. Western Division Canal in operation. 1830 Population: 12,542. 1831 Theban Literary Society organized. 1832 African Education Society founded. The Flood of 1832. Cholera outbreak. 1833 Pittsburg Theater built. 1835 Board of Trade created. 1838 Pittsburg Institute of Arts and Sciences incorporated. 1840 Allegheny borough incorporated as a city. Pittsburgh and Beaver Canal opens. 1841 Courthouse built on Grant Street. State Convention of Colored Freemen held in city. 1842 Sitdown strike by iron workers. 1843 Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh established. Martin Delany's The Mystery newspaper begins publication. 1844 Allegheny Cemetery established. 1845 April 10: Great Fire of Pittsburgh. 1846 Uptown becomes part of city. Pittsburgh Dispatch newspaper begins publication. Odeon Hall opens. 1847 Young Men's Mercantile Library & Mechanics Institute established. The Catholic Sisters of Mercy establish Mercy Hospital, the first hospital in Pittsburgh 1849 St. Mary Cemetery established. Horne's in business. Manufacture of "Kier's Rock Oil" begins.
1850s–1880s 1851 Duff's Mercantile College and German Library Association established. St. Peter's Episcopal Church built. 1852 Pennsylvania Railroad begins operating, linking the city with Philadelphia. 1854 Cholera outbreak. 1856 February: An informal National Republican convention is held in the city. 1857 The Pittsburgh Police Department is established. 1859 Lawrenceville-Pittsburgh railway begins operating. The first Sixth Street Bridge is created by John Roebling. 1860 – Population: 49,221. 1861 Jones and Laughlin Steel Company in business. Rodef Shalom Congregation built. The Iron City Brewing Company is established. 1862 The Allegheny Arsenal explosion. 1865 Pittsburgh and Steubenville Railroad begins operating. 1868 City expands to the east by annexing the borough of Lawrenceville and the townships of Pitt, Oakland, Collins, Liberty, and Peebles. 1869 December 11: Pennsylvania Female College founded. Westinghouse Air Brake Company in business. 1870 May 28: The Monongahela Incline opens 1872 South Side becomes part of city. Trinity Cathedral built. 1873 Duquesne Club founded. 1875 January 25: Pittsburgh Middle School Is Open for business. Edgar Thomson Steel Works in business near city. 1876 February 2: The city loses its bid for a professional baseball franchise in the newly established National League. February 22: The Allegheny Base Ball Club, the Pittsburgh area's first professional baseball team, is established. Chamber of Commerce established. Point Bridge opens. 1877 February 20: The International Association for Professional Base Ball Players is founded in Pittsburgh. Railroad strike. Duquesne Incline funicular begins operating. 1878 June 8: The Pittsburgh Allegheny professional baseball club folds. Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost opens. Homewood Cemetery is established. 1879 Zion's Watch Tower begins publication. "Old Residents of Pittsburgh and Western Penna." established. 1881 November 15: Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions formed at Turner Hall. Population: 156,381. 1882 The Allegheny baseball team (the later-named Pittsburgh Pirates) is established and begins play in the American Association. Historical Society of Pittsburg and Western Pa. formed. 1883 Smithfield Street Bridge opens. 1884 Evening Penny Press newspaper begins publication. August 22: Baseball's Chicago Browns of the Union Association relocate to Pittsburgh and become the Pittsburgh Stogies. September 18: The Union Association's Pittsburgh Stogies disband. 1885 Kaufmann's department store in business. The Winter Garden opens 1886 September: Racial unrest. Westinghouse Electric Company in business. Calvary Catholic Cemetery founded. The Allegheny County Jail is constructed. 1887 Baseball's Pittsburgh Alleghenys leave the American Association for the National League. The Pittsburgh Keystones, a Negro league baseball club, begins play in the League of Colored Baseball Clubs; however, the league and team fold within a week. 1888 Pittsburgh Reduction Co. (later Alcoa) in business. Allegheny County Courthouse rebuilt. September: Allegheny County centennial. 1889 Schenley Park is created 1890 Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Burghers represent the city in short-lived Players' League. The third Exposition Park opens. The Allegheny Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club field their first American football teams. September 1: The first triple-header in Major League Baseball history is played between the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and the (later named) Pittsburgh Pirates. October 11: The Western University of Pennsylvania football team (later Pittsburgh Panthers) plays its first-ever game. Schenley Park established. H.J. Heinz Company in business. National Slavonic Society headquartered in city. Duquesne Traction Company is built as a trolley barn.
1890s 1891 The newly created United States Board on Geographic Names adopts "Pittsburg" as its standard spelling of the name of Pittsburgh. Dravo shipbuilder in business. The National League's Pittsburgh baseball club gains the then-unofficial nickname "Pirates". Duquesne University first fields its American football team. 1892 Carnegie Steel Company in business. St. Stanislaus Kostka Church built. The third Sixth Street Bridge is built by engineer Theodore Cooper for the Union Bridge Company. July 6: Homestead Steel Strike takes place. Young Women's Christian Association of Pittsburg and Allegheny founded. November 12: Pudge Heffelfinger becomes the first professional American football player, as a member of the Allegheny Athletic Association, in a game against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. 1893 Children's Home of Pittsburgh established. Ben "Sport" Donnelly of the Allegheny Athletic Association becomes the first professional American football coach. Grant Dibert of the Pittsburg Athletic Club becomes the first American football player to sign and be kept under to the first known professional football contract. 1894 Fifth Avenue High School built. 1895 Carnegie Museums and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh founded. Pittsburgh Arts Society founded. May 29: Schenley Park Casino opens September: The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club football team is formed. December 30: The very first ice hockey game is played inside the city, held at the Schenley Park Casino. 1896 Carnegie Museum of Natural History is established. Homestead Library & Athletic Club is established. November 17: The Pittsburgh-based Western Pennsylvania Hockey League began its inaugural season. December 17: Schenley Park Casino is destroyed by fire. December 18: Western Pennsylvania Hockey League suspends operations for the remainder of the season. No championship is awarded. The Duquesne Traction Company is renovated and opens as the Duquesne Gardens. 1897 Immaculate Heart of Mary Church dedicated. Station Square first opens as the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Complex. 1898 William Chase Temple becomes the first-ever owner of an American football team when he takes over the payments of the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club team. Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station built. Pittsburgh Zoo opens on Tuesday, 14 June 1898. Kennywood Park opens December 3: The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club defeats the Western Pennsylvania All-Stars in the very first all-star game for professional American football. The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League is re-established and use the Duquesne Gardens as their venue. The Pittsburgh Athletic Club goes on win the league's first title. 1899 April 4: the Duquesne Brewing Company is established. Pittsburgh Brewing Company formed. Pittsburgh Bankers ice hockey team is established. 1900 March: Pittsburgh Athletic Club wins their second title in the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League. Carnegie Technical Schools established. The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club football team folds. Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team wins the professional American football championship. Population: 321,616.
20th century 1900s-1940s 1901 Pittsburgh Athletic Club wins their third title in the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League. The Pittsburgh Pirates win their first National League title. November 30: The Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team wins the professional football championship. 1902 January 1: The Pittsburgh Railways Company is established. Ice hockey's Pittsburgh Victorias are established The Pittsburgh Keystones win the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League title.