The following is a timeline of the history of Hong Kong.
Imperial China DateRuling entityEventsOther people/events 221 BC Qin dynasty First records of the territory in Chinese history 206 BC Han dynasty Inhabitants in Ma Wan Island 25 AD Building of Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb (est.) 901 AD Punti settlement 1075 Song dynasty Founding of Li Ying College 1163 Salt fields in Hong Kong first officially managed 1277 China's Imperial court found refuge in Silvermine Bay on Lantau Island during the Battle of Yamen 1513 Ming dynasty Jorge Álvares arrives in Tuen Mun 1521 Battle of Tunmen 1562 Battle of Sincouwaan 1661 Qing dynasty Kangxi Emperor orders the Great Clearance, which requires the evacuation of the coastal areas of Guangdong. What is now the territory of Hong Kong became largely wasteland during the ban.Hong Kong Museum of History: "The Hong Kong Story" Exhibition Materials 1669 The coastal ban is lifted 1685 Kangxi Emperor opens limited trade on a regular basis starting with Canton 1757 British East India Company pursued a monopoly on opium production beginning with India in the Far East 1793 Anglo-Chinese relations 1839 Battle of Kowloon First Opium War (1839–1842)
Colonial Hong Kong British Crown colony DateGovernorEventsOther people/events 1841 Charles Elliot Convention of ChuenpiCommodore Gordon Bremer at Possession Point 1842 Henry Pottinger Treaty of Nanjing 1843 Formation of the Legislative Council and Executive Council Ying Wa College, world's first Anglo-Chinese school relocated to Hong Kong 1844 1847 John Francis Davis Building of Kowloon Walled city 1848 1851 George Bonham Taiping Rebellion 1853 Chinese serial 1854 1855 John Bowring First proposal of Praya Reclamation SchemeBattle of Ty-ho Bay 1856 Second Opium War 1859 Hercules Robinson 1860 Convention of Peking,British rules Kowloon south of Boundary Street, Establishment of Diocesan Girls' School 1861 British acquired Kowloon Peninsula Frederick Stewart modernise HK education 1865 Establishment of HK Shanghai Bank 1866 Richard GravesMacDonnell Four big families of Hong Kong (est.) 1868 The Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi, ordered four customs stations to be established in waterways surrounding Hong Kong and Kowloon at Fat Tong Chau, Ma Wan, Cheung Chau and Kowloon Walled City. It was so-called "blockade of Hong Kong" by the Hong Kong Government.Civil Engineering and Development Department, Kowloon Development Office, "Agreement No. CE 35/2006(CE). Kai Tak Development Engineering Study. Further archaeological excavation report", p. 8, August 2009 These stations ceased to operate in 1899 after the lease of the New Territories to Britain.Antiquities and Monuments Office: Site of Chinese Customs Station 1872 Tung Wah Hospital established 1874 Arthur Kennedy 1874 Hong Kong Typhoon Founding of the Universal Circulating Herald 1877 Arthur Kennedy 1882 John Pope Hennessy 1883 George Bowen 1887 William Des Vœux Western medical science reaches Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese 1888 Founding of Peak Tram 1891 William Robinson 1894 Third Pandemic of Bubonic Plague 1898 Second Convention of Peking, British rules New Territories and New Kowloon 1899 Six-Day War 1904 Henry Arthur Blake Peak Reservation Ordinance 1906 1906 Hong Kong typhoon 1907 Matthew Nathan 1908 1908 Hong Kong Typhoon 1910Opening of Kowloon–Canton Railway 1912 Frederick Lugard Establishment of the Republic of China,Qing dynasty overthrown 1918 Happy Valley Racecourse fireGresson Street shootout 1919 Francis Henry May 1921 Praya East Reclamation Scheme 1922 Seamen's strike of 1922 1923 Reginald Edward Stubbs Sun Yat-sen proclaimed his anti-corruption revolutionary ideas came from Hong Kong during HK university speech 1924 Land allocation for Kai Tak Airport 1925 Canton-Hong Kong strike 1926 Cecil Clementi First Chinese member appointed to Executive Council 1928 First pre-RTHK radio broadcast 1930 William Peel 1933 Founding of Kowloon Motor Bus 1935 Andrew Caldecott 1937 Great Hong Kong Typhoon of 1937
British Crown colony DateGovernorEventsOther people/events 1947 First government count of Hong Kong Taxi 1948 Alexander Grantham HK Social Welfare Department formed 1949 Establishment of People's Republic of China 1953 Shek Kip Mei Fire 1955 Kashmir Princess assassination attempt 1956 Hong Kong 1956 riots 1957 RTV a first terrestrial television station Asian Flu 1958 Robert Brown Black 1960 Four Asian Tigers (est.)Typhoon Mary 1962 Typhoon Wanda 1964 David Clive Crosbie Trench 1966 Hong Kong 1966 riotsVisit of Princess Margaret in March Cultural Revolution in China 1967 Hong Kong 1967 riotsTVB a second terrestrial television station 1968 Hong Kong flu 1971 Murray MacLehose 6-year free Primary education funded Typhoon Rose 1972 Small House Policy1972 Hong Kong landslides PRC request HK and Macau off United Nations list 1974 Independent Commission Against Corruption establishedHome Ownership Scheme introduced 1976 Home Ownership Scheme introduced 1978 Reform and opening up begins in China 1979 Establishment of Mass Transit Railway 1980 United front in Hong Kong (est.) 1982 Edward Youde ATV replacing RTV 1983 Black Saturday 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the proposal of One country, two systems 1985 Braemar Hill murders 1987 David Wilson Black Monday 1989 More than 1 million people marched for three consecutive Sundays in Hong Kong, including 1.5 million on May 28. 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre 1990 Basic Law proclaimed 1991 STAR TV a first satellite television station 1992 Chris Patten United States-Hong Kong Policy Act 1993 Cable TV Hong Kong a first pay television stationLan Kwai Fong stampede 1996 Garley Building firePhoenix Satellite Television a first satellite television station based in Hong Kong 1997 Tsing Ma Bridge opened.Hong Kong transferred to the People's Republic of China.
HKSAR DateChief ExecutiveEventsOther people/events 1997 Tung Chee Hwa First Special Administrative Region government formed.Beginning of mass poultry disposal as part of Bird Flu crisis. 1997 Asian financial crisis 1998 Kai Tak International Airport replaced by Hong Kong International Airport First post-handover elections 1999 Right of Abode debateHello Kitty murderFlight 642 crash PRC bans Falun Gong cult 2001 Director of Immigration v Chong Fung Yuen 2003 SARS outbreak, 1:99 ConcertLeslie Cheung suicideCEPADemonstration against Article 23Harbour FestMurder of Robert KisselDeath of Anita Mui 2005 Donald Tsang Resignation of Tung Chee-hwaOpening of Hong Kong Disneyland2005 Hong Kong electoral reform2005 protest for democracyWTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference 2006 Opening of Ngong Ping 360Demolition of Star Ferry PierThe Bus Uncle 2007 MTR–KCR merger2007 HK Island by-election 2008 Edison Chen photo scandalLeung Chin-man appointment controversyHK holds 2008 Olympics Equestrian eventHK holds 2008 Paralympics Equestrian eventATV management debacleCitizens' Radio raidedMong Kok acid attacksDemolition of Queen's Pier Beijing OlympicsBankruptcy of Lehman BrothersSichuan earthquakeArtistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign 2009 2009 East Asian Games20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre2009 Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority forum2009 flu pandemic in Hong Kong Hong Kong Macau cultural exchangeJuly 2009 Ürümqi riots2008 financial crisisXinjiang journalist attackArtistes 88 Fund Raising Campaign 2010 2010 Hong Kong new year marchFive Constituencies referendumTVB monopoly case21st anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacreCE and LegCo selection document Opposition to the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Express Rail LinkArtistes 414 Fund Raising CampaignManila hostage crisis 2011 Hong Kong 818 incidentVallejos v. Commissioner of Registration2011 Fa Yuen street fire Free Ai Weiwei street art campaign 2012 Dolce & Gabbana photo incidentEarly 2012 Hong Kong protestsMoral and National Education controversyHong Kong plastic disasterLamma Island ferry collision Hong Kong mainland China driving scheme 2013 CY Leung Comilang v. Commissioner of RegistrationVallejos v. Commissioner of Registration2013 Hong Kong dock strike 2014 Knife attack on Kevin Lau2014 electoral reform2014 Hong Kong Protests (Umbrella Revolution) 2015 Causeway Bay Books disappearancesHeavy metal in drinking water incidentsHKU pro-vice-chancellor selection controversy 2016 January 2016 East Asia cold waveMong Kok civil unrestHong Kong Legislative Council oath-taking controversyHong Kong LegCo candidates' disqualification controversy 2017 Carrie Lam Imprisonment of Hong Kong democracy activists 2018 Opening of Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link Hong Kong sectionTai Po Road bus accidentOpening of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau BridgeVictor Mallet visa controversyTyphoon Mangkhut 2019 Extradition law controversy (protests) 2020COVID-19 pandemicNational Anthem Ordinance passed National Security Law passed Opening of Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Link20212021 Hong Kong electoral changes Massive resign and disqualification of District Councilor Opening of Tuen Ma Line 2021 Hong Kong legislative election 2022 John Lee Ka-chiu Hong Kong recorded more than 2.6 million COVID-19 cases. 2023End of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions Implementation of Real-name Registration for SIM Card 2023 Hong Kong electoral changesEnd of Zero-COVID Policy2024Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (aka Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23) passed Banning of the song Glory to Hong Kong2025Wang Fuk Court fire
See also Political events in Hong Kong since 1997 Timeline of Chinese history Hong Kong 1 July marches
References
External links Hong Kong Timeline at Mtholyoke