1600s

1619 The first women and Africans arrived in Virginia. 1634 Henrico County, consisting of present-day Henrico, Chesterfield, Charles City, Powhatan, & Goochland counties, was created. 1671 William Byrd I settled at the Falls. William Byrd II later named the city, as it reminded him of Richmond on the Thames in England. 1676 Bacon's Rebellion, an uprising of Virginia farmers who rebelled against the governor for failing to protect them from Indian raids, ended.

1700s

1742 Richmond was chartered as a town. 1775 Patrick Henry made his famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech at the Second Virginia Convention. 1782 Richmond was incorporated as a city. 1785 Development of James River & Kanawha Canal, designed by George Washington, began, and the cornerstone of the State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson, was laid. 1786 Thomas Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom was passed in Virginia. 1787 The Mayo Bridge, the first bridge across the James River, was built. 1789 The first Jewish congregation was established in Richmond.

1800s

1801 Richmond resident John Marshall was appointed Chief Justice of the United States. 1807 Midlothian Turnpike became the first paved road in Virginia. 1811 A fire in a Richmond theater killed Governor Smith and 70 others. 1816 The first City Hall was built. 1835 Edgar Allan Poe came to Richmond to edit The Southern Literary Messenger. 1836 Tredegar Iron Works, the largest foundry in the South and the third largest in the United States, opened. Tredegar produced most of the armor used during the Civil War. 1838 The Medical College of Virginia was established. 1848 Henry "Box" Brown had himself nailed into a small box and shipped from Richmond to Philadelphia to escape slavery. 1849 Hollywood Cemetery was dedicated. 1861-1865Richmond served as the Capital of the Confederacy. 1862 Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America. 1865 President Lincoln visited Richmond after large parts of the city were destroyed in a fire set by retreating Confederate soldiers. Five days after his visit, President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. 1870 Virginia was readmitted to the Union, federal troops were removed from Richmond, and the worst flood in 100 years collapsed the third floor of the state Capitol. 1879 Richmond became the first city in the South to have telephone service. 1888The first electric streetcar system in the United States was started in Richmond. 1898 The Valentine Museum, now known as the Valentine Richmond History Center, opened as the first private museum in the city of Richmond.

1900s

1903Maggie L. Walker became the first woman in the country to serve as president of a bank. Now known as Consolidated Bank & Trust, it is the oldest surviving black-operated bank in the United States. 1914 Richmond became the headquarters of the Fifth District of the Federal Reserve Bank. 1919 Philip Morris, today one of the area's largest private employers, was established in Richmond. 1926 Maymont, a 100-acre Victorian estate with breathtaking gardens and landscapes, opened to the public. 1927 Byrd Airfield, now known as Richmond International Airport, was dedicated during a visit from Charles Lindbergh. 1933 The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts opened as the first state-supported art museum in the United States. 1946 Attorney Oliver W. Hill became the first black elected to City Council since the Reconstruction Era. Hill also was a primary attorney in the 1954 landmark Brown v. Board of Education civil rights case. 1948 WTVR Channel 6 became the first TV station in the south. 1958 Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, which later became part of Interstate 95, opened. 1966-1968 The 43-mile stretch of Interstate 64 through Richmond (between US-522 at Gum Spring to VA-249 at Bottoms Bridge) opened in five sections. By the end of 1972, I-64 ran from I-81 at Staunton to I-95 in Richmond. 1970 Richmond Coliseum opened. 1985 The Diamond, home of the Richmond Braves baseball team, opened only seven months after construction began. 1986 The Richmond Centre also opened, and Henricus Historical Park, site of the second successful English settlement and former home of Pocahontas, was dedicated. 1990 Richmond native L. Douglas Wilder became the nation's first black governor. 1995 A multi-million dollar floodwall was completed, protecting Richmond and its downtown businesses from the James River's rising waters. 1996 The Arthur Ashe Jr. statue, created in honor of Richmond's philanthropist and Wimbledon Champion, was unveiled on Monument Avenue. 1997 Colonial Downs, the first pari-mutuel horse racing track, opened in New Kent County. 1999 The Canal Walk opened in downtown Richmond.

2000s

2000The Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was formed. 2001 Pocahontas Parkway opened, providing a new route to Richmond International Airport from points south of the city. 2003 The Greater Richmond Convention Center opened with 700,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, the largest in Virginia, and Main Street Station reopened after years of renovations, bringing Amtrak train service back to downtown Richmond. 2004 Route 288 opened, connecting Richmond's Far West End to all points south of the James River. 2005 Hanover Tavern reopened after renovations. 2005 The Children's Garden at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden opened.