London evolved from its Roman beginnings through conquests, civil war,
fire and plagues to become the city we know today...
50 A.D. The Romans founded London - they built a bridge over the Thames and then a town nearby.
2nd.-3rd.century - London was enclosed by a 20ft.wall with 20 bastions.
see remnants of wall and Roman artifacts at the Museum of London
61 AD. - Queen Boadicca sacks the city before been defeated
410AD.- Roman troops withdraw
449AD - Saxons arrive in Britain
604AD.The first St.Pauls Cathedral is founded
750AD. Monastery of St.Peter founded later to become Westminster Abbey
1042 - Edward the Confessor built a wooden palace at Westminster.
1066 - Following a victory at the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, the then Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England in the newly-finished Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066
1088 - The White stone Tower is built by William the Conqueror in the southeast corner of the city. This castle is expanded by later kings and is now known as the Tower of London serving first as a royal residence and later as a prison
1097 - William II began the building of Westminster Hall, close by the abbey of the same name. The hall proved the basis of a new Palace of Westminster, the prime royal residence throughout the Middle Ages.
Westminster becomes the seat of the royal court and government (persisting until the present day), whilst its distinct neighbour, the City of London was a centre of trade and commerce and flourished under its own unique administration, the Corporation of London.
Eventually, the adjacent cities grew together and formed the basis of modern central London, superseding Winchester as capital of England in the 9th century.
1176 - The wooden bridge across the Thames is replaced with one of stone.
1220 - St. Pauls Cathedral is rebuilt
1397 - Richard (Dick) Whittington becomes Mayor of London
1476 - William Caxton sets up the first printing press in Westminster
1532 - Henry VIII creates the Palace of Whitehall
1536 - St. James's Palace is Built
1588 - After the successful defeat of the Spanish Armada, Elizabeth I attends a ceremony of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral
1588 - William Shakespeare starts to work and live in London
1603 - James VI of Scotland comes to the throne of England on the death of Elizabeth 1, essentially uniting the two countries.
1605 - The Kings enactment of harsh anti-Catholic laws make him unpopular, and an assassination attempt is made on 5 November, the famous Gunpowder Plot
1622 A new Banqueting House is built at the Palace of Whitehall. This was the site of the execution of Charles I in January 1649.
1635 The King opens Hyde Park to the public
1642-49 - Civil War - Charles 1 is executed
1660 Monarchy is restored and Charles 11 return to London is met with great rejoicing.
1660-69 - Samuel Pepys writes his diaries detailing contemporary events and people.
1665 Plague causes extensive problems for London in the early 17th century, culminating in the Great Plague in 1665-1666. This was the last outbreak in Europe and it killed around 100,000 Londoners.
1666 A fire (the Great Fire of London ) broke out in the City and quickly swept through London's wooden buildings, destroying large swathes of the city (and killing off much of the disease-carrying rat population) but killing just seven people. Rebuilding took over ten years.- see Samuel Pepys and The Monument
1675 - work starts on the rebuilding of St.Pauls Cathedral
1694 - Bank of England is established
1724 - The church of St.Martin-in-the-Fields is re-built
1732 - Downing Street is established as the home of the Prime Minister
1732 - Covent Garden Theatre opens - together with Drury Lane, which was established during Charles II's time, they dominate the London stage for many years to come.
1750 - Westminster Bridge is built
1759 - Kew Gardens Established
1764 - Dr. Johnson, the compiler of the first English dictionary is founder of The Literary Club
1805 -Victory in The Battle of Trafalgar - Nelson's death
1820 - Regent's Canal is opened
1824 - The National Gallery is founded
1834 - The Houses of Parliament are built after fire destroyed most of the Old Palace of Westminster
1837- Buckingham Palace becomes the official residence of the Sovereign
1840 - Trafalgar Square is laid out to mark Nelson's victory
1863 - First section of the London Underground is built
1888 -Jack the Ripper begins his reign of terror
1894 - Tower Bridge is built
1901 - The Victorian Era comes to an end with the death of Queen Victoria.
1901-1910 - West End Theatre 's and Music Halls put on famous acts such as Marie Lloyd, Vesta Tilley and popular Edwardian melodramas to delight Londoners.
1909 - The Victoria and Albert Museum opens
1914 - World War I begins - dense crowds gather around Buckingham Palace to hear Big Ben tolled at 11p.m-marking the end of the British ultimatum and the start of war.
1922 - The B.B.C. transmits its first programmes.
1939-45 - World War II. London is heavily bombed. Thousands of lives and homes are lost and many historic monuments are destroyed.
1951- The Festival of Britain gives a new drive to the arts. The Festival Hall opens in 1951 on the South Bank and is followed by the Hayward Gallery in 1968. The National Theatre opens in 1976.
1953 - The Coronation of Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey .
1991 - Canary Wharf is completed
1997 - The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales at Westminster Abbey
2000 - Tate Modern opens in the former Bankside Power Station on the South Bank
2000 - Ken Livingstone becomes London's first directly elected mayor
2000 - The Millennium dome costing nearly GBP 800 million of public money opens for one year
Millennium - The London Eye is the world's largest observation wheel and since opening is proving to be one of London's major attractions
2002 - Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Golden Jubilee
2005 - London experiences extensive bomb damage on the London Transport System
See Kings and Queen's of England
