The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Prior to 19th century
1773 – Captain Thomas Bullitt surveys the land. 1778 George Rogers Clark settles on Corn Island. Fort-on-Shore constructed 1780 Louisville chartered. Jefferson County established with Louisville as seat 1781 – Fort Nelson (Kentucky) constructed 1790s – Zachary Taylor, 12th US president, spent his childhood in Louisville. 1798 – Jefferson Seminary chartered.
19th century 1800 – Population: 359 1807 – Louisville Gazette newspaper begins publication. 1808/12 – John James Audubon, ornithologist, naturalist and painter lived locally. 1813 – University of Louisville opened. 1820 – Population: 4,012. 1828 Louisville chartered as a city. John Bucklin becomes mayor. 1829 Lewis Pottery Company incorporated. Dover's Pottery in business. 1830 Louisville Daily Journal newspaper begins publication. Louisville and Portland Canal opens. Population: 10,341. 1831 – Louisville Lyceum established. 1837 – Louisville Medical Institute founded. 1838 – Louisville Gas and Water established. 1839 – Kentucky Institution for the Education of the Blind founded. 1840 Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Company began on the banks of the Ohio River. Louisville Collegiate Institute founded. Franklin Lyceum founded. 1841 Louisville Law Library in operation. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville established. 1842 Jefferson County Courthouse opens. Mercantile Library Association founded. 1844 – Louisville Morning Courier newspaper begins publication. 1846 – University of Louisville formed. 1848 – Cave Hill Cemetery dedicated. 1850 Louisville and Nashville Railroad begins operating. Kentucky Glass Works in business. 1851 – German Protestant Orphan's Home founded. 1852 – Louisville and Frankfort Railroad completed. 1855 – Bloody Monday anti-immigrant rioting fed by the Know Nothing Party. 1859 – J. F. Hillerich in business. 1860 – Population: 71,832. 1862 – Board of Trade organized. 1860s – Mary Anderson theatre actress, brought up locally. 1868 – The Courier-Journal newspaper begins publication. 1870 – Fourteenth Street Bridge opens. 1872 – Industrial Exposition. 1874 – Louisville Jockey Club and Driving Park Association formed. 1875 – Kentucky Derby begins; Churchill Downs opens. 1876 – Polytechnic Society of Kentucky organized. 1877 – Southern Baptist Theological Seminary relocates to Louisville. 1879 – Kaufman-Straus department store opens. 1880 – Population: 123,758. 1882 – Louisville Eclipse baseball team formed. 1883 – Southern Exposition begins. 1884 Filson Club founded. The Louisville Times newspaper begins publication. Chestnut Street Baptist Church built. 1886 – Kentucky & Indiana Terminal Bridge opens. 1888 – Louisville Camera Club formed. 1889 – Union Station built. 1890 Columbia Building constructed. Tornado. Population: 161,129. 1893 Song "Good Morning to All" first published by Louisville sisters Patty and Mildred J. Hill; was to become "Happy Birthday to You" Southern Parkway opens. 1894 – St. Peter's German Evangelical Church built. 1895 – Big Four Bridge opens. 1897 – Louisville Business Women's Club founded. 1900 Louisville Bar Association established. Jennie Benedict opens catering business. Population: 204,731.
20th century
1901–1959 1902 – Louisville Public Library created. 1905 Louisville Free Public Library, Western Colored Branch opens. Louisville Gardens opens. Jefferson School of Law opens. Fontaine Ferry Park (amusement park) opens. 1907 – The annual Kentucky State Fair moves permanently to Louisville. 1908 – Louisville Free Public Library main branch opens. 1910 Snead Manufacturing Building constructed. Waverly Hills Sanatorium opens. Population: 223,928. 1920 – Population: 234,891. 1921 Bowman airfield opens Legal Aid Society of Louisville and Urban League branch established Junior League of Louisville founded 1922 – WHAS radio begins broadcasting 1923 Brown Hotel opened Chickasaw Park laid out (approximate date) 1925 – The Courier-Journal organizes the first National Spelling Bee, taking place in Washington, D.C. 1926 Brown Hotel chef Fred Schmidt introduces the Hot Brown sandwich Zachary Taylor National Cemetery created by the Taylor family 1929 – Louisville Municipal Bridge opens. 1930 Masonic Temple built Population: 307,745 1932 – U.S. Post Office, Court House and Custom House built. 1933 – WAVE radio begins broadcasting. 1937 Louisville Orchestra is founded. Ohio River flood. 1941 – Standiford Field airport built. 1946 – Jefferson County Memorial Forest inaugurated. 1947 – Standiford Field opens for commercial flights. 1948 – WAVE-TV (television) begins broadcasting. 1949 – Carriage House Players active. 1950 Bellarmine College opens. WHAS-TV (television) begins broadcasting. 1952 – Big Spring Country Club hosted the annual PGA Championship; Jim Turnesa won the event. 1954 – The annual WHAS Crusade for Children telethon begins. 1956 Freedom Hall opened on the Kentucky Fairgrounds. Kentucky Derby Festival begins as two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby. 1957 – St. James Court Art Show held its first annual arts and craft show in the Old Louisville neighborhood. 1958 – Freedom Hall hosted the 1958 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; University of Kentucky won the National Championship. 1959 – Freedom Hall hosted the 1959 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; University of California-Berkeley won the National Championship.
1960–2000 1962 Sherman Minton Bridge opened. Mid-City Mall opened. Freedom Hall hosted the 1962 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; University of Cincinnati won the National Championship. Southeast Christian Church, now one of the country's largest Protestant churches, holds its first services. 1963 John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge opened. Freedom Hall hosted the 1963 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; Loyola–Chicago won the National Championship. 1964 Kennedy Interchange (Spaghetti Junction) opened. Actors Theatre of Louisville opened. 1965 Louisville and Jefferson County Riverport Authority established as a public agency. Republican Kenneth A. Schmied was elected mayor; he was the last Republican to be elected mayor. 1967 Kentucky Colonels basketball team founded. Freedom Hall hosted the 1967 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; UCLA won the National Championship. 1968 The previously all-male Bellarmine College becomes coeducational when the all-female Ursuline College merges into it. 1969 Louisville Zoo opens as "State Zoo of Kentucky". Freedom Hall hosted the 1969 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; UCLA won the National Championship. Democrat Frank W. Burke was elected mayor. 1971 – Romano Mazzoli becomes U.S. representative for Kentucky's 3rd congressional district. 1973 Democrat Harvey I. Sloane was elected mayor for the first time. Eventual Triple Crown winner Secretariat ran the fastest time ever at the annual Kentucky Derby. 1974 Tornado occurs in the east end of Louisville. Actors Theatre of Louisville opened is designated the "State Theater of Kentucky" TARC began operating as the city bus line in 1974. 1977 Foreign trade zone established for the Riverport Authority. Democrat William B. Stansbury was elected mayor. 1978 – Kentucky State Data Center headquartered in Louisville 1981 – Sewer explosions occur in the center of the city. 1982 – Democrat Harvey I. Sloane was elected mayor for the second time. 1986 – Democrat Jerry Abramson was elected mayor for the first time. 1987 Kentucky Kingdom amusement park opened at the Kentucky Exposition Center. The Courier-Journal was purchased by media giant Gannett. 1988 – Louisville Motor Speedway opened. 1989 – A mass shooting at Standard Gravure occurs; it was the deadliest of such in Kentucky's history. 1990 Thunder Over Louisville has its first annual event and becomes the first event of the annual Kentucky Derby Festival. Population: 269,063. 1993 – AEGON Center is completed and becomes the tallest building in Kentucky. 1995 – Standiford Field is renamed to Louisville International Airport. 1996 – Louisville Slugger Museum opened in Downtown Louisville. 1998 – Southeast Christian Church opened a new 9,000-seat worship center on Blankenbaker Parkway in Middletown. The facility has since been joined by five satellite worship centers in the Louisville area. 1999 Louisville Waterfront Park dedicated. Democrat David L. Armstrong was elected mayor. 2000 Louisville Slugger Field opened for the newly renamed Louisville Bats, who became a minor league affiliate for the Cincinnati Reds the same year. Valhalla Golf Club hosts the annual PGA Championship, Tiger Woods won the competition. City website online (approximate date).
21st century 2001 – Louisville Bats win the Governors' Cup, AAA Championship 2002 Louisville Extreme Park opens. Valley Sports wins the 2002 Little League World Series. Forecastle Festival begins its annual music festival. 2003 City–county merger increases Louisville's total population to near one-million. Democrat Jerry Abramson is elected mayor for the second time. 2004 Fourth Street Live opened as entertainment complex/venue in downtown Louisville. Valhalla Golf Club hosted the annual Senior PGA Championship, won by Hale Irwin. 2005 Muhammad Ali Center opens as a tribute to the champion boxer Muhammad Ali. The annual Abbey Road on the River is held in Louisville for the first time. The Louisville Cardinals join the Big East Conference. Jim Patterson Stadium opens as the new home of Louisville Cardinals baseball. 2006 – Churchill Downs hosted the annual Breeders' Cup. 2007 The Louisville Cardinals competed in their first BCS game by defeating Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl. The Cardinals made their first appearance in the College World Series, the eight-team finals of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Thunder Over Louisville sets record crowd of over 800,000 people.' John Yarmuth becomes U.S. representative for Kentucky's 3rd congressional district. 2008 – Valhalla Golf Club hosted the biennial Ryder Cup, won by the United States. 2009 McAlpine Locks and Dam are expanded. Widely publicized extortion trial between University of Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino and Karen Sypher occurred. Dedication ceremony held for Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park. 2010 2010 US Census Population: 602,011. Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom closed due to the rejection of an amended lease by the Kentucky State Fair Board. KFC Yum! Center opened as Louisville's new downtown multi-use arena. Churchill Downs hosted the annual Breeders' Cup. 2011 Democrat Greg Fischer is elected mayor after Jerry Abramson becomes Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Valhalla Golf Club hosted the annual Senior PGA Championship, won by Tom Watson. Sherman Minton Bridge temporarily closed in September after construction crews found cracks in the main load-bearing structural element. Churchill Downs hosts the annual Breeders Cup. 2012 Sherman Minton Bridge reopened in February after months of repairs. The KFC Yum! Center hosted second and third-round games of the 2012 NCAA men's basketball tournament. 2013 The Big Four Bridge partially opened as a converted pedestrian walkway from Louisville into Jeffersonville, Indiana, although the complete crossing would not reopen until the Indiana connection was completed in May 2014. The Louisville Cardinals won their third men's basketball NCAA Championship. The title would later be vacated due to NCAA rules violations (see 2015, 2017, and 2018). The Cardinals competed in their second BCS game, defeating Florida in the Sugar Bowl. The Cardinals also competed in their second College World Series. 2014