A TIMELINE OF BIRMINGHAM HISTORY
By Tim Lambert
1166 The king grants the right to hold a weekly market in Birmingham. It becomes a busy little market town.
1250 The people of Birmingham are given the right to hold an annual fair
1380 Birmingham is becoming known for its metalworking industry
1500 Birmingham has a population of about 1,500
1560 The population has risen to around 2,000. There is still a wool industry in Birmingham and a leather industry but metalworking is fast becoming the most important industry.
1635 Aston Hall is built
1642 Royalists sack Birmingham
1643 Royalists plunder Birmingham again
1650 The population of Birmingham is about 5,000
1695 Birmingham gains its first fire engine
1715 St Phillips Church is built
1720 The population of Birmingham is about 12,000
1750 The population of Birmingham is about 24,000
1765 Sarehole Mill is built
1769 A canal is built from Wednesbury to Birmingham. A body of men called Street Commissioners are given power to clean and light (with oil lamps) the streets of Birmingham
1779 A General Hospital is built in Birmingham
1801 The population of Birmingham is about 73,000
1818 The streets of Birmingham are lit by gas
1832 The botanical gardens open
1834 A new town hall is built in Birmingham
1838 Birmingham is connected to London by railway
1841 St Chad's Cathedral is built
1850 Winson Green asylum opens
1856 The first public park in Birmingham opens
1861 A by-law says that all new houses in Birmingham must be connected to a sewer
1871-72 There is a smallpox epidemic in Birmingham
1873 Horse drawn trams begin running in Birmingham
1874 Another smallpox epidemic strikes Birmingham
1879 The Council House is built. A telephone exchange opens.
1881 The Council House is built. Rubery Hill asylum opens
1882 Birmingham gains an electricity supply
1883 Smallpox strikes Birmingham again
1889 Birmingham is made a city
1890 The first electric trams run in Birmingham
1909 Birmingham University is founded
1929 Fox Hollies Park opens
1938 Queen Elizabeth Hospital opens
World War II More than 2,000 people in Birmingham are killed by German bombing
1954 A survey shows that more than 20% of the homes in Birmingham are unfit for human habitation
1964 The Bull Ring shopping centre opens
1965 Birmingham Rotunda opens
1966 Aston University is founded
1987 Pavilions Shopping Centre opens
1991 The International Conference Centre and Indoor Arena opens
1998 Ikon Gallery opens
2000 Mailbox Shopping Centre opens
2001 Millennium Point opens