19th century

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• 1839
  • Austin designated capital of the Republic of Texas.
  • Waller Plan is developed as Austin's first city plan.
  • December 27: Austin incorporated.
• 1840
  • Edwin Waller becomes first mayor.
• 1841
  • Houston-Austin coach begins operating.
  • Austin Lyceum active.
  • French Legation built.
• 1842 - Texas seat of government relocated from Austin to Houston.
• 1845 - Austin becomes part of the new U.S. state of Texas.
• 1846 - Texas seat of government relocated back to Austin from Houston.
• 1850 - Population: 3,841.
• 1854 - Swenson Building and Ziller Building constructed.
• 1855
  • Texas State Capitol built.
  • St. David's Episcopal Church consecrated.
• 1857 - General Land Office Building constructed.
• 1859 - Buaas's Hall (assembly room) renovated.
• 1860 - Wharton College opens.
• 1871
  • Houston and Texas Central Railroad begins operating.
  • Democratic Statesman newspaper begins publication.
• 1872
  • Connectional High School and Institute founded.
  • Penn's Circulating Library in business.
• 1873 - Austin Library Association active.
• 1874 - St. Mary's Academy founded.
• 1875 - Austin City Railroad begins operating.
• 1876 - International–Great Northern Railroad begins operating.
• 1877
  • Stuart Female Seminary founded.
  • Tillotson College chartered.
• 1878 - St. Edward's University founded.
• 1881
  • November 9: State Capitol building burns down.
  • University of Texas at Austin established.
  • Austin High School opens.
• 1884
  • Congregation Beth Israel synagogue established.
  • Servant Girl Annihilator murders begin (ending in 1885.)
• 1885 - St. Edward's College established.
• 1886
  • Driskill Hotel in business.
  • Hill City Quartet formed.
• 1887 - Negro Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute opens.
• 1888 - Texas State Capitol rebuilt.
• 1894 - Heart's Ease Circle of King's Daughters (women's group) founded.
• 1895 - Moonlight towers installed.
• 1900
  • April: Austin Dam failure.
  • Samuel Huston College opens.

20th century

1900s-1940s

• 1902 - Nixon-Clay College and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary established.
• 1908 - Confederate Woman's Home opens.
• 1910 - Congress Avenue Bridge rebuilt.
• 1911 - Texas Fine Arts Association and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 205 established.
• 1917 - University of Texas' School for Military Aeronautics opens.
• 1918 - State Office Building constructed.
• 1921 - Austin Civic Theatre founded.
• 1923 - KNOW radio begins broadcasting.
• 1926
  • Council–manager form of government effected.
  • University Airport in operation.
• 1928
  • 1928 Austin city plan is delivered to City Council.
• 1929 - Howson Community Center established.
• 1930
  • Municipal Airport opens.
  • Population: 53,120.
• 1933
  • Austin Public Library building opens.
  • State Highway Building constructed.

• 1934
  • O. Henry House museum opens.
  • Junior League of Austin organized.
• 1935
  • Texas Federation of Women's Clubs Headquarters built.
  • Flood.
• 1937
  • UT Tower built.
  • KTBC radio begins broadcasting.
  • Lyndon B. Johnson becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district.
• 1938 - Montopolis Bridge built.
• 1941 - Austin Daily Tribune Building constructed.
• 1942
  • Bergstrom Army Air Field established.
  • Lamar Boulevard Bridge built.
• 1947 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin established.

1950s-1990s

• 1950 – Population: 132,459.
• 1952
  • KTBC-TV (television) begins broadcasting.
  • Burnet Drive-In cinema opens.
• 1953
  • YMCA of Austin chartered.
  • Travis High School opens in South Austin; McCallum High School opens in North Austin.
• 1956 - Ballet Academy founded.
• 1958
  • Goodwill Industries of Central Texas established.
  • Town & Country Food Stores in business.
• 1959 - Palmer Auditorium opens.
• 1960 – Population: 186,545.
• 1961 — Lanier High School opens. Its name was changed to Juan Navarro High School in 2019.
• 1962 - Austin Aqua Festival begins.
• 1963 - Jake Pickle becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district.
• 1965
  • The Citizen newspaper in publication.
  • Reagan High School opens. Its name was changed to Northeast High School beginning in the 2019-2020 school year.
• 1966 - August 1: Whitman shootings.
• 1967
  • Vulcan Gas Company music venue active.
  • Fair Housing Ordinance established.
• 1968
  • Crockett High School opens.
  • Sister city relationship established with Saltillo, Mexico.
• 1970
  • Armadillo World Headquarters music venue active.
  • University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs established.
  • Population: 251,808.
• 1971 - Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum dedicated.
• 1973
  • Austin Community College and regional Austin Transportation Study established.
  • L.C. Anderson High School (Mesa Drive) and Aquarius cinema open.
• 1975 - Austin Community Gardens created.
• 1976 - Austin City Limits television music program begins national broadcast.
• 1978 - Sister city relationship established with Maseru, Lesotho.
• 1979
  • Austin Public Library new main branch building opens.
  • Austin Shambhala Center founded.
• 1980
  • Whole Foods Market in business.
  • Population: 345,496.
• 1981
  • Capital Area Food Bank of Texas and Le Chef College of Hospitality Careers established.
  • Austin Chronicle and Austin Press newspapers begin publication.
  • Sister city relationship established with Lima, Peru.
• 1982
  • National Wildflower Research Center and La Peña arts group founded.
  • Pennybacker Bridge opens.
• 1983
  • Austin History Center active.
  • Austin Children's Museum established.
  • Sister city relationship established with Adelaide, Australia.
• 1984 - St. Michael's Catholic Academy established.
• 1985
  • Austin Film Society organized.
  • Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival begins.
• 1986
  • Austin Lyric Opera founded.
  • Sister city relationship established with Taichung, Taiwan.
• 1987
  • South by Southwest music festival begins.
  • Lamar Smith becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 21st congressional district.
• 1988
  • Dell Computer Corporation in business.
  • Bowie High School established.
• 1990
  • Sister city relationship established with Ōita City, Japan.
  • Population: 465,622.
• 1991 - Sister city relationship established with Koblenz, Germany.
• 1992
  • Austin Convention Center opens.
  • Hyde Park Theatre founded.
• 1993 - Sustainable Food Center and Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association chapter founded.
• 1994
  • Um-Al-Mumeneen-Sayeda-Khadija Mosque built.
  • Goodwill Computer Museum founded.[1]
• 1995
  • Lloyd Doggett becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district.
  • Ordinary Mind Zen Group formed.
  • City website online.
• 1997 - Sister city relationship established with Xishuangbanna, China.
• 1998 - Linh-Son Buddhist Temple established.
• 1999
  • Austin–Bergstrom International Airport opens.
  • Dell Foundation and Foodways of Austin club established.
• 2000
  • Akins High School established.
  • George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000 headquartered in Austin.
  • Area of city: 251 square miles.
  • Population: 656,562.
  • Sister city relationship established with Orlu, Nigeria.

21st century

• 2001 - Sister city relationship established with Gwangmyeong, South Korea.
• 2002
  • Texas Archive of the Moving Image headquartered in city.
  • The inaugural Austin City Limits Music Festival is hosted in Zilker Park.
• 2003
  • Texas Rollergirls founded.
  • Frost Bank Tower built.
• 2005 - Austin Film Critics Association founded.
• 2009
  • May: Austin mayoral election, 2009 held.
  • Texas Tribune headquartered in city.
  • Sister city relationship established with Antalya Kepez, Turkey.
• 2010
  • February 18: 2010 Austin suicide attack.
  • Capital MetroRail begins operating.
  • Austin Bulldog begins publication.
  • Area of city: 297.90 square miles.
  • Population: city 790,390; megaregion 19,728,244.
• 2011 - Sister city relationship established with Angers, France.
• 2012 - Austin Food & Wine Alliance established.
• 2013 - Population: 885,400.
• 2014
  • November 28: Larry Steven McQuilliams, 49, fired at least 100 shots at several government buildings and a police station before dying of a gunshot wound.
  • Sister city relationship established with Hackney, London.
• 2018 - In March, a series of explosions centered in Austin killed two civilians and injuring another five.
• 2020 - Population: 963,121.
• 2021 - Austin FC of Major League Soccer plays their first game at Q2 Stadium.

See also

• History of Austin, Texas
• List of mayors of Austin, Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Travis County, Texas
• Timeline of Texas
• Timelines of other cities in the Southeast Texas area of Texas: Beaumont, Houston, Pasadena