Timeline of Louisville, Kentucky facts for kids

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Prior to 19th century

• 1778 – George Rogers Clark settles on Corn Island.
• 1780 – Louisville chartered.
• 1798 – Jefferson Seminary chartered.

19th century

• 1807 – Louisville Gazette newspaper begins publication.
• 1820 – Population: 4,012.
• 1828 – 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.
• 1859 – J. F. Hillerich in business.
• 1860 – Population: 68,033.
• 1862 – Board of Trade organized.
• 1868
  • Fourteenth Street Bridge built.
  • The Courier-Journal newspaper begins publication.
• 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 – 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

• 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.
• 1923
  • Brown Hotel opened.
  • Brown Hotel chef Fred Schmidt introduces the Hot Brown sandwich.
  • Chickasaw Park laid out (approximate date).
• 1926 - 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.
• 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.
• 1949 - Carriage House Players active.
• 1950 - Bellarmine College opens.
• 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.
• 1963
  • John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge opened.
  • Freedom Hall hosted the 1963 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship; Loyola University (IL) 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.
• 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.
  • 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.
• 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 the Kentucky Exposition Center.
  • The Courier-Journal was purchased by media giant Gannett.
• 1988 - Louisville Motor Speedway opened.
• 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.
• 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
  • Kentucky Kingdom reopened as Louisville's theme park.
  • Valhalla Golf Club hosted the annual PGA Championship; Rory McIlroy won the competition.
  • Mayor Fischer is re-elected in November.
  • Construction of the Ohio River Bridges Project begins.
  • The Louisville Cardinals played in their second consecutive College World Series and third overall.
  • Shortly after the College World Series appearance, the Cardinals joined the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• 2015
  • The KFC Yum! Center hosted second and third-round games of the 2015 NCAA men's basketball tournament.
  • The Abraham Lincoln Bridge (part of the Ohio River Bridges Project) opened for public use.
• 2016
  • Speed Art Museum reopened after a 3+1⁄2-year, $60 million expansion project.
  • Death of Muhammad Ali, his globally televised funeral procession, and private interment at Cave Hill Cemetery.
  • Lewis and Clark Bridge opens in the East End of Louisville.
  • Louisville City FC began play in the United Soccer League.
  • Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson became the Cardinals' first Heisman Trophy winner as the top player in college football for 2016.
• 2017
  • The Louisville Cardinals played in their fourth College World Series. Additionally, Cardinals pitcher and first baseman Brendan McKay was named the consensus college baseball player of the year for 2017.
  • Louisville City won the USL championship.
  • U of L fired both Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich in the wake of an FBI investigation into "pay-for-play" college recruiting schemes that allegedly linked Pitino to illicit payments to the family of at least one U of L recruit.
• 2018
  • The NCAA denied Louisville's appeal against the sanctions announced against the men's basketball program in 2017, officially making the Cardinals the first Division I school forced to vacate a men's or women's basketball championship.