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Timeline of Plymouth facts for kids

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The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Plymouth, Devon, England.

Prior to 17th century

17th–18th centuries

19th century

  • 1808 – Plymouth Gazette begins publication.
  • 1810 – Plymouth Proprietary Library founded.
  • 1811 – Theatre/Hotel building constructed.
  • 1812
    • Plymouth Institution (now The Plymouth Athenaeum) founded.
    • Plymouth Breakwater construction begins.
  • 1813
    • Port of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce established.
    • Exchange building constructed.
  • 1815 – 26 July: Napoleon Bonaparte enters Plymouth Sound aboard HMS Bellerophon, awaiting transportation to exile in Saint Helena.
  • 1819 – The Plymouth Athenaeum building designed by John Foulston opens.
  • 1820 – Plymouth Herald and Plymouth Journal newspapers begin publication.
  • 1823 – 26 September: Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway (horse-worked) opened for granite traffic to Sutton Pool.
  • 1826 – Plymouth Mechanics' Institute founded.
  • 1828
    • Royal Union Baths built.
    • Plymouth, Devonport, and Cornwall Races begin.
  • 1829
    • Museum of the Plymouth Institution built.
    • Blue Friars (club) founded.
The Basin and the Melville Block at Royal William Victualling Yard - geograph.org.uk - 917298
The Basin and the Melville Block at Royal William Victualling Yard
  • 1831
    • Plymouth and Devonport Spring Races begin.
    • December: First meeting in England at Plymouth of the evangelical Christian movement which becomes known as the Plymouth Brethren.
  • 1832 – Plymouth Times newspaper begins publication.
  • 1835 - Royal William Victualling Yard construction completed.
  • 1841 - Plymouth Breakwater constructed.
  • 1844 – Lighthouse commissioned on Plymouth Breakwater.
  • 1848 – 5 May: South Devon Railway opens to Plymouth.
  • 1851
    • 25 July: First Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth consecrated.
    • Plymouth Institution (later The Plymouth Athenaeum) merges with Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society.
  • 1856
    • Plymouth Drawing School founded.
    • St Boniface's Catholic College founded.
  • 1858 – 25 March: Plymouth Cathedral (Roman Catholic) opened.
  • 1859 – 3 May: Royal Albert Bridge opens linking Plymouth by rail to Saltash.
  • 1860 – Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom recommends a huge programme of fortifications for Plymouth, with a projected cost of £3,020,000.
  • 1862 – Plymouth Lifeboat Station in operation.
  • 1863 – St. Boniface Boys' Catholic School active.
  • 1865
  • 1871 – Agaton Fort built.
  • 1874 – Guildhall built.
  • 1877
    • Plymouth College founded as a boys' school.
    • Plymouth railway station opened.
  • 1880 - Plymouth Cathedral consecrated.
  • 1882 – Smeaton's Tower is dismantled at the Eddystone for re-erection on Plymouth Hoe as a memorial.
  • 1886 – 16 October: Argyle F.C. play their first match.
  • 1889 – Grand Theatre opens.
  • 1895 – 22 April: Western Evening Herald newspaper begins publication.
  • 1898
    • 5 September: New Palace Theatre of Varieties opens.
    • 21 September: Burrator Reservoir opens to supply fresh water to Plymouth from Dartmoor.
  • 1899 – Plymouth Institution (later The Plymouth Athenaeum) merges with Plymouth Mechanics' Institute.

20th century

  • 1910 - Population: 126,266.
  • 1914 – Plymouth, Devonport and East Stonehouse merge to form the County Borough of Plymouth.
  • 1928 – Plymouth attains city status.
  • 1929 – Old Plymouth Society founded.
  • 1933 – Western Fascist newspaper begins publication.
  • 1934 – Mayflower Steps monument erected.
  • 1935
    • Tinside Pool (swimming pool) opens.
    • Lord Mayor appointed.
  • 1940 – Plymouth Blitz:
    • 6 July: Aerial bombing by German forces begins.
    • 27 November: Bombing starts an oil storage depot fire at Turnchapel which burns for 5 days.
  • 1941 – Plymouth Blitz:
    • 15 March: Bombing in which 336 people lose their lives.
    • 20 March: A royal visit is followed by a sustained period of bombing.
  • 1944
    • May: Plymouth Blitz: Aerial bombing by German forces ends: about 1,000 people have been killed, 5,000 injured, 10,000 houses destroyed and 70,000 more damaged.
    • 4 June: United States forces embarked at Saltash Passage, Cattedown, Turnchapel and other Plymouth hards set sail for the Normandy landings.
  • 1945 – 29 September: Last trams in Plymouth run.
  • 1958 – 5 April: Drake Cinema opens.
  • 1961
    • 29 April: Westward Television begins broadcasting.
    • The Plymouth Athenaeum reopens after destruction of original building in Blitz.
  • 1967
    • 1 April: Plympton and Plymstock become part of city.
    • 28 May: Sir Francis Chichester arrives back in Plymouth on his yacht, Gypsy Moth IV, after completing his single-handed voyage around the world.
  • 1968 – 8 August: Royal Navy Leander-class frigate HMS Scylla is launched at HMNB Devonport, the last ship to be built in a Royal Dockyard.
  • 1971
    • Mayflower Centre (sport facility) built.
    • Plymouth College of Further Education, the future City College, building erected in Devonport.
  • 1975 – 19 May: Plymouth Sound (radio) begins broadcasting.
  • 1982
    • 1 January: Television South West begins broadcasting.
    • St Boniface Arena opens.
  • 1986 – Plymouth Citybus begins operating under this identity.
  • 1991 – Plymouth Pavilions (sport facility) opens.
  • 1992 – University of Plymouth chartered.
  • 1994 – Marsh Mills Retail Park opens, including stores such as Sainsbury's and Homebase.
  • 1998 – National Marine Aquarium opens.
  • 1999 – Vue cinema opens.

21st century

  • 2006 – Drake Circus Shopping Centre in business.
  • 2009 – The Plymouth Athenaeum's theatre closes.
  • 2010 – Radio Plymouth begins broadcasting.
  • 2012 – The Plymouth Athenaeum celebrates bicentenary.
  • 2015 – Waste incinerator (combined heat and power facility) built on former Dockyard land.
  • 2017 – Beckley Point is completed.
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Timeline of Plymouth Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.