BC - Tequesta Indians occupy what is now Miami

1521 - Ponce de Leon fails to gain foothold in Florida

1821 - U.S. Flag first flies over Florida

1830 - First permanent white settlers arrive

1831 - Statesman Richard Fitzpatrick operates successful plantation on Miami River

1870 - Brickell family arrives in Miami area

1876 - Voting in Miami leads to city's first controversial national election

1891 - Julia Tuttle arrives in Miami

1895 - Tuttle convinces Henry Flagler the area could become rich farmland

1896 - On the strength of black voters who made up nearly one-third the electorate, Miami is incorporated as a city; Flagler extends the Florida East Coast Railroad to Miami

1906 - Canal dredging begins to solidify coastal land

1910 - Miami Population reaches 5000

1912 - First Miami "skyscraper" (Burdines department store) opens on now-Brickell Avenue

1916 - Completion of industrialist James Deering's Villa Viscaya

1920 - Miami population reaches 30,000 as land boom brings residents and investors to the city

1921 - Merrick family launches Coral Gables

1923 - Miami Times newspaper quickly becomes the most prominent voice in the black community

1925 - With 1,000 subdivisions under construction, Miami incorporates adjacent communities; city expands from 13 square miles to 43

1926 - Killer hurricane devastates the city; University of Miami opens

1927 - Pan Am flight from Key West to Cuba launches historic airline; first black high school (Booker T. Washington) opens

1928 - City again struck by killer hurricanes, decimating region

1930 - Population reaches 110,000

1935 - Orange Bowl Classic college football game debuts. Bucknell defeats U.M. 26-0

1939-1945 Miami is important WW II military training center

1944 - Miami Police Department hires its first black officers

1945 - Virginia Beach, designed for black residents, opens

1949 - Pan American Airfield evolves into Miami International Airport

1950 - Population reaches 250,000

1958 - Public buses and beaches are desegregated

1959 - Castro takes control in Cuba, beginning Cuban migration to Miami

1960 - Dade Junior College (now Miami-Dade Community College) opens

1961 - Failed Bay of Pigs invasion returns spotlight to Miami and its Cuban-American community

1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis alarms and galvanizes Miami

1965 - Freedom Flights of Cubans escaping to Miami begin

1966 - Miami Dolphins play inaugural season; Athalie Range elected to Miami City Commission, becoming first black elected official

1970 - Don Shula hired as Dolphins head coach

1972 - Democratic National Convention held in Miami Beach; Florida International University opens

1973 - Maurice Ferre elected first Hispanic mayor of a large U.S. city; "Perfect Season" Dolphins win Super Bowl

1979 - Miami Beach's Art Deco area named Historic District

1980 - Mariel boatlift brings 100,000 additional Cubans to Miami; Miami erupts in race riots after police officers are acquitted in the beating death of black motorcyclist Arthur McDuffie

1983 - Dolphins draft quarterback Dan Marino

1984 - 55-story Southeast Financial Tower opens, changing the city's skyline; Metrorail system opens and Miami Vice debuts on television

1985 - Xavier Suarez is elected first Cuban-born mayor in United States; Brickell Bay Office tower opens, expanding city skyline

1986 - Metromover begins operation in downtown Miami

1987 - Pope John Paul II visits Miami; Joe Robbie Stadium opens

1988 - Miami Heat play inaugural season in brand-new Miami Arena

1989 - The Miami News shuts down, leaving the Miami Herald as the only major daily newspaper

1992 - Hurricane Andrew devastates much of South Miami-Dade County

1993 - Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers play inaugural seasons

1994 - Latin America leaders meet for summit conference in Bal Harbour

1996 - Miami celebrates its centennial at Bicentennial Park

1997 - Florida Marlins win the World Series

1998 - Circuit Judge voids Miami mayoral election, citing voter fraud

2000 - Cuban rafter Elian Gonzalez and presidential vote recount attract worlwide attention

2001 - MiamiNightOut.com kicks off!!!