This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Timeline of Birmingham history" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This article is intended to show atimeline of events in theHistory of Birmingham, England, with a particular focus on the events, people or places that are covered in Wikipedia articles.

• Bronze Age – Small farming settlements.
• AD 48 – Construction ofMetchley Fort begins asIcknield Street is constructed by Romans through Birmingham.
• AD 70 – The Romans abandon Metchley Fort only to return a few years later.
• AD 120 – The Romans Closed Metchley Fort permanently.
• Anglo-Saxon period –Beormingas clan present in the area.
• 7th century – Possible creation ofBirmingham as a hamlet.
• 968 –Duddeston is first mentioned in a charter granted to Wulfget the Thane byEadgar, King of the Angles.

• After 1066 – Area passes into the hands of the De Birmingham family.
• 1086 – Birmingham recorded as a village in theDomesday Book. William FitzAnsculf is recorded as having the Birmingham,Edgbaston,Aston,Erdington,Witton,Handsworth, Perry, and Little Barr manors.

• 1154 –Lord of the manor Peter de Birmingham has the charter to hold a market in Birmingham on every Thursday, transforming the village into a town.
• 1160 – The first stone church building is erected on the site ofSt. Mary's Church, Handsworth.
• 1176 – A road passing throughSutton Coldfield is recorded. This is probably part of a highway leading from Birmingham toRichmoned.

• 1218 – Flaxseeds Farm inStench ford is mentioned.
• 1221 – The manorial mill ofKing's Norton is recorded as being in the possession of Richard Clark.
• 1231 – A manorial mill at Edgbaston is recorded.
• 1249 – A ford over the River Cole is recorded.
• 1250
  • William de Birmingham is granted permission to hold a four-day fair in Birmingham duringAscensiontide annually.
  • A road from Birmingham toSaltley andCastle Bromwich is recorded in a deed.
• 1260 – Summer Lane, a road leading to Perry andWalsall, is recorded.
• 1263 – A church is documented at the site of the modern-dayRed Bull.
• 1273 – Several mills are recorded to be in existence inNorthfield.
• 1276 – Crossing of theRiver Rea atDeritend is reported.
• 1282 – Two roads are mentioned as passing throughYardley and converging at Deritend Bridge.
• 1290 – A man crossing theRiver Tame at Salford Bridge leading in the direction of Erdington and Sutton Coldfield is mentioned.

• 1309–William de Bermingham then lord of the manor, showed in a law-suit that his ancestors had a market in the place and levied tolls before the Conquest.
• 1317 – A mill in Witton and Erdington is mentioned; this is probably located on the Hawthorn Brook.
• 1318 – A bridge named Bromford Bridge is recorded.
• 1322 – It is recorded that merchants were selling wool in Birmingham market.
• By 1327 –Selly Manor constructed.
• 1333 – A mill in Erdington named Bromford Mill is recorded in a court roll.
• 1340 – The road from Birmingham to Castle Bromwich is again mentioned in a deed.
• 1368 – TheOld Crown public house in Deritend is believed to have been constructed as a guildhall. If so, it is Birmingham's first school.
• 1379 – A traveller records a bridge crossing the River Tame at Handsworth.
• 1381 – Residents of Deritend andBordesley given permission to build a chapel next to the River Rea.
• 1381 – Sir John de Birmyneham provides the first reference to Deritend by name, written as Duryzatehende.
• 1390 – Thomas de Birmingham is recorded as a cloth merchant.
• 1392 – TheGuild of the Holy Cross is established in Birmingham.

• 1406 – A goldsmith is referred to.
• 1435 – The last known overlordship of Erdington manor is recorded.
• 1449 – Three roads are recorded going from Birmingham to Edgbaston.
• 1460 –Handsworth Old Town Hall inHandsworth is constructed.
• 1480 – The tower ofChurch of Saints Peter and Paul, Aston is completed
• 1492 – The Saracen's Head in King's Norton is constructed.

• 1511 – The Clerk of the Ordnance orders horseshoes, bits and weapons for the royal army. All the suppliers are from Birmingham.
• 1517 – St Margaret's Church inWard End is built by Thomas Bond.
• 1524 – Lord Middleton refers to a goldsmith from Birmingham who repairs two cups and making nine spoons.
• 1527 –Bishop Vesey's Grammar School is founded byJohn Vesey, Bishop of Exeter, as one of his benefactions to his birthplace,Sutton Coldfield.
• 1528 – 16 December:Royal charter of incorporation granted to Sutton Coldfield, creating it a Royal Town.
• 1536
  • ThePriory of St Thomas of Canterbury, north of the manor of Birmingham, is dissolved as part of theDissolution of the Monasteries.
  • A footbridge is mentioned crossing a ford in theRiver Rea atDeritend.
• 1542 –Sarehole Mill is constructed as Biddle's Mill on the site of a former pool.
• 1547
  • TheGuild of the Holy Cross is mentioned as maintaining great stone bridges over the River Rea.
  • Priory of St Thomas of Canterbury buildings are demolished.
• 1552 –King Edward's School is founded.^[1]
• 1553 – A survey shows that the major industry has become metal-using instead of cloth.
• 1560 – A road in the direction ofDudley is recorded.
• 1590 –Blakesley Hall is constructed by Richard Smalbroke.

• 1612
  • A road is mentioned from Perry Bridge to Birmingham. It is named the "great way".
  • The Handsworth Bridge Trust is set up by Nicholas Hodgetts.
• 1616 –King James grantsKings Norton the right to hold a market.
• 1635 – Construction ofAston Hall is completed.
• 1635–1642 – The firstBirmingham Library is founded by thepuritan ministerFrancis Roberts
• 1642 – 17 October:English Civil War:
  • King Charles passes through Birmingham whilst travelling to theBattle of Edgehill; the townsfolk seize the Kings carriages containing the royal plate and furniture which they convey for security toWarwick Castle, a parliamentary stronghold.
  • Battle of Kings Norton: nine troops of horse and 200 foot under the command ofPrince Rupert fight a skirmish with a force of 800 Parliamentarians under the command ofLord Willoughby of Parham. The Parliamentarians lose about 20 men whilst the Royalists lose between 50 and 80 killed, with a further 20 taken prisoner.
• 1643
  • 3 April (Easter Monday):Battle of Camp Hill, a Royalist victory after which 80 houses in the town are torched.
  • Aston Hall is severely damaged by Parliamentary troops.
• 1648 – A paper mill is recorded as being in use inPerry Barr.
• 1656 – New building for theBirmingham Library completed;^[1] this will be closed after 1660.
• 1665 – Birmingham suffers heavy losses by the plague.^[1]
• c. 1687 – FatherAndrew Bromwich founds a Roman Catholic mission atOld Oscott, origin ofSt Mary's College, Oscott.
• 1695 – First fire engine in Birmingham.^[2]
• 1697 – John Pemberton purchases the land once the site of thePriory of St Thomas of Canterbury.

• 1700
  • John Pemberton begins construction of his prestigious Priory Estate on the former site of the Priory of St Thomas.
  • Population: 15,000 (approximate number).^[1]
• 1702 – The Old Cross, Birmingham's first public meeting place, is completed near theBull Ring.
• 1704 – 25 May:Church of the Ascension, Hall Green, consecrated as "Job Marston Chapel".
• 1707 – The timber structure of the Guild Hall onNew Street is demolished.
• 1708
  • The vacant New Street site becomes King Edward's School and a two-storey brick building is constructed on it.
  • Parliament receives a petition for a new Anglican church as St Martin's is overcrowded.

• 1713 –Old Square is constructed by John Pemberton on the former site of the Priory of St. Thomas.
• 1714 – Mobs attack religiousDissenters.
• 1715
  • St Philip's Church is consecrated (although the tower is not yet complete).
  • TheJacobite rising sees a mob attack the Lower Meeting House in Digbeth.

• 1724 – The Blue Coat School onColmore Row is completed.
• 1726 – The Bristol Road, which has suffered from intense traffic, is one of the first roads serving Birmingham to be turnpiked.
• 1728
  • 3 September:Matthew Boulton is born to a toymaker in Snow Hill.
  • A building known as 'Leather Hall' on New Street is demolished "while men slept" and three houses are constructed on it which are later replaced by a prison. 'Leather Hall' contained the town's last dungeon.

• 1730 – William Westley produces the first documentation of a newly constructed square named Old Square. It becomes one of the most prestigious addresses in Birmingham.
• 1731 – The first map of Birmingham is produced by William Westley.
• 1732 – c. 14 November: TheBirmingham Journal, Birmingham's first local newspaper, is printed by Thomas Warren.
• 1733 – The town's first workhouse is constructed on Lichfield Street near the modern-day Victoria Law Courts.
• 1737 –John Baskerville sets up in the Bull Ring as a writing-master.
• 1738 – March:John Wesley first visits Birmingham, shortly before his evangelical experience.

• 1740 – Birmingham's first theatre – theMoor Street Theatre – opens, and the town's earliest known orchestral concerts are organised here by organistBarnabas Gunn,^[3] though it will soon be closed down and converted into a Methodist chapel.
• 1741
  • Summer:Upper Priory Cotton Mill is opened as the world's first mechanisedcotton mill byLewis Paul andJohn Wyatt nearOld Square, donkey-driven; although this is not a commercial success, otherPaul-Wyatt cotton mills follow.^[4]
  • 16 November: Thomas Aris launches theBirmingham Gazette. TheBirmingham Journal has ceased by this date.
• 1742 –Sampson Lloyd II purchases Owen's Farm in Sparkbrook for £1,290.
• 1745 –John Baskerville leases an estate which he names 'Easy Hill' on which he builds a house and workshops on land later occupied byBaskerville House.
• 1746
  • John Roebuck begins production ofsulphuric acid using hislead chamber process in Steelhouse Lane.
  • Nechells Slitting Mill is completed at a cost of £1,212.
• 1747
  • Ann Colmore obtains a private act of Parliament,Colemore's Estate Act 1746 (20 Geo. 2. c.16Pr.), to sell land on her estate to Birmingham. This allows a massive expansion of the town to the west and the creation of theJewellery Quarter.

• 1751 – Methodist meeting house attacked by Jacobites.
• 1752 – Two theatres on Smallbrook Street and King Street open to the public.
• 1757 –John Baskerville'sBaskervilletypeface is first used in a book, a luxury edition ofVirgil.
• 1758
  • Summer:Benjamin Franklin first visits Birmingham.
  • The land known as Duddeston Hall is renamed to Vauxhall Gardens after the London pleasure park and is opened to the public as an entertainment venue.
• 1759
  • The Quaker meeting house is seriously damaged for not sufficiently celebratingthe English victories in Canada.
  • 20,000 people are being employed in Birmingham's "toymaking" industry.

• 1760
  • The Protestant Dissenting Charity School is established.
  • John Betts & Sons, refiners of precious metals, is established in Birmingham when Alexander Betts moves from Sheffield; the company will still be in family hands in the 21st century.
• 1761 –Matthew Boulton acquires a five-year lease on Soho Mill.
• 1762 – A glassworks is recorded as being in use at Snow Hill by Meyer Oppenheim.
• 1764 –Charles Wesley's sermon at the opening of a chapel on Moor Street is disrupted by rioting.
• 1765
  • Taylor's and Lloyds Bank, an ancestor toLloyds Bank, is opened on Dale End byJohn Taylor andSampson Lloyd.^[5]
  • Matthew Boulton'sSoho Manufactory on Handsworth heath is completed for the mass production of buckles, buttons and other "toys" and becomes a significant tourist attraction.
  • Lunar Society of Birmingham begins to meet.
• 1766
  • Matthew Boulton moves intoSoho House following completion of Soho Manufactory.
  • An infirmary wing is added to the Lichfield Street workhouse.
• 1768
  • 24 February: An act is obtained for Birmingham's first canal, theBirmingham Canal.
  • September: FirstBirmingham Music Festival held over 3 days to raise funds for aGeneral Hospital.
• 1769
  • 24 March: TheBirmingham Chronicle is printed for the first time.
  • 6 November: TheBirmingham Canal'sWednesbury branch is opened.^[6]
  • Birmingham Improvement Act createsBirmingham Street Commissioners with powers to ensure clean streets, to provide street lighting (by oil lamps) and to widen roads.^[7]

• 1770 – The first statues in the town^[8] are erected at the front of the Blue Coat School: they depict a young boy and a young girl and have been created by Edward Grubb.
• 1772
  • 21 September: TheBirmingham Canal main line is opened, providing for through navigation to theriver Severn.^[6]
  • 15 November (4 am): An earthquake strikes Birmingham and is felt in Hall Green, Erdington and Yardley. No damage is sustained but a flock of sheep escapes in Yardley.
  • Royal Hotel opens, the town's first establishment to be so called.
• 1773 – 31 August: TheBirmingham Assay Office (authorised by Act of 27 May) opens for the first time at the King's Head Inn at New Street.
• 1774
  • Birmingham's fourth theatre opens on New Street as theTheatre Royal.
  • James Watt moves to Birmingham.
• 1775
  • Watt forms a partnership withMatthew Boulton who secures extension of the 1769Watt steam engine patent (in which he holds a share) until June 1800 by Act of Parliament and the first engines are built under it.^[9][10]
  • Ketley's Building Society is founded in Birmingham as the world's firstbuilding society.^[11]
• 1777
  • Construction ofSt Paul's Square commences.
  • A bill is presented to Parliament for a licensed theatre; however it is rejected.
  • Tailors' cooperative organized.^[12]
• 1779
  • c. 2 June:St Paul's Church is consecrated^[13] as construction ofSt Paul's Square is completed.
  • 20 September:Birmingham General Hospital opens to the public.William Withering is physician.
  • November: The Birmingham Library is established by 19 subscribers.^[14]
  • Buttonmaker John Pickard fits a crank and flywheel to his Newcomen engine to power a mill. It is adapted into a flour mill and his business increases.
  • A. E. Williams begins as a manufacturer ofpewter ware; the business will still be in the hands of his family in the 21st century.

• 1780
  • William Hutton calls for the demolition of the prison at Peck Lane.
  • Joseph Priestley arrives in Birmingham.
• 1781
  • The Birmingham Library moves to premises in Swan Yard.
  • Birmingham New Brass and Spelter Company established.
• 1782 – The Birmingham Old Brewery, Birmingham's first large scale brewery, opens on Moseley Street.
• 1783
  • June: An act for theBirmingham & Fazeley Canal is obtained which will connect the Birmingham Canal with the Coventry Canal.
  • The Birmingham Commercial Committee is formed.
  • A proposal for a major new workhouse is presented to Parliament; however it faces objections from William Hutton.
• 1784
  • September:Birmingham Triennial Music Festival becomes a regularly recurring event.
  • The Old Cross is demolished.
• 1786 – The theatre on King Street is closed and converted into a Methodist chapel.
• 1787
  • New Hall is put up for sale as demand for the area increases.
  • 'Apollo Hotel' opens inDeritend, at this time a small hamlet.
• 1788 – A turnpike is established on the main road into Deritend.
• 1789 – 11 August:Birmingham & Fazeley Canal opened, providing for a water route to London (via Oxford).

• 1790 –Webley & Scott established asfirearms manufacturers by William Davies; adopting its later name in 1897 the company will still be in business in the 21st century.
• 1791
  • 10 June: An act for theWorcester and Birmingham Canal is obtained.^[15]
  • 14–17 July:Priestley Riots against Dissenters and radical sympathisers: TheRoyal Hotel (scene of a banquet to celebrate theStorming of the Bastille) is attacked, chapels, business premises andJoseph Priestley's house on Easy Hill are looted and the late John Baskerville's house destroyed.
  • The Protestant Dissenting Charity School moves to a new building on Park Street.
  • Birmingham's first synagogue begins construction in the Froggary.
• 1792 – 17 August: TheTheatre Royal in New Street is seriously damaged by fire.
• 1793
  • February: An effigy ofTom Paine is hung and burned by a crowd singing 'God Save The King.'
  • 6 March: An act for theWarwick and Birmingham Canal is obtained.^[16]
  • Summer: A permanent military barracks is completed at Ashted.
• 1794
  • 17 April: The Company of theBirmingham andBirmingham & Fazeley Canal Navigations is renamed theBirmingham Canal Navigations.
  • St Mary's College, Oscott established atOld Oscott (Great Barr) as a Roman Catholic seminary.
• 1795
  • June: Pickard's steam-powered flour mill is attacked by a mob of women after rumours he has wrongly increased the price of flour. The military arrive and break up the mob with at least one death.
  • 30 October: First section ofWorcester and Birmingham Canal opened fromGas Street Basin toSelly Oak.^[15]
• 1797
  • 300 children are removed from the Lichfield Street workhouse to an Asylum for the Infant Poor on Summer Lane.
  • The Birmingham Library moves to a purpose-built building on Union Street on land formerly Corbett's Bowling Green.
  • TheAnchor Inn in Digbeth opens.

• 1800
  • 19 March: TheWarwick and Birmingham Canal is completed.^[16]
  • September: Another mob attacks Pickard's mill. Instead of waiting for the military, John Pickard and his workers retaliate with rifles, killing at least one rioter.
• 1801 – 10 March:Demographics of Birmingham: The first national census shows the town's population as 73,670, an estimated increase of 41% over that in 1785.^[1]
• 1802
  • 31 August:Admiral Nelson visits Birmingham and is greeted by large crowds.
  • The lighting system ofSoho Manufactory is displayed to the public. It is the first factory to be lit by gas.
  • Westley Richards established asfirearms manufacturers byWilliam Westley Richards; the company will still be in business in the 21st century.
  • Horseshoe Stables built for canal horses atFarmer's Bridge Junction.
• 1804 – January:Joshua Toulmin appointed as a Unitarian minister.
• 1805
  • 18 September: The foundation stone of a building complex consisting of public offices, a courtroom and prison in Moor Street is laid.
  • 23 November: A meeting is held to decide upon the creation of monument dedicated to Admiral Nelson.
• 1806
  • 13 June: A decision is made that a statue should be created in memory of Admiral Nelson.
  • The prison on Moor Street opens.
  • Another bill is presented to Parliament for a licensed theatre and this time is granted.
• 1807
  • October: ThePublic Office on Moor Street is completed and opened one year after the completion of the prison.
  • Space becomes available on Park Street for the expansion of the graveyard at St. Martin's, Birmingham's only Anglican graveyard.
• 1809
  • 25 October (Jubilee Day of George III):Statue of Horatio Nelson byRichard Westmacott, erected by public subscription, is unveiled in the Bull Ring, the first statue ofAdmiral Lord Nelson in the country.
  • Birmingham's second synagogue, theSevern Street Synagogue, is completed on Severn Street.

• 1813
  • TheBirmingham Gun Barrel Proof House is established by anact of Parliament.
  • The Methodist Church in Belmont Row, Quaker Meeting House near Ladywell,Severn Street Synagogue and Bond Street Baptist Chapel are all severely damaged by an anti-Dissenter riot.^[17]
  • Christ Church, in the later Victoria Square, is completed.
• 1815
  • August: Worcester Bar lock constructed atGas Street Basin giving through water communication between theBirmingham Canal Navigations and theWorcester and Birmingham Canal.^[15]
  • 4 December: Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened throughout for traffic.^[15]
  • Birmingham Assay Office moves from the public house on New Street to offices in Little Cannon Street.
• 1816 – TheBirmingham Manor House is demolished by theBirmingham Street Commissioners and the moat filled in.
• 1817
  • 29 May: TheSmithfield Market is opened by the Street Commissioners on the site of the Birmingham manor house.
  • William Murdoch moves to Sycamore Hill in Handsworth where he installs central heating and gas lighting.
• 1819
  • 14 April: The streets of Birmingham lit by gas for the first time by theBirmingham Gas Light and Coke Company.^[2]
  • A large rally to promote electoral reform electsCharles Wolseley as Birmingham's "legislatorial representative" (the town has no MP at this time).
  • William Westmacott is hired by Alfred Bunn to redesign theTheatre Royal's interior.

• 1820
  • 6 January: TheTheatre Royal on New Street is destroyed in a fire. Only two medallions of Shakespeare and Garrick are retrieved from the ruins.
  • A canal is extended through an area behind modern-day Centenary Square to create a wharf. The extension cuts across Baskerville's tomb where the builders find his body to be well preserved.
• 1821 –Birmingham Society of Artists founded.
• 1823 – The spire is added to St Paul's Church.
• 1824 – John Cadbury opens his shop on Bull Street
• 1825
  • The Birmingham Female Society for the Relief of Negro Slaves is established by Mary Sturge, Maria Cadbury and Mary Samuel Lloyd.
  • The titleBirmingham Journal is revived for a weeklyTory newspaper by printer William Hodgetts.
• 1826
  • 26 May: TheBirmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal is authorised; when opened in 1835 it will connect with theBirmingham Canal Navigations atAldersley, north of Wolverhampton.
  • Company of Proprietors of the Birmingham Waterworks authorised "for the purpose of providing a sufficient and constant supply of good and wholesome water for domestic, manufacturing and other purposes".
• 1827 – After being broken into and seriously damaged years earlier, the Severn Street synagogue receives enough funds to reopen.
• 1828
  • 17 November: The first Birmingham Co-operative Society is formed.
  • The main road into Deritend is disturnpiked.
• 1829
  • 14 December:Thomas Attwood founds theBirmingham Political Union at theRoyal Hotel to campaign for electoral reform.
  • Rotton Park Reservoir is completed for theBirmingham Canal Navigations.

• 1832
  • 27 April: Construction ofBirmingham Town Hall commences.
  • 4 June:Reform Act creates aBirmingham Parliamentary constituency for the first time. At theU.K. general election held from 8 December 1832 to 8 January 1833, theRadicalsThomas Attwood andJoshua Scholefield become its first Members of Parliament.^[1]
  • 11 June:Birmingham Botanical Gardens (designed byJ. C. Loudon) are opened to the public.
  • George Muntzpatents the alloyMuntz metal and begins its manufacture in Birmingham.
• 1834 – 7 October:Birmingham Town Hall (designed byJoseph Hansom andEdward Welch) is opened for theBirmingham Triennial Music Festival.
• 1835 – 16 February: NewMarket Hall opens in theBull Ring.
• 1836
  • 23 May:Birmingham Central Cemetery inHockley opened.
  • August:Midland Bank established byCharles Geach as the Birmingham and Midland Bank.
  • Birmingham Battery and Metal Company established.
• 1837
  • 4 July: TheGrand Junction Railway is opened providing through trains from Birmingham toManchester andLiverpool from a temporary terminus atDuddeston railway station (opened as Vauxhall).
  • 21 September:Felix Mendelssohn is the soloist in the première of hisPiano Concerto No. 2 at theTown Hall as part of this year'sBirmingham Triennial Music Festival.^[18]
  • St Mary's College, Oscott moves to a building inNew Oscott designed byJoseph Potter andAugustus Pugin.
  • Bird's Custard is first formulated byAlfred Bird in Birmingham.
• 1838
  • 17 September: TheLondon and Birmingham Railway is opened throughout fromCurzon Street railway station;Perry Barr railway station is also opened.
  • 31 October: Birmingham gains the status of amunicipal borough andWilliam Scholefield becomes firstMayor of Birmingham.
  • Spring Hill College founded as a seminary for the Congregational ministry.
  • King Edward's VI school moves into a building in New Street designed byCharles Barry.^[1]
• 1839
  • July:Chartist agitation and riots.^[1]
  • October: Reconstruction ofSt Chad's Cathedral (Roman Catholic; at this time a church) byAugustus Pugin begins.
  • 20 November:Birmingham Police force comes into being by Act of 26 August.^[19]

• 1840
  • The Protestant Dissenting Charity School moves into new premises in Graham Street.
  • The Hebrew National School is established.
• 1841
  • 21 June: St Chad's is consecrated as a church.
  • Five Ways is disturnpiked.
• 1842 – The Moor Street prison is publicly condemned as being too ornate as the number of prisoners held in confinement there drops to zero.
• 1843
  • Birmingham Government School of Design founded.
  • Alfred Bird producesbaking powder for the first time.^[20]
  • The Hebrew National School is replaced by a new building on Hurst Street.
• 1844
  • 14 February: TheBirmingham and Warwick Junction Canal is opened from the centre of Birmingham to Gravelly Hill.^[16]
  • c. October:Stechford railway station is opened.^[21]
• 1845 – Joseph Wright establishes a railway carriage and wagon works atSaltley, the earliest constituent ofMetro-Cammell.
• 1846
  • 26 August:Felix Mendelssohn's oratorioElijah is premièred at theTown Hall as part of this year'sBirmingham Triennial Music Festival.
  • 7 October: TheBirmingham Baths Committee is officially established.
  • St. Philip's School is completed and opened.
• 1849
  • 1 May:Kings Norton railway station is opened.
  • 29 October: Construction of Kent Street Baths commences.
  • Winson Green Prison is opened.
  • The firstSt Anne's Church is founded by Catholic convertJohn Henry Newman in an old gin distillery inDeritend.

• 1850
  • 10 December:Bingley Hall opens as the world's first purpose-built permanent exhibition hall.
  • Birmingham Pauper Lunatic Asylum opens at Winson Green.^[2]
  • Bishop Vesey's Grammar School ceases to be aboarding school.
  • The grounds known as Vauxhall Gardens are sold to the Victoria Land Society and the trees are cut down.
  • Birmingham Mint begins production as a private enterprise by Ralph Heaton.
• 1851 – 12 May: Kent Street Baths are opened but are not yet completed.
• 1852
  • February: Purpose-builtBirmingham Oratory premises on the Hagley Road in Edgbaston for the Roman Catholic Congregation of theOratory of Saint Philip Neri are opened.John Henry Newman, its founder and Provost, will spend much of the rest of his life here, dying here in 1890.
  • 21 April:St Chad's is named a cathedral byPope Pius IX.
  • 1 October:Snow Hill railway station is opened by theGreat Western Railway.^[21]
  • Birmingham Philosophical Institute ceases its activities.
  • Birmingham Union workhouse, a major newworkhouse with a capacity of 1,160 people, is opened atWinson Green, 69 years after being first proposed.
  • Kent Street Baths are completed, becoming Birmingham's first public baths.
• 1853
  • June:Acocks Green railway station is opened.^[21]
  • 27 December:Charles Dickens gives the first of his public readings of his own works, inBirmingham Town Hall to the Industrial and Literary Institute, repeated three days later to an audience of working people.^[22]
  • Birmingham Mint is first contracted to producecoins of the pound sterling.
  • Birmingham Council buy lands for theCouncil House.
• 1854
  • 1 June:New Street railway station is fully opened.^[21]
  • November:Aston railway station is completed and opened.^[21]
  • Birmingham and Midland Institute established.^[23][1]
• 1855 –Adderley Park becomes an open space available to the public, initially managed by the donor,Charles Adderley, 1st Baron Norton.
• 1856
  • Singers Hill Synagogue, designed byYeoville Thomason, is opened.
  • William Stockley's Orchestra, the town's first permanently established orchestra of locally based professional musicians, is formed.^[3]
• 1857
  • 1 June:Calthorpe Park opened as a public park.
  • 4 December:Birmingham Post newspaper launched asThe Birmingham Daily Post.
• 1858 –Ansells Brewery established by hop merchant and maltster Joseph Ansell inAston.
• 1859
  • 25 July: Construction ofWoodcock Street Baths inDuddeston commences.
  • The modern game oftennis begins to be developed by solicitor Maj.Harry Gem and his friend,Augurio Perera, to be played on the latter'scroquet lawn inEdgbaston.^[24][25]
  • TheBirmingham School of Music is formed.

• 1860
  • January: The partly completedBirmingham and Midland Institute inParadise Street is opened as a public museum.
  • 1 August:Adderley Park railway station is opened.^[21]
  • 27 August: Woodcock Street Baths are completed and opened.
  • Joseph Lucas establishes the business that becomesLucas Industries, manufacturer of vehicle lighting.
• 1861
  • June:Birmingham Small Arms Company founded.
  • September:George Kynoch sets up his small armsammunition manufacturing business, building the Lion Works atWitton.
  • A bylaw requires all new houses in Birmingham to be connected to a sewer.^[2]
• 1862
  • 2 June: Line opened toSutton Coldfield railway station with intermediate stations atGravelly Hill,Erdington andWylde Green.^[21]
  • 1 October:Hamstead railway station is opened as Great Barr.^[21]
  • Handsworth Grammar School is founded.
  • Unitarian Church of the Messiah inBroad Street (built over the canal) is completed.
• 1863
  • 23 May: Consecration ofBirmingham City Cemetery opened inWitton by Birmingham Corporation.
  • The Great Western Hotel is constructed next to Snow Hill Station.
  • Soho Manufactory is demolished and the site used for housing.
• 1865 – The firstBirmingham Central Library is opened.^[1]
• 1865 - Failure of Attwoods, Spooners, and Marshalls Bank causes a local crisis. Failure of the Birmingham Penny Bank.^[26]
• 1867 – Parliamentary franchise increased to three.^[1]
• 1868
  • 12 September:St Augustine's Church, Edgbaston is consecrated.
  • Opening of the first fire station in Birmingham at 19, Little Cannon Street.

• 1870
  • 1 September:Northfield railway station is opened.
  • Birmingham Mail newspaper launched as theBirmingham Evening Mail.
  • Birmingham Council agree to build offices on lands bought in 1853.
• 1871
  • 1 June:Birmingham, Alabama established in the United States.
  • School Board established in Birmingham as required by theElementary Education Act 1870 and with the support of Joseph Chamberlain. From 1873 to 1898 41Board Schools are built around Birmingham to the designs of architectsMartin & Chamberlain, characterised by red brick andarchitectural terracotta with ventilation spires.^[27]
  • Snow Hill railway station is rebuilt to increase capacity.
• 1871–1872 & 1874 –Smallpox epidemics.^[2]
• 1872
  • 20 May:Birmingham and District Tramways Company Ltd operates the firsthorse trams in Birmingham.
  • The Bristol Road is disturnpiked.
• 1873
  • April:Cannon Hill Park given to Birmingham byLouisa Ryland; opens to the public in September.
  • Joseph Chamberlain becomesMayor of Birmingham, serving three terms.
  • Birmingham Orthodox Cathedral is designed byJ. A. Chatwin.
  • Birmingham Moseley Rugby Club is founded by members of Havelock Cricket Club, playing their firstrugby union match in 1874.
• 1874
  • March:Aston Villa F.C. is founded by members of Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel cricket team inHandsworth.
  • 13 October: Formation of the Fire Brigade under the control of the Police Watch Committee; Superintendent: George Tiviodale.
  • Construction of the Birmingham Council House commences.^[1]
• 1875
  • March: Riots on Navigation Street lead to 12 arrests and the murder of a police constable.
  • 25 June: First Ten Acres and Stirchley Street Co-operative Society shop opens.
  • September:Association football teamBirmingham City F.C. is founded asSmall Heath Alliance by a group of cricketers fromHoly Trinity Church, Bordesley, playing its first match in November.^[28]
  • St Martin in the Bull Ring rebuilding completed.^[1]
  • TheMidlands Vinegar Company is established inAston.
• 1876
  • 3 April: TheBirmingham West Suburban Railway is opened by theMidland Railway to a central terminus atGranville Street including intermediate stations atStirchley Street (later Bournville) andSelly Oak.
  • 1 May:Witton railway station is opened by theLondon and North Western Railway.^[21]
  • Construction of theGreat Western Arcade is completed.
  • A spire is added toSt Augustine's Church, Edgbaston.
  • Birmingham Corporation Water Department takes over the Birmingham Waterworks Company.
• 1877
  • The Birmingham Assay Office moves to offices onNewhall Street.
  • Birchfield Harriers athletics club formed.
• 1878
  • 26 September: FirstUniversity of Oxford Extension Lecture delivered, in Birmingham.
  • Demolition of inner-city slums begins to make way for the construction ofCorporation Street.
  • Joseph Chamberlain commissionsHighbury Hall to be constructed as his residence.
  • Arthur Conan Doyle begins 3-year period as a doctor's assistant in Aston. During this time, his first published story appears, "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley".^[29]
• 1879
  • 11 January: During the construction of an extension to Birmingham Central Library, a fire destroys 50,000 books.
  • April: Superintendent Alfred Robert Tozer is appointed head of the Fire Brigade.
  • The Birmingham Council House is completed and opened.
  • Cadbury's move their chocolate manufacturing business to the outer suburb which they nameBournville.
  • Timeline of telephone companies in Birmingham: First telephone exchange in Birmingham opened.

• 1880
  • 20 October: TheChamberlain Memorial is inaugurated in the presence ofJoseph Chamberlain.
  • 27 November: Rev.Richard Enraght is imprisoned for 49 days in Warwick Prison and deprived of his parish atHoly Trinity Church, Bordesley, as a result of proceedings under thePublic Worship Regulation Act 1874.
• 1881
  • 5 August: Birmingham Co-operative Society opens its first store.
  • Construction of an extension to the Birmingham Council House commences.
  • Rubery Hill asylum opens.^[2]
  • Edgbaston Quaker Meeting House is opened.
  • Thorp Street drill hall is completed.^[30]
• 1882
  • 28 August: The fire station at Upper Priory opens and is to be known as the Chief Fire Station.
  • 26 December:Birmingham and Aston Tramways Company begins operation withsteam trams.
  • First public electricity supply.^[2]
  • A redesigned Birmingham Central Library is rebuilt on the same site as the previous library, including aShakespeare Memorial Room.
• 1883
  • Five new establishments of theFoundation of the Schools of King Edward VI are created:
    • King Edward VI Aston.
    • King Edward VI Camp Hill.
    • King Edward VI Five Ways.
    • King Edward VI Handsworth as King Edward VI Aston.
    • King Edward VI High School for Girls.
  • Wholesale Markets building for fruit and vegetables opened on Moat Row inSmithfield.
  • Joseph Hudson ofJ Hudson & Co. invents and begins to produce the peawhistle for use by police and others.
• 1884 – 15 December:London and North Western Railway line extended from a rebuiltSutton Coldfield station to Lichfield with intermediate stations atBlake Street andFour Oaks.^[21]
• 1885
  • February: Extension ofBirmingham New Street station is opened; theBirmingham West Suburban Railway extends into the enlarged station.
  • September:Birmingham Municipal School of Art opens in its new premises in Margaret Street.^[27]
  • Construction of an extension to the Birmingham Council House is completed.
  • Insertion of stained-glass windows designed byEdward Burne-Jones^[31] (born in the parish) intoSt Philip's Church begins.
  • New Hall Manor is converted into a school.
  • Lewis's department store is constructed to replace Berlin House and to build over the Minories on Corporation Street.
  • Ladypool Junior & Infant School is constructed.
  • Approximate date: CoachbuildersMulliners move to Birmingham.
  • Parliamentary franchise increased to seven.^[1]
• 1886
  • 7 June: First match atEdgbaston Cricket Ground.
  • October: Spring Hill College moves from Birmingham to Oxford and adopts the nameMansfield College.
• 1887 – 23 March: The foundation stone for theVictoria Law Courts is laid byQueen Victoria.
• 1888
  • 24 March:Birmingham Central Tramways Company Ltd introducescable trams.
  • King Edward VI High School for Girls moves to the Liberal Club on Congreve Street.
• 1889
  • January: Birmingham Infirmary, predecessor of theCity Hospital in Dudley Road, opens as an extension toBirmingham Union Workhouse with Ann C. Gibson as first matron.
  • 14 January: Birmingham is granted city status by Queen Victoria despite not (at this time) having an Anglican cathedral, which has previously been a requirement for the honour in England; it also becomes acounty borough.^[1]
  • 1 November: Vauxhall railway station is renamed Vauxhall andDuddeston railway station.
  • TheBirmingham and Midland Institute inParadise Street is completed.

• 1890 – March:Peaky Blinders street gang first recorded.
• 1891
  • 5 April: Population: 478,113.^[1]
  • 21 July: The Victoria Law Courts are completed and opened by thePrince andPrincess of Wales.
  • 3 August: NewHead Post Office building inParadise Street (Victoria Square) opens.
  • 1 October: TheBalsall Heath district, which has constituted the most northerly part of the Parish ofKing's Norton in Worcestershire, is added to theCounty Borough of Birmingham, and therefore Warwickshire. This year alsoHarborne becomes part of the County Borough of Birmingham and thus transferred fromStaffordshire toWarwickshire.^[32]
  • 9 October:Antonín Dvořák conducts the première of hisRequiem at theTown Hall as part of this year'sBirmingham Triennial Music Festival.^[18]
• 1892
  • Small Heath School is completed and opened.
  • Superintendent Tozer patents a street fire alarm for the public to be able to call in the event of fire.
• 1893 –George Cadbury begins to lay out themodel village ofBournville.
• 1895
  • April: 3-year-oldJ. R. R. Tolkien is brought to Birmingham where he will live until 1911.
  • 11 September: TheFA Cup (at this time held byAston Villa) is stolen from a shop window in Birmingham and never recovered.^[33]
  • The free library of thePublic Library and Baths, Balsall Heath is completed and opened.
• 1896
  • 3 June: The office of Mayor is raised to the dignity ofLord Mayor of Birmingham.^[34]
  • 1–7 Constitution Hill is designed and constructed.
  • National Telephone Company exchange at19 Newhall Street opens.
  • The last houses of Old Square are demolished as part of the Corporation Street development by Joseph Chamberlain.
• 1897
  • 6 February:Sports Argus newspaper first published.
  • 10 April:Aston Villa F.C. win theFA Cup. Having already sealed theFootball League title, they have completedthe double.^[35] On 17 April they move into their new stadium,Villa Park.^[36]
• 1898
  • Christ Church in the city centre is demolished to make room for offices.
  • The Pitman Vegetarian Hotel on Corporation Street is opened.
• 1899
  • 13 April:Brandwood End Cemetery opened byKing's Norton and Northfield Urban District Council.
  • October: Construction ofSt Agatha's Church, Sparkbrook commences.
  • December:Frederick W. Lanchester forms a business for construction of motor cars inSparkbrook.
  • The private Birmingham Library's collection of 70,000 books is moved to a new building in Margaret Street much later occupied by theBirmingham and Midland Institute.

• 1900
  • 24 March: TheUniversity of Birmingham, Birmingham's first university, is chartered as the successor toMason Science College with a campus at Edgbaston.
  • 3 October:Edward Elgar's choral workThe Dream of Gerontius is premièred at theTown Hall under the baton ofHans Richter as part of this year'sBirmingham Triennial Music Festival.
  • BranchCollege of Art, Balsall Heath, completed in 1899, is opened.
  • The "Tower of Varieties" on Hurst Street is renamed theTivoli.
• 1901
  • 10 January: Council House Square is renamedVictoria Square in honour of the Queen, who dies 12 days later.
  • March:The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company Limited is incorporated to take over the former Starley bicycle works atAdderley Park for the manufacture of cars and machine tools withHerbert Austin as managing director.^[37]
  • 31 March: Population: 522,204.^[1]
  • 27 May: TheAlexandra Theatre is opened as the Lyceum Theatre.
  • 26 October: Police Constable Charles Gunter is fatally injured by a thrown brick while attempting to disperse a disorderly crowd.
  • December:The Royal Hotel in Sutton Coldfield is purchased by the Sutton Coldfield Corporation.
  • 18 December:David Lloyd George has to evade a patriotic mob by escaping fromBirmingham Town Hall disguised as a policeman having given an anti-Boer War speech.
  • TheBartons Arms inAston is completed and opened.
• 1902
  • The BritishGeneral Electric Company opens its first purpose-built factory, theWitton Engineering Works.
  • Edgbaston Cricket Ground is granted the right to holdtest cricket matches.
  • The Bodega wine bar is renamed theTrocadero and receives a new glazed frontage.
  • 13 December: Fire station at Lingard Street, Nechells, opens.
  • 22 December: The Lyceum Theatre is renamed theAlexandra Theatre.
• 1903
  • February: The former council offices in Mill Street, Sutton Coldfield are sold.
  • October
    • First motor buses operated in Birmingham, on the Hagley Road route, by the Birmingham Motor Express Company Limited which becomes theBirmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited in 1905. (Motor bus operation is suspended 1907–12.)
    • Birmingham Crematorium opened at Perry Bar.
    • The Tivoli on Hurst Street is renamed "TheBirmingham Hippodrome".
  • Methodist Central Hall on Corporation Street is completed and opened.
  • TheTyphoo brand is launched byJohn Sumner (tea merchant) in the city.
  • Edwin Samson Moore'sMidlands Vinegar Company begins manufacture ofHP Sauce inAston.
  • Christian Kunzle opens his first bakery in Birmingham.
  • TheNew Hudson bicycle company begins volume production ofNew Hudson Motorcycles.
• 1904
  • 4 January: FirstBirmingham Corporation Tramways route commences in Aston Road North.
  • January:Chamberlain Clock inaugurated in theJewellery Quarter to markJoseph Chamberlain's diplomatic tour of South Africa (1902–03).
  • 21 July: Royal opening ofBirmingham Corporation Water Department's scheme bringing water to the city from theElan Valley Reservoirs in mid-Wales via theElan aqueduct.
  • 4 August: Fire station opens at Rose Road, Harborne.
  • TheBishop Latimer Memorial Church, Winson Green, is completed.
  • The new façade for theQueen's College in the city centre is completed.
• 1905
  • St Philip's Church is raised to the dignity of a cathedral;Charles Gore is translated from Worcester to become firstBishop of Birmingham in theAnglican Diocese of Birmingham.
  • Ruskin Hall, theJunior School and the Friends' Meeting House atBournville and Kingsmead College inSelly Oak, all designed byWilliam Alexander Harvey, are completed.
  • Moor Hall is completely demolished and reconstructed by Colonel Edward Ansell.
  • Austin Motor Company incorporated and acquires the site for itsLongbridge plant (beyond the city boundary at this time).
  • John Goodman sets up Veloce Ltd which will produce theVelocette motorcycle.
• 1906
  • June: Appointment of Alfred Robert Tozer jr as chief fire officer following the death of his father and namesake.
  • 19 September:Sutton Coldfield Town Hall is opened by the Mayor, Councillor R. H. Sadler following construction of an extension.
  • 26 December:St Andrews Football Stadium is completed and opened.
  • 31 December:Steam trams in Birmingham last operate.
  • BournvilleCarillon installed.
• 1907
  • 13 February: Fire station at Bordesley Green opened.
  • 1 October:1907 Birmingham Tramway accident: ACity of Birmingham Tramways Company Ltd double-decker runs away and overturns at the junction of Warstone Lane and Icknield Street with 2 fatalities.
  • 4 October:The Stechford Club is registered in Stechford and holds its first meeting on 9 October.
  • 30 October:Balsall Heath Public Baths are opened.
• 1908
  • 16 January: TheDigbeth Institute is opened by the wife of the Pastor ofCarrs Lane Church as an institutional church attached to Carr's Lane Congregational Church.
  • 7 December: TheAston Hippodrome is opened to the public.
  • TheJoseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower on the University of Birmingham's new Edgbaston campus is completed.
  • Reconstruction of parishchurch of SS Peter & Paul, Aston, is completed.
  • Plans to build public baths inNechells are approved.
• 1909
  • May: The originalSelly Oak tree is felled.
  • 1 July:Birmingham Moor Street railway station is opened by theGreat Western Railway^[21] as a terminus for suburban trains.
  • 7 July: Royal opening of theUniversity of Birmingham'sEdgbaston campus.
  • 17 September: After disrupting a meeting addressed by the Prime Minister, militantsuffragetteMabel Capper is among the first to sufferforce-feeding while onhunger strike, atWinson Green Prison.^[38]
  • 9 November:Quinton is formally removed from Worcestershire and incorporated into the county borough of Birmingham.
  • 27 December:The Electric Theatre in Station Street shows its first film; by a century later it will be the oldest working cinema in the country.^[39]
  • A school of architecture is formed atBirmingham School of Art.

• 1910
  • 22 June: TheNechells Baths are completed and opened.
  • NewBirmingham Oratory church completed.
  • Birmingham Small Arms Company begins manufacturing motorcycles.
• 1911
  • 18 January: Albion Street fire station opens.
  • 9 November: TheUrban districts ofHandsworth andAston Manor, in Staffordshire, and theRural district ofYardley along with the greater part of theUrban District of King's Norton and Northfield (which includes most ofBartley Reservoir), both in Worcestershire, become part of Birmingham, and thus Warwickshire, altogether nearly tripling the city's size.
  • Construction of an extension to the Council House, designed by Ashley & Newman, begins.
  • Cable trams in Birmingham last operate.
• 1912
  • 30 May: Moseley Road fire station opens; it is the first station in the brigade with a motor tender and vehicle.
  • 1 October:Sibelius conducts the British première of hisSymphony No. 4 at theTown Hall.^[18]
  • End: Major reconstruction ofSnow Hill station by theGreat Western Railway is completed.
• 1913
  • 15 February: TheBirmingham Repertory Theatre is founded byBarry Jackson when a theatre company opens a permanent home on Station Street, later theOld Rep.
  • 23 April: TheKing Edward VII Memorial is unveiled by the late King's sister,Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, in Victoria Square.
  • 19 July: FirstBirmingham City Transport motor bus services operate.
• 1914
  • 30 March: An addition to Kent Street Baths consisting of a women's swimming baths and baths for women are opened in an adjoining building.
  • May:BournvilleRest House on The Green is presented by employees ofCadbury's to mark Mr and MrsGeorge Cadbury's silver wedding in 1913.
  • The Stechford Club moves to newly completed premises.
• 1916
  • 29 September: TheBirmingham Municipal Bank opens to the public.
  • 5 December: Station Officer William Thomas from Albion Street fire station is killed whilst attending a fire at The Parade, Spring Hill.
• 1917
  • Birmingham Children's Hospital moves to a new site on Ladywood Road.
  • Fort Dunlop is opened byDunlop Rubber for the manufacture oftyres atErdington.
• 1918–1919 – TheKings Norton Metal Company mints Britishpennies.^[40]
• 1918 – 10 June: TheBirmingham Civic Society is founded at an inaugural meeting at Birmingham Council House.
• 1919
  • 26 February: "Nechells Gas Disaster": Station Officer Henry Moon from Lingard Street fire station and Fireman Herbert Dyche from Moseley Road fire station are killed whilst attending a severe gas leak at Nechells Gas Works; two male workers are also killed.
  • City of Birmingham Orchestra, predecessor of theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, established, with a grant from the corporation, the first time that public funds have been used to support a symphony orchestra in Britain.
  • Construction of the extension to the Council House is completed.
  • The Birmingham Municipal Bank moves to offices in the Council House.

• 1920
  • 4 September:City of Birmingham Orchestra first rehearses (in a police bandroom). Later this month, its first concert, conducted byAppleby Matthews, opens withGranville Bantock's overtureSaul; in November it gives its "First Symphony Concert" whenEdward Elgar conducts a programme of his own music in theTown Hall.
  • October: 25½ acres of land atKings Norton (just below St Nicolas' Church) are purchased by theBirmingham Civic Society.
  • Fisher and Ludlow, car body manufacturers, begin operation.^[37]
• 1922
  • 12 June: Construction of theHall of Memory commences.
  • July:Austin Motor Company announces production of theAustin 7 at itsLongbridge plant.
  • 15 November: FirstBBC Birmingham radio broadcasts, from station5IT.
  • 27 November: Firsttrolleybuses in Birmingham operate.
  • The Birmingham Corporation sets up an Advisory Art Committee.
  • The Hockley picture house is opened on Soho Hill.
  • Fire station is opened at Alexander Road, Acocks Green.
• 1923
  • 21 April: The first of a series of innovativemodern dress productions ofShakespeare plays,Cymbeline, directed byH. K. Ayliff, opens atBarry Jackson'sBirmingham Repertory Theatre.^[41]
  • The Birmingham Civic Society purchases 43 acres (170,000 m²) of land to form Highbury Park.
  • The theological department of theQueen's College in the city centre, moves to new premises atQueen's College, Edgbaston.
  • The school of architecture atBirmingham School of Art receives recognition by theRoyal Institute of British Architects.
• 1924
  • 29 September: Birmingham-born mathematicianErnest Barnes is consecrated as thirdBishop of Birmingham, the office he will hold until shortly before his death in 1953.
  • 19 November: Fire station is opened at Ettington Road, Aston.
  • TheBirmingham Hippodrome reopens with a new neo-classical auditorium, seating 1,900.
  • The closure of theBirmingham Repertory Theatre is averted as a result of action by theBirmingham Civic Society.
• 1925
  • 4 July: TheHall of Memory in Centenary Square is completed.
  • The Birmingham Municipal Bank moves to premises on Edmund Street.
• 1926
  • 14 April: The reconstructed Woodcock Street Baths are opened.
  • The Chief fire station in Birmingham is redesignated as 'Central fire station'.
• 1927
  • 21 May: Firstgreyhound racing atKings Heath Stadium.
  • 12 July: Firstmotorcycle speedway racing atAlexander Sports Grounds, Perry Barr.
  • 24 August: First greyhound racing atHall Green Stadium.
  • 2 November:Birmingham New Road officially opened.
• 1928
  • 7 April: First greyhound racing atPerry Barr Stadium.
  • Perry Barr is ceded fromStaffordshire toWarwickshire, and into Birmingham.
• 1929
  • 3 January:Digbeth Coach Station is opened byMidland Red as a bus garage with associated facilities.
  • 27 July:Alexander Sports Grounds, Perry Barr is formally opened as a stadium forBirchfield Harriers.

• 1930
  • 4 August: The first cinema under theOdeon name in Britain is opened inPerry Barr by Balsall Heath-bornOscar Deutsch.^[42]
  • 4 October: Opening of Kings Norton fire station at Pershore Road South, Cotteridge.
  • TheMoor Hall Estate is put up for sale.
  • Kent Street Baths are demolished and reconstruction commences.
• 1931
  • 14 June: "Birmingham Bertha", awhirlwind, sweeps across the city.
  • October: Fire station opens at Stafford Road, Handsworth.
• 1932
  • TheBarber Institute of Fine Arts is established and bequeathed to the university 'for the study and encouragement of art and music'.
  • An Art Deco replacement bridge forPerry Bridge is opened alongside the original.
  • Approximate date:Ariel Motors (J.S.) Ltd set up a new motorcycle factory inBournbrook.
• 1933
  • 29 May: The reconstructed Kent Street Baths are reopened.
  • 23 October: Birmingham city council's 40,000thcouncil house (on theWeoley Castle estate) is opened by prime ministerNeville Chamberlain.^[43]
  • 27 November: TheBirmingham Municipal Bank headquarters at 301 Broad Street are opened byPrince George.
  • Cofton Park is acquired by Birmingham city council as a public open space.^[44]
• 1934
  • 21 January: 10,000 attend aBritish Union of Fascists rally in Birmingham organised byOswald Mosley.^[45]
  • The closure of theBirmingham Repertory Theatre is again averted as a result of work by theBirmingham Civic Society.
• 1935
  • Birmingham Corporation establish the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Trust.
  • The Alexandra Theatre is rebuilt with an Art Deco auditorium.
  • The Birmingham Municipal Bank causes controversy amongst Sutton Coldfield residents who believe Birmingham aims to absorb Sutton Coldfield when the bank outlines plans to open a branch in the town.
  • Blakesley Hall is opened as a museum owned byBirmingham Museum & Art Gallery.
  • 2 December: Official opening of Central fire station and headquarters at Corporation Street by the Duke of Kent.
• 1936 – TheDuddeston Barracks are demolished by the Birmingham Corporation for the construction of maisonettes.
• 1937 – 4 October: First cremation at municipal crematorium inLodge Hill Cemetery.
• 1938
  • 12 February: TheAston Hippodrome is seriously damaged by fire leading to a £38,000 refurbishment.
  • Baskerville House is built as the only substantial portion of an ambitious Civic Centre plan.
  • The council approve the replacement of the Central Library.
• 1939
  • 1 March: Royal opening of originalQueen Elizabeth Hospital inEdgbaston.
  • 1 June: Fire station at Orphanage Road, Erdington is opened.
  • 8 July:Elmdon Airport opened byBirmingham City Council.
  • 26 July: TheBarber Institute of Fine Arts building on the university campus at Edgbaston, designed byRobert Atkinson, is opened byQueen Mary.
  • September:Evacuation of children.

• 1940
  • March:Frisch–Peierls memorandum:Otto Frisch andRudolf Peierls, at this time working at the University of Birmingham, calculate that anatomic bomb could be produced using very much less enricheduranium than has previously been supposed, making it a practical proposition.^[46]
  • June
    • Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory turns out its firstSpitfire MK II aircraft; it will produce over half of the approximately 20,000 built until ceasing aircraft production in 1945.
    • Muslim (Yemeni) community inBalsall Heath begins.
  • 9 August:Birmingham Blitz: The first German air raid on the city takes place when a single aircraft drops bombs onErdington; one person is killed.
  • 13 August: Birmingham Blitz: Aircraft factory atCastle Bromwich bombed; 17 people are killed.
  • 25/26 August: Birmingham Blitz: First air raid on city centre; 25 people are killed and the Market Hall is destroyed.
  • 25–30 October: Birmingham Blitz: Heavy air raids on city centre.
  • 7 November:St Philip's Cathedral is bombed and gutted.
  • 19 November:Birmingham Blitz: Heavy air raids in the Birmingham area begin with 53 deaths at theBirmingham Small Arms Company factory inSmall Heath alone.^[47][48] Up to 28 November around 800 people are killed, 2,345 injured and 20,000 made homeless.^[49]
  • 22 November: Retirement of the chief fire officer Alfred Robert Tozer jr; the brigade is placed under the temporary command of captain B. A. Westbrook. On 1 January 1941 F. Winteringham is appointed as chief fire officer.
• 1941
  • 9–10 April:Birmingham Blitz: Heavy air raids on the city centre and suburbs.
  • 18 August: Birmingham Fire brigade becomes part of theNational Fire Service.
• 1942 – 27 May: Birmingham Blitz: Last major air raid on the city.
• 1943 – 23 April: Birmingham Blitz: Last air raid on the city: 2 bombs are dropped onBordesley Green.
• 1944 – 2 October: The originalFive Ways railway station closes.
• 1945 – Abdul Aziz opens a cafe shop selling curry and rice in Steelhouse Lane. This later becomesThe Darjeeling, the first Indian restaurant in Birmingham, owned by Afrose Miah.
• 1946 – July:Birmingham Elmdon Airport reverts to civilian use, though still under the control of the government.
• 1947 – Ansells Brewery purchasesPenns Hall.
• 1948
  • 1 April: Formation of the Birmingham Fire and Ambulance Service as the National Fire Service is stood down. Henry Coleman is appointed as chief fire officer.
  • The blue brick lodge gate atWarstone Lane Cemetery, designed by Hamilton & Medland, is completed.
• 1949
  • 17 December: The firstSutton Coldfield transmitting station beginstransmitting BBC Television to themidlands, the first broadcasts to be seen outside the London area.^[50]
  • As part of a national policy the emergency telephone 999 system is progressively brought into operation.

• 1950 –Penns Hall is converted into a hotel by Ansells Brewery.
• 1951
  • 8 April: The city's population peaks, at 1,113,000.
  • 1 June:British European Airways begins a regular scheduled helicopter passenger service fromHay Mills "Rotorstation" to Northolt and Heathrow (London); the service operates to 9 April 1952.
  • 30 June: Lasttrolleybuses in Birmingham operate.
  • TheKing Edward VII Memorial is moved to Highgate Park as Victoria Square is remodelled.
  • TheMuseum of Science & Industry is opened in the former Elkington electroplating works, Newhall Street, as a museum owned by Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.
• 1953
  • 4 July: LastBirmingham Corporation Tramways routes cease to operate.
  • 28 September: A reconstructed section ofMetchley Fort is opened by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, G. H. W. Griffith.
• 1954
  • The Digbeth Institute is put up for sale.
  • Queens Tower inDuddeston is completed, becoming the city's firsttower block.
  • The chapel atWarstone Lane Cemetery is demolished.
• 1955
  • 23 January:Sutton Coldfield rail crash: A diverted express derails taking a severe curve at speed; 17 are killed.
  • 12 March: Major fire at the offices and warehouse ofHalfords, Corporation Street Aston. At its peak the whole of the resources of the Birmingham Fire & Ambulance Service are mobilised to this incident.
  • September: Appointment of Albert Paramour as chief fire officer.
  • The Digbeth Institute is purchased by Birmingham City Council.
  • Shops begin to shut down in theBull Ring for the redevelopment of the area.
  • Rackhams department store is purchased byHarrods.
• 1956
  • 17 February:Associated Television begins broadcasting from Birmingham.
  • March: Closure of Lingard Street fire station.
  • November: Opening of Sheldon fire station; closure of Stechford fire station.
  • Tong Kung, on the Holloway Head, opens becoming Birmingham's first Chinese restaurant.
• 1957
  • September:Anchor telephone exchange, a Cold War underground telephone exchange, is completed in Newhall Street.^[51]
  • Blakesley Hall reopens as a museum following restoration conducted as a result of bomb damage during World War II.
  • John Madin produces a development plan for the Calthorpe estate (Edgbaston).
  • Andrzej Panufnik is appointed Principal Conductor of theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
  • The fire station at Ward End is closed.
• 1959 – October: The fire station at Bristol Road South, Northfield, is opened and that at 'The Spot Garage' Northfield is closed.

• 1960
  • 4 June: All theatrical productions at theAston Hippodrome cease and the theatre is converted into a bingo hall.
  • August:British Rail's last horse-drawn road cartage deliveries are made from Lawley Street.
  • Birmingham City Council retakes ownership ofBirmingham Elmdon Airport.
• 1961
  • Summer: Construction of theBull Ring Shopping Centre begins.
  • 25 August: Police launch a murder inquiry after the strangled body of missing teenagerJacqueline Thomas is found on an allotment in theAlum Rock area. The probable murderer is not identified until 2007 and cannot stand trial.^[52]
  • 12 October: The fire station at Brook Lane, Billesley is opened and those at Sparkhill and Kings Heath are closed.
  • October: "Temporary" Camp Hill flyover at High Street Bordesley opens; it survives until 1985.
  • New terminal, The International Building, opens atBirmingham Airport.
  • The design for theRotunda is approved and the building begins construction.
• 1962
  • June: The outdoor market area in the Bull Ring is opened with 150 stalls.
  • 31 August: Appointment of Albert E. Webb as chief fire officer.
  • 20 November: Last personhanged atWinson Green Prison, Oswald Grey for themurder of Thomas Bates on 3 June.
  • TheMason Science College building on Edmund Street is demolished.
• 1963
  • TheMidlands Arts Centre inCannon Hill Park opens.
  • The old Market Hall in the Bull Ring is demolished.
  • Construction of theGPO Tower commences.
• 1964
  • 29 May: The new Bull Ring Shopping Centre is opened byPrince Philip.
  • 2 November:Associated Television begins broadcasting the soap operaCrossroads, made and set in the city.
  • Birmingham New Street station rebuilding begins.
• 1965
  • Construction of the Rotunda is completed.
  • Construction ofQuayside Tower is completed.
  • Construction of thePost and Mail building (architects:John H. D. Madin and Partners) is completed.
  • TheBirmingham and Midland Institute building inParadise Street is closed for demolition and the Institute moves to the former private Birmingham Library premises in Margaret Street.
• 1966
  • January: Origin ofTyseley Locomotive Works as a heritage steam maintenance depot.
  • 31 March:1966 United Kingdom general election. TheBirmingham Edgbaston seat is retained for the Conservatives byJill Knight in succession toEdith Pitt, the first time two women MPs have followed each other in the same constituency.
  • 6 December:Railway electrification through New Street station.
  • Curzon Street railway station, used only as a goods station since 1893, closes and falls out of use.
  • Priory Square, designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, is opened.
• 1967
  • 28 February:Stechford rail crash: 9 are killed in a collision.
  • 6 May:British Rail officially opens the rebuiltNew Street station. Construction of Stephenson Tower, above the station, is completed this year.
  • 5 October: TheGPO Tower is officially opened as a microwave telecommunications hub; it is thetallest building in Birmingham.
  • Birmingham Airport main runway extended to allow international jet operations.
  • Construction of the Inner Ring Road commences.
  • A new entrance to theAlexandra Theatre is constructed and opened.
• 1968
  • 20 March: The fire station at Monument Road, Ladywood is opened and that at Albion Street is closed.
  • 20 April:Enoch Powell makes his infamousRivers of Blood speech at the Midland Hotel onNew Street.
  • 2 October: A woman from Birmingham gives birth to the first recorded instance of livesextuplets in the U.K.^[53]
  • Serbian OrthodoxChurch of the Holy Prince Lazar opens inBournville.
  • Work starts on the complex motorway junction atGravelly Hill Interchange.
  • Heavy metal bandBlack Sabbath forms in Birmingham (originally under other names).
• 1969
  • 27 April:Pink Floyd record parts ofUmmagumma atMothers club.
  • 26 July: Birmingham City Council officially opens James Brindley Walk canalside conservation scheme at Farmers Bridge Locks on theBirmingham & Fazeley Canal.
  • August: Appointment of George Henry Merrell as chief fire officer.
  • 1 October:West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive takes control of municipal bus operation in the region.
  • Completion of theCastle Vale estate, one of the largest housing estates in Europe, consisting mostly of council houses and low-rise flats as well as 34 tower blocks, the first of which were occupied in 1964.
  • Construction ofAlpha Tower commences.
  • Construction of the newCentral Library commences.
  • Restoration ofSarehole Mill is completed.
  • Birmingham Central Mosque is completed.

• 1970
  • April–June: NewCarrs Lane Church is completed.
  • 7 April: Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre is opened.
  • 9 November:BBC Radio Birmingham begins broadcasting.
  • Cleveland Tower, Birmingham's tallest tower block, is completed.
  • The fire station at Bristol Road is opened and that at Oak Tree Lane, Selly Oak is closed.
• 1971
  • 7 April: Inner Ring Road opened byQueen Elizabeth.
  • April: The fire station at Highgate is opened and that at Moseley Road, Highgate is closed
  • October: TheBirmingham Repertory Theatre moves from premises on Station Street to a new theatre fronting Centenary Square.
  • 10 November: TheBBC'sPebble Mill Studios in Edgbaston are opened byPrincess Anne.
  • Clydesdale Tower, Cleveland Tower's twin, is completed.
  • Birmingham Polytechnic is formed, absorbingBirmingham School of Art and turning it into its Faculty of Art and Design.
• 1972
  • 4 March:Snow Hill station last used by trains until 1987.
  • 24 May: TheA38(M) ("Aston Expressway") andGravelly Hill Interchange ("Spaghetti Junction") open.
  • 25 August: Sub Officer Derek Andrews from Ladywood fire station is killed whilst attending a fire at Tenby Street North, Hockley.
  • Construction ofCentre City Tower commences.
  • The Studio at theBirmingham Repertory Theatre is opened.
  • The McLaren Building is completed.
  • Construction ofMetropolitan House commences.
• 1973
  • 17 September: AProvisional Irish Republican Army bomb explodes inEdgbaston killing Captain Ronald Wilkinson who is attempting to defuse it.
  • 7 December: The filmTake Me High, starringCliff Richard and filmed in Birmingham, is released.
  • December: A newBirmingham Central Library is completed on the same site as the previous one.
  • Construction of Alpha Tower is completed and the building is opened as part of the ATV Centre.
  • Construction of1 Snow Hill Plaza is completed.
  • Marjorie Brown becomes the first woman to beLord Mayor of Birmingham.
• 1974
  • 12 January: The newBirmingham Central Library is opened to the public.
  • 19 February:BRMB begins broadcasting as Birmingham's firstIndependent Local Radio station.
  • 1 April: Creation of theWest Midlands County, resulting in Birmingham becoming a metropolitan borough, no longer in Warwickshire.Sutton Coldfield is absorbed by Birmingham. TheWest Midlands County Council takes possession ofBirmingham Airport. The Birmingham Fire and Ambulance Service is amalgamated in the West Midlands Fire Service with George Henry Merrell as chief fire officer and headquarters at Corporation Street.
  • 21 November (20:14–20:25hrs (GMT)):Birmingham pub bombings: Two bombs placed by theProvisional Irish Republican Army explode in two pubs in the city centre killing 21 people and injuring 182.
  • 24 November: TheBirmingham Six are charged with the Birmingham pub bombings^[54] in what proves after 17 years to be a miscarriage of justice.
  • Construction ofNational Westminster House is completed.
  • Construction of Metropolitan House is completed.
  • Birmingham Zoo opens alongsideCannon Hill Park.
• 1975
  • 1 October: Tom Lister is appointed as chief fire officer of the West Midlands Fire Service.
  • Construction ofCentre City Tower is completed.
  • Construction of theAlexander Stadium commences.
  • Birmingham Central Mosque is officially opened, becoming the largest mosque in Western Europe at this time.
• 1976
  • 26 January:Birmingham International railway station opens, serving the airport and National Exhibition Centre.^[55]
  • 5 February: Ward End fire station is opened and Bordesley Green fire station is closed.
  • 21 February: TheNational Exhibition Centre opens atBickenhill.
  • 2 December: Sub Officer George W. Barrett from Dudley Fire Prevention is killed on duty after a road traffic accident in Dudley.
  • Construction ofEdgbaston House is completed.
  • The Alexander Stadium is completed and opened inPerry Park.
• 1977
  • February: Construction of the North Stand atVilla Park commences.
  • 15 March:British Leyland managers announce their intention to dismiss 40,000 toolmakers who have gone on strike at the company'sLongbridge plant, action which is costing the state-owned carmaker more than £10,000,000 a week.
  • 15 August: Rioting breaks out during demonstrations against theNational Front.
  • TheBirmingham Civic Society raises enough funds to reinstate the pools surrounding theChamberlain Memorial.
• 1978
  • 8 May: Railway passenger improvements on theCross-City Line include a wholly new station atUniversity and reopening ofFive Ways railway station (closed in 1944).^[21]
  • 20–29 October: FirstBritish International Motor Show to be held at theNational Exhibition Centre.
  • 23 November: Pollyanna's nightclub is forced to lift its ban on black and Chinese revellers, after a one-year investigation by theCommission for Racial Equality concludes that its entry policy is racist.
• 1979 – Construction ofFive Ways Tower is completed.

• 1980
  • 10–11 July:1981 Handsworth riots begin.
  • September: TheAston Hippodrome is demolished.
  • 5 October: Brian Leslie Fuller is appointed as chief fire officer of the West Midlands Fire Service.
  • 5 December:Birmingham International Arena opens at theNational Exhibition Centre.
  • Simon Rattle begins an 18-year tenure as Principal Conductor of theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
• 1981
  • 4 January:British Leyland workers vote to accept the peace formula in aLongbridge plant strike.
  • 5 & 10 July: Rioting.
  • 23 November:1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak strikes inErdington andSelly Oak.
  • Trident House is completed and opened.
  • Aston Villa win the league for the first time in 71 years
  • A golden dome is added to the minaret ofBirmingham Central Mosque.
  • Ansells Brewery is closed down following strike action.
• 1982
  • 1 January:Central Independent Television takes over the Birmingham-based franchise.
  • 26 May:Aston Villa F.C. win theEuropean Cup Final.
• 1983
  • TheSutton Coldfield transmitting station mast is rebuilt.
  • Birmingham Airport is privatised.
• 1984
  • January:Bingley Hall is seriously damaged by fire and demolished.
  • 7 August:Maglev link to new terminal atBirmingham Airport from International railway station opens (closes 19 June 1995).
  • 9 October:West Midlands Passenger Transport ExecutiveTracline 65guided bus experiment, the first in the U.K., atShort Heath (continues to 26 September 1987).
  • The Perrott's Folly Company is formed to restorePerrott's Folly for public use.
• 1985
  • 9–11 September:1985 Handsworth riots.
  • 3 December: Golden Jubilee of the opening of Fire Service Headquarters at Central fire station, Corporation Street: a plaque is unveiled by the Duke of Kent.
• 1986 – 31 March: TheWest Midlands County Council is abolished.
• 1987
  • January: The foundation stone to theInternational Convention Centre is laid, signalling the start of construction.
  • 1 April: The ownership ofBirmingham Airport is transferred to Birmingham International Airport plc.
  • July: The city council invites developers to draw up a masterplan for 26 acres (110,000 m²) of land alongside canals, adjacent to the International Convention Centre.
  • 5 October: A rebuiltSnow Hill station is opened to the public.
  • "The People's Plan", a document containing designs and plans for the redevelopment of the Bull Ring, is published and issued by London and Edinburgh Trust but the plans are greeted with public objection.
• 1988
  • A glass roof overParadise Forum and a pedestrian crossing of the Inner Ring Road at this point are built.
  • London and Edinburgh Trust redesign their proposals for the Bull Ring redevelopment but again receive public criticism.
  • TheBirmingham Institute of Art and Design is formed following the Faculty of Art and Design at Birmingham Polytechnic absorbing Bournville College of Art.
• 1989
  • September: TheBrindleyplace development alongside the ICC and Broad Street is granted planning permission.
  • October: The topping out ceremony of the railway tunnel for the future site of theNational Indoor Arena is conducted by the council.
  • The Birmingham School of Music is renamed theBirmingham Conservatoire.
  • National Exhibition Centre expanded.

• 1990
  • 5 April:Aldi, the German discount food supermarket chain, opens its first store in Britain inStechford.
  • 1 October: Graham Meldrum is appointed as chief fire officer of the West Midlands Fire Service.
  • The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet relocates from London to theBirmingham Hippodrome as theBirmingham Royal Ballet.
  • TheD'Oyly Carte Opera Company move into theAlexandra Theatre.
  • Construction ofColmore Gate commences.
  • The redevelopment of theCustard Factory as a creative hub in two phases commences.
  • Hyatt Regency Birmingham is completed at a cost of £31 million.
• 1991
  • 12 June: TheInternational Convention Centre andSymphony Hall open.
  • 26 July: A second terminal, "Eurohub", opens atBirmingham Airport.
  • 2 September:1991 Handsworth riots: looting follows a power cut.
  • 4 October: TheNational Indoor Arena opens.
  • TheBirmingham Repertory Theatre is refurbished and extended.
  • Birmingham City Council establish a project to help relaunch cultural events on the site of theAston Hippodrome.
  • Crufts, the world's largest dog show, relocates from London to theNational Exhibition Centre.
• 1992
  • 4 June: Birmingham Polytechnic receives university status and becomes theUniversity of Central England.
  • 28 July: Firefighter Ian McPhee of Ladywood fire station dies following injuries received whilst attending a fire at Charlecot Tower, Lea Bank.
  • August: The redevelopment ofVictoria Square is completed, includingThe River water feature.
  • 16 October: Special European Council is held atInternational Convention Centre.
  • Construction ofColmore Gate is completed.
  • Cleaning of the exterior of theBirmingham School of Art building is completed.
  • TheGas Retort House is rediscovered whilst its site is being prepared for redevelopment.
• 1993
  • 2 March:Antony Gormley's statueIron: Man is erected inVictoria Square.
  • 3 July: The award is announced of theGeorge Medal to Firefighter David Burns; and theQueen's Gallantry Medal to Firefighter David Scott for their actions at a fire at Charlecot Tower, Lea Bank on 27 July 1992.
  • 12 July:Railway electrification on theCross-City Line completed.
  • 18 September: Opening of Hay Mills fire station; Acocks Green fire station closes.
  • 21 September: Opening of a rebuilt fire station at Perry Barr on the same site as its predecessor.
  • TheArgent Centre is converted into offices.
  • Farmer's Bridge Junction on theBirmingham Canal Navigations is renamedOld Turn Junction.
  • TheBirmingham School of Art building begins a renovation and refurbishment.
  • National Exhibition Centre expanded.
• 1994
  • The spire of theChamberlain Memorial undergoes a major clean and the remodelledVictoria Square is officially opened byDiana, Princess of Wales.
  • Following the establishment of a project by Birmingham City Council in 1991,The Drum begins to host events on the site of the former Aston Hippodrome.
  • 8 December:Rackhams' stabbing incident: 15 women are stabbed in theRackhams department store; there are no deaths.^[56]
• 1995 – Part of theWorcestershire parish ofFrankley (including the south-west part ofBartley Reservoir) is transferred to Birmingham and becomes part of the West Midlands county.
• 1996
  • 12 March: Opening of Woodgate Valley fire station, Harborne fire station closes.
  • 23 December: A black Labrador dog, 'Star', becomes operational to assist in fire investigation. It is claimed that this dog is the first such trained in Europe.
  • Birmingham Town Hall closes for a £35 million refurbishment.
  • A memorial by Bruce Williams dedicated to Birmingham-born comedianTony Hancock (1924–68) is unveiled by SirHarry Secombe inOld Square.
  • The renovation and refurbishment of theBirmingham School of Art building is completed.
  • TheTyseley Energy from Waste Plant is opened byVeolia.
• 1997
  • TheCBSO Centre is completed and opened.
  • TheD'Oyly Carte Opera Company leaves the Alexandra Theatre.
  • TheMuseum of Science and Industry is closed down in its original location.
• 1998
  • 9 March: Kenneth John Knight is appointed as chief fire officer of the West Midlands Fire Service.
  • 9 May: The43rd Eurovision Song Contest is held at theNational Indoor Arena.
  • 15–17 May: The firstG8 summit is held in Birmingham.Bill Clinton famously pops out for a pint of beer.
  • September:National Exhibition Centre expanded.
  • Birmingham Children's Hospital moves back to its original location on Steelhouse Lane.
  • The Door is opened by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, replacing the Studio.
  • TheCrescent Theatre is opened byClare Short, MP for Ladywood.
  • The Drum is officially opened.
  • TheLunar Society Moonstones are created and unveiled.
• 1999
  • 30 May: TheWest Midlands Metrolight rail system opens from Snow Hill station to Wolverhampton.^[57]
  • 8 December: Opening of fire station at Rookery Road, Handsworth and the fire station at Stafford Road closes.
  • Refurbishment of theGas Retort House is completed.
  • Planning permission is granted forMartineau Place.
  • 2,800 properties and substantial land holdings on theLee Bank estate are transferred from Birmingham City Council to Optima Community Housing Association.

• 2000
  • 9 August:The Rotunda is granted Grade II listed status.
  • December:The Mailbox, an upmarket shopping centre, opens to the public.
  • Demolition of the 1960sBull Ring shopping centre commences.
  • The parish ofNew Frankley is established and becomes Birmingham's only survivingcivil parish.
• 2001
  • 29 September:Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, is opened atMillennium Point.
  • Plans for a replacement football stadium to St Andrews are mooted.
• 2002
  • 2 July:Millennium Point is opened byQueen Elizabeth II.
  • The nightclub atMethodist Central Hall closes leaving the building empty.
• 2003
  • 2 January:Murder of Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare: 2 innocent teenagers are shot in a gang-related drive-by machine-gunning in Aston.
  • 17 March: Firefighter Andrew Edmund Clinton of Bournbrook fire station dies following an injury whilst on duty.
  • 3 April: The planning application for a 122-metre-tall (400 ft) tower at10 Holloway Circus is approved by Birmingham City Council.
  • 27 July: Frank Sheehan is appointed as chief fire officer of the West Midlands Fire Service.
  • August: The refurbishment ofBaskerville House commences.
  • 4 September: The newBull Ring shopping centre opens, including theSelfridges Building designed byJan Kaplický ofFuture Systems.
  • Quayside Tower is extensively refurbished.
  • TheBT Tower is repainted and a lighting scheme is added.
  • Plans to redevelop New Street station in a project calledBirmingham Gateway are approved by the city council.
• 2004
  • 5 April: Responsibility and budgets for a number of council services are devolved to 11 district committees (later reorganised as 10council constituencies).
  • 10 June: TheSutton Trinity Birmingham City Council ward comes into existence.
  • 18 December: The première ofGurpreet Kaur Bhatti's playBehzti ("Dishonour") at theBirmingham Repertory Theatre is cancelled as a result of violent protests by members of the localSikh community.
  • Refurbishment of The Rotunda commences.
  • Construction of theOrion Building commences.
  • Centenary Plaza, the first phase of the £500 millionArena Central development, is completed and opened.
  • BBC Birmingham moves into new offices inThe Mailbox.
  • The plans for theCity of Birmingham Stadium, the stadium to replace St Andrews, develop to include a sports village.
• 2005
  • 28 July:2005 Birmingham tornado causes approximately 30 injuries and an estimated £40 million damage.
  • 29 August:New Hall Valley Country Park in Sutton Coldfield is officially opened.
  • September: Demolition of thePost and Mail building commences for the construction of a replacement office block.
  • 22–23 October:2005 Birmingham riots in theLozells area.
  • Nanjing Automobile acquires the entire assets ofMG Rover.
• 2006
  • January–June:10 Holloway Circus (Beetham Tower) is completed, becoming Birmingham's tallest building and second tallest structure (after the BT Tower) at 122 metres (400 ft).
  • 2–4 March: TheNational Indoor Arena hosts the2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
  • 16 March: The lastHP Sauce to be made in Aston is produced; production is moved to the Netherlands.
  • 1 November: Central fire station closes
  • Construction of theOrion Building, a 90-metre (295 ft) tall high rise residential tower on Navigation Street, is completed.
• 2007
  • November: Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies becomesUniversity College Birmingham.
  • The refurbishment of Baskerville House is completed.
• 2008
  • 9 March: Calthorpe House atFive Ways is demolished by controlled explosion to make way for Edgbaston Galleries.
  • 13 May: The Rotunda building is reopened as apartments, after extensive refurbishment.
  • August
    • SAIC Motor UK restarts production at the nowMG MotorLongbridge plant (and in China) with theMG TF.
    • Fire Service Headquarters at Corporation Street closes.
  • Colmore Plaza, on the site of the Post and Mail building, is completed.
  • Construction ofThe Cube commences.
  • Construction ofSnowhill commences.
• 2009
  • 17 March: Vijith Randeniya is appointed as chief fire officer of the West Midlands Fire Service.
  • 18 December: NewBirmingham Coach Station opened inDigbeth.

• 2010
  • 16 June: NewQueen Elizabeth Hospital begins to function adjacent to its predecessor's site.
  • 19 September:State visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom concludes in Birmingham; events begin with thebeatification ofCardinal Newman inCofton Park.
• 2011 – 8–10 August:2011 England riots spread to Birmingham.
• 2012 – April:Birmingham Museums Trust takes over management of nine public museum sites in the city.
• 2013
  • 3 September: A newLibrary of Birmingham, the largest public library in the U.K., designed byMecanoo and linked with the Repertory Theatre, is opened byMalala Yousafzai; the nearby formerBirmingham Central Library of 1974 is to be demolished.
  • Newman University College at Bartley Green becomesNewman University.
• 2014 – 27 October: Appointment of Philip Loach as chief fire officer of the West Midlands Fire Service.
• 2015
  • 20 September: Refurbished Birmingham New Street railway station concourse officially opens, with associated Grand Central retail development on 24 September.
  • 6 December:West Midlands Metro extended toBull Street tram stop, with the first on-street running of trams in Birmingham since 1953 (extended toGrand Central tram stop 30 May 2016).^[58]
• 2016
  • 1 March: A newcivil parish forSutton Coldfield created, allowing the creation of aTown Council; the first representative body for Sutton Coldfield since it was absorbed into Birmingham in 1974. This followed a referendum the previous year, in which 70% of those who voted, were in favour of its creation.
  • 17 June:West Midlands Combined Authority created.
  • September:Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla takes up her appointment as music director of theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the first woman in this post.
• 2017
  • 8 May: Firstdirectly electedMayor of the West Midlands,Andy Street, takes office.
  • December: Birmingham is announced as the host city of the2022 Commonwealth Games.
• 2018 – 27 May: Flash flooding as more than a month's-worth of rainfall deluges parts of the city in just one hour.

• 2020
  • 23 March: Birmingham goes into a nationwide lockdown with the rest of the UK due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 6 September: Series of stabbings around the city centre with one fatality.^[59]
• 2021
  • October:The Mercian is externally completed, becoming Birmingham's tallest building and second tallest structure (after the BT Tower) at 132 metres in height.
• 2022
  • July–August,2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham.
• 2023
  • 5 September,Birmingham City Council issues asection 114 notice, effectively declaring itselfbankrupt.^[60]
• 2025
  • February- Bin workers go on strike.^[61][62]

1800s–1840s

• John Britton; et al. (1814), "Birmingham",Wiltshire, Warwickshire, Westmoreland, and Worcestershire,Beauties of England and Wales, vol. 15, London: J. Harris,hdl:2027/nyp.33433075909105
• "Birmingham".Commercial Directory for 1818-19-20. Manchester: James Pigot. 1818.
• David Brewster, ed. (1830)."Birmingham".Edinburgh Encyclopædia. Edinburgh: William Blackwood.
• "Birmingham",Pigot and Co.'s National Commercial Directory for the Whole of Scotland and of the Isle of Man, London:J. Pigot & Co., 1837
• Francis Coghlan (1838)."Birmingham".Iron Road Book and Railway Companion from London to Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool. London: A.H. Baily & Co.hdl:2027/wu.89089014146.
• Arthur Freeling (1838),"Birmingham Guide",Freeling's Grand Junction Railway Companion to Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham, H. Lacey
• "Birmingham",Osborne's Guide to the Grand Junction, Or Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester Railway, Birmingham: E.C. & W. Osborne, 1838
• John Thomson (1845),"Birmingham",New Universal Gazetteer and Geographical Dictionary, London: H.G. Bohn
• "Birmingham and its Vicinity".Slater's National Commercial Directory of Ireland; including ... English Towns of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Leeds, Sheffield and Bristol, and in Scotland, those of Glasgow and Paisley. Manchester: I. Slater. 1846.hdl:2027/njp.32101045358296.
• Birmingham, Sheffield: Francis White & Co., 1849,OL 13996594M

1850s–1890s

• "History and Directory of Birmingham".History, Gazetteer, and Directory, of Warwickshire. Francis White & Co. 1850.
• George Measom (1861),"Birmingham",Official Illustrated Guide to the North-Western Railway (2nd ed.), London: W.H. Smith and Son
• "Birmingham",Black's Guide to Warwickshire (3rd ed.), Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1874
• White & Co.'s Commercial & Trades Directory of Birmingham, Vol. I, 1875
• John Parker Anderson (1881),"Warwickshire: Birmingham",Book of British Topography: a Classified Catalogue of the Topographical Works in the Library of the British Museum Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, London: W. Satchell

• "Birmingham",Great Britain (7th ed.), Leipzig: Karl Baedeker, 1910,hdl:2027/mdp.39015010546516
• "Birmingham (England)" .Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). 1910. pp. 983–988.

• "Warwickshire",Historical Directories, UK:University of Leicester, 19 November 2024. Includes digitized directories of Birmingham, various dates

• History of Birmingham, West Midlands
• Timelines of cities in the United Kingdom
• English history timelines

• Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB
• Pages using cite ODNB with id parameter
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles needing additional references from May 2025
• All articles needing additional references
• Use dmy dates from April 2020
• Use British English from May 2018
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference