A timeline of significant events in London’s history.
| 50: | The Romans found Londinium, building the first London Bridge. |
| 61: | Queen Boudicca burns Londinium down. |
| 100: | Londinium becomes the capital of Roman Britain. |
| 200: | The Romans build the London Wall. |
| 410: | Roman occupation ends and Londinium is largely abandoned for many years. |
| 604: | King Aethelbert of Kent completes the first St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| 700: | The Saxons build Lundenwic a mile to the west of old Londinium. |
| 851: | The Vikings burn Lundenwic down (starting to see a pattern, here?) |
| 878: | Alfred The Great defeats the Vikings and establishes a new settlement within the Roman Walls. |
| 1013: | The Viking King Canute besieges London. |
| 1066: | William The Conqueror becomes the first king to be crowned at Westminster Abbey. |
| 1088: | William The Conqueror builds the Tower Of London. |
| 1097: | William Rufus builds Westminster Hall—later part of the Houses Of Parliament. |
| 1176: | The wooden London Bridge is replaced by a stone structure. |
| 1343: | ‘The Canterbury Tales’ author Geoffrey Chaucer is born in London. |
| 1348: | The Black Death wipes out between a third and half of London’s population in 18 months. |
| 1381: | Peasants revolt, storming the Tower Of London. |
| 1599: | William Shakespeare’s theatre company The Chamberlain’s Men build the Globe Theatre. |
| 1605: | Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot fails to blow up the Palace Of Westminster. |
| 1635: | Hyde Park opens to the public. |
| 1649: | King Charles I is beheaded at Whitehall. |
| 1665: | The Great Plague kills a fifth of London’s population (starting to see another pattern, here?) |
| 1666: | The Fire of London destroys 60% of the city, including St Paul’s Cathedral, but wipes out the plague. This really must have been a great year. |
| 1708: | The new St Paul’s Cathedral is completed by Sir Christopher Wren. |
| 1732: | Downing Street becomes the home of the Prime Minister. |
| 1750: | Westminster Bridge is built. |
| 1814: | Lord’s Cricket Ground is opened. |
| 1829: | Robert Peel establishes the Metropolitan Police force, policemen known as ‘Bobbies’ or ‘Peelers’. |
| 1831: | London becomes the world’s biggest city. |
| 1834: | The Houses Of Parliament are built. |
| 1843: | Nelson’s Column is completed in Trafalgar Square. |
| 1851: | Six million people gawp at newfangled technology and design at The Great Exhibition. |
| 1858: | The Great Stink inspires the 19th century’s biggest civil engineering project—London’s sewerage system. |
| 1863: | The first London Underground line is built. |
| 1876: | The Albert Memorial to Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert is completed. |
| 1877: | The first Wimbledon Championship takes place. A Brit wins, but only Brit’s are playing. |
| 1884: | An imaginary line through Greenwich Royal Observatory is internationally accepted as the Prime Meridian. Except by the French. |
| 1887: | Arthur Conan Doyle publishes the first Sherlock Holmes story ‘A Study In Scarlet.’ |
| 1888: | Jack The Ripper’s first victim, Mary Ann Nichols, is murdered. |
| 1908: | London hosts the Olympics for the first time. |
| 1915: | German Zeppelin airships launch first air raids on London, ultimately killing over 700 people. |
| 1923: | Wembley Stadium is built in 300 days, costing £750,000. |
| 1940: | The Blitz begins—German bombs kill over 30,000 Londoners by the end of WW2 and destroy large areas of the city. |
| 1946: | Heathrow Airport opens for commercial flights. |
| 1948: | The second London Olympics is held. |
| 1951: | The Royal Festival Hall is built as part of the Festival Of Britain. |
| 1952: | The Great Smog, caused by a combination of fog and coal smoke, kills 4000 people in five days. |
| 1956: | The Clean Air Act puts an end to London’s smog problems. |
| 1965: | The Notting Hill Carnival is established by West London’s Caribbean community |
| 1966: | England win the FIFA World Cup at Wembley stadium, better still, against Germany. |
| 1969: | The Beatles play their last ever gig on the roof of the Apple building. |
| 1976: | The Sex Pistols play at the first ‘International Punk Festival’ at the 100 Club on Oxford Street. |
| 1981: | The first London Marathon. |
| 1983: | Six people are killed when the IRA bombs Harrods. |
| 1991: | London’s tallest building, One Canada Square (better known as Canary Wharf), is completed. |
| 2000: | Ken Livingstone becomes London’s first directly-elected Mayor. |
| 2005: | 52 people are killed by four suicide bombers on Underground trains and a bus. |
| 2007: | The rebuilt Wembley Stadium is completed after four years, costing £778 million. |
| 2008: | Boris Johnson defeats Red Ken in the London Mayoral Election with a promise to re-instate the Routemaster. |
| 2011: | Royal Wedding mania. |
| 2012: | London’s third Olympics held; Danny Boyle adapts NHS as West End spectacular. |
| 2012: | Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee with a rainy-day boat show. |
| 2013: | Prince George of Cambridge born. |