Pittsburgh & Western PA - Historical Timeline

1754 - George Washington secures a British outpost at the Point.

1758 - British capture Fort Duquesne and General Forbes names Pittsburgh after William Pitt

1761 - First record of coal mining in Pennsylvania on Coal Hill (now Mount Washington), across the Monongahela River from Fort Pitt.

1787 - University of Pittsburgh is founded.

1794 - Johnny Appleseed makes his home in Pittsburgh, where he lives for 12 years.

1803 - Large keelboat, used for the Lewis & Clark expedition, was constructed in Pittsburgh.

1816 - Pittsburgh incorporates as a city.

1820 - The Pennsylvania turnpike opens.

1845 - The fire of 1845 destroys most of the buildings in Pittsburgh.

1847 - Stephen Foster's song "Oh, Susanna" premiers at the Eagle Saloon.

1852 - Pennsylvania Railroad is completed between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

1883 - The present-day Smithfield Street Bridge opens to the public. It's the third bridge built on that location.

1887 - The Pittsburgh Pirates began their career in major league baseball as the Pittsburgh Alleghenies, winning their first game against Chicago at Recreation Park, on Pittsburgh's North Shore.

1889 - Schenley Park, located in Oakland, opens to the public.

1891 - U.S. Bureau of Geographic Names removes the "h" from Pittsburg(h). It is returned to its rightful place in 1911.

1900 - Carnegie Technical School, now known as Carnegie Mellon University is founded.

1903 - First world series was played at Exposition Park on the North side.

1905 - The first motion picture house to open in the U.S. opens in Pittsburgh - the Nickelodeon.

1920 - The first commercial radio station in the country - KDKA - broadcasts from Pittsburgh.

1927 - The Pittsburgh Symphony was founded.

1936 - The Great Flood causes great damage, especially to downtown Pittsburgh.

1938 - Famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright designs Fallingwater.

1940 - The Pirates played their first night game in Forbes Field.

1946 - The Civic Light Opera opened its first summer season.

1953 - Dr. Jonas Salk tested his polio vaccine on 90 volunteers.

1955 - Pennsylvania College for Women was renamed Chatham College.

1960 - Bill Mazeroski's ninth inning homerun wins the 1960 World Series.

1967 - Mister Roger's Neighborhood airs on national television.

1970 - The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a double-header against the Chicago Cubs - the last game ever played at Forbes Field.

1985 - Pittsburgh is named "America's Most Livable City"

1989 - Pittsburgh elects its first female mayor - Sophie Masloff.

1991 - Steel Phantom roller coaster is unveiled to the public at Kennywood Park.

2001 - PNC Park, one of the most beautiful major league ball parks in the country, opens in Pittsburgh