Time Line of Pittsburgh's History

• 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