Timeline

• 1701 - Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit founded on the Detroit river.
• 1760 - British capture Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit during French and Indian War, shorten name to 'Detroit.'
• 1796 - Detroit passed to the USA under the Jay Treaty.
• 1805 - Most of Detroit destroyed in massive fire. Detroit becomes capital of Michigan. A.B. Woodward Plan adopted for future city growth.
• 1812 - Detroit surrenders to British troops.
• 1813 - Recaptured by US troops.
• 1815 - Incorporated as City of Detroit.
• 1847 - Lansing becomes capital of Michigan.
• 1896 - Henry Ford builds first automobile in rented workshop in Detroit.
• 1903 - Ford Motor Company founded.
• 1920 - Prohibition begins, giving rise to the Purple Gang. KKK ascendant in Detroit.
• 1925 - Dr. Ossian Sweet and family acquitted of murder.
• 1933 - Prohibition ends, Black Legion activities on the rise.
• 1936 - Charles Poole murdered by Black Legion. Detroit Police break group with 12 arrests/convictions.
• 1940 - Detroit becomes part of the Arsenal of Democracy, auto industry retooled for war production.
• 1942 - Race riots erupt over black families moving into all-white part of Detroit.
• 1943 - Packard Motor Company promotes 3 black workers to production line alongside whites. 25,000 white workers walk off the job. Detroit Race Riot of 1943, 600 injured, 34 killed.
• 1950 - Massive merging and consolidation of auto industry. Detroit population: 1.8 Million people.
• 1956 - Last of Detroit's electric streetcar lines removed in favor of gasoline powered buses. Urban sprawl begins in earnest.
• 1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr speaks in Detroit.
• 1967 - Racial tensions, especially between black youth and Detroit police boil over. Twelfth Street Riot, Michigan National Guard and U.S. Army sent in. 2,000 buildings destroyed, 7,200 arrests, 467 injured, 43 dead.
• 1970 - NAACP sues Michigan over segregation in Detroit schools
• 1974 - NAACP suit culminates in SCOTUS decision: Milliken v. Bradley, protecting de-facto segregation. Coleman A. Young becomes Detroit's first black mayor.
• 1979 - Second oil embargo and gasoline crises secures foreign automakers' market in the US.
• 1980 - Detroit hosts RNC, Regan nominated for presidency.
• 1993 - One Detroit Center built.
• 2000 - Detroit Tigers get new downtown stadium.
• 2001 - No Child Left Behind passes US Congress. Detroit Public Schools ordered to improve testing metrics.
• 2002 - Detroit Lions get new downtown stadium.
• 2003 - Detroit Public Schools re-consolidates, closing many underperforming schools and opening new ones. School board becomes independent.
• 2005 - Detroit hosts MLB all-star game.
• 2006 - Detroit hosts Super Bowl XL and 2006 World Series
• 2007 - Casino construction begins with MGM Grand Detroit, Motor City Casino and Greektown Casino.
• 2010 - US Census shows Detroit's population has fallen more than 60% to just over 700,000.
• 2011 - More than half of the city's 305,000 property owners fail to pay tax bills.
• 2012 - Michigan State Government siezes control of Detroit.
• 2013 - Measure 2 goes into effect.
  • (January) Detroit's municipal boundaries shrink, leaving huge swaths of abandoned and distressed properties on now unincorporated land.
  • (January) Detroit's municipal services (fire, police, etc) cease service in the unincorporated areas.
  • (July) Detroit Declares Bankruptcy with $18.5B in debt.
  • (December) Detroit is granted Bankruptcy protection by U.S. courts.
• 2014 -