The following is a timeline of the history of Hong Kong.
| Date | Ruling entity | Events | Other people/events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 221 BC | ||||
| 206 BC | Inhabitants in Ma Wan Island | |||
| 25 AD | Building of Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb (est.) | |||
| 901 AD | Punti settlement | |||
| 1075 | ||||
| 1163 | Salt fields in Hong Kong first officially managed | |||
| 1277 | ||||
| 1513 | ||||
| 1521 | ||||
| 1562 | ||||
| 1661 | Kangxi Emperor orders the Great Clearance, which requires the evacuation of the coastal areas of Guangdong. What is now the territory of Hong Kong became largely wasteland during the ban.[1] | |||
| 1669 | The coastal ban is lifted | |||
| 1685 | Kangxi Emperor opens limited trade on a regular basis starting with Canton | |||
| 1757 | British East India Company pursued a monopoly on opium production beginning with India in the far east | |||
| 1793 | Anglo-Chinese relations | |||
| 1839 | First Opium War (1839–42) |
| Date | Governor | Events | Other people/events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1841 | ||||
| 1842 | ||||
| 1843 | Formation of the Legislative Council and Executive Council | Ying Wa College, world's first Anglo-Chinese school relocated to Hong Kong | ||
| 1844 | ||||
| 1847 | ||||
| 1848 | ||||
| 1851 | Taiping Rebellion | |||
| 1853 | ||||
| 1854 | ||||
| 1855 | ||||
| 1856 | ||||
| 1859 | ||||
| 1860 | ||||
| 1861 | Frederick Stewart modernise HK education | |||
| 1865 | ||||
| 1866 | Four big families of Hong Kong (est.) | |||
| 1868 | The Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi, ordered four customs stations to be established in waterways surrounding Hong Kong and Kowloon at Fat Tong Chau, Ma Wan, Cheung Chau and Kowloon Walled City. It was so-called "blockade of Hong Kong" by the Hong Kong Government.[2] These stations ceased to operate in 1899 after the lease of the New Territories to Britain.[3] | |||
| 1872 | Tung Wah Hospital established | |||
| 1874 | Founding of the Universal Circulating Herald | |||
| 1877 | ||||
| 1882 | ||||
| 1883 | ||||
| 1887 | ||||
| 1888 | ||||
| 1891 | ||||
| 1894 | ||||
| 1898 | ||||
| 1899 | ||||
| 1904 | ||||
| 1906 | ||||
| 1907 | ||||
| 1908 | ||||
| 1910 | Opening of Kowloon–Canton Railway | |||
| 1912 | Establishment of the Republic of China, Qing dynasty overthrown | |||
| 1918 | ||||
| 1919 | ||||
| 1921 | ||||
| 1922 | ||||
| 1923 | Sun Yat-sen proclaimed his anti-corruption revolutionary ideas came from Hong Kong during HK university speech | |||
| 1924 | ||||
| 1925 | ||||
| 1926 | ||||
| 1928 | First pre-RTHK radio broadcast | |||
| 1930 | ||||
| 1933 | ||||
| 1935 | ||||
| 1937 |
| Date | Governor | Events | Other people/events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | ||||
| 1948 | HK Social Welfare Department formed | |||
| 1949 | Establishment of People's Republic of China | |||
| 1953 | ||||
| 1955 | Kashmir Princess assassination attempt | |||
| 1956 | ||||
| 1957 | RTV a first terrestrial television station | Asian Flu | ||
| 1958 | ||||
| 1960 | Four Asian Tigers (est.) Typhoon Mary | |||
| 1962 | ||||
| 1964 | ||||
| 1966 | Hong Kong 1966 riots Visit of Princess Margaret in March[4] | Cultural Revolution in China | ||
| 1967 | Hong Kong 1967 riots TVB a second terrestrial television station | |||
| 1968 | ||||
| 1971 | 6-year free Primary education funded | Typhoon Rose | ||
| 1972 | ||||
| 1974 | Independent Commission Against Corruption established Home Ownership Scheme introduced | |||
| 1976 | Home Ownership Scheme introduced | |||
| 1978 | Chinese Economic Reform begins in China | |||
| 1979 | ||||
| 1980 | United front in Hong Kong (est.) | |||
| 1982 | ||||
| 1983 | ||||
| 1984 | ||||
| 1985 | ||||
| 1989 | More than 1 million people marched for three consecutive Sundays in Hong Kong, including 1.5 million on May 28. | 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre | ||
| 1990 | Basic Law proclaimed | |||
| 1991 | STAR TV a first satellite television station | |||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1993 | Cable TV Hong Kong a first pay television station Lan Kwai Fong stampede | |||
| 1996 | ||||
| 1997 | Tsing Ma Bridge opened. Hong Kong transferred to the People's Republic of China. |