Places & buildings
106 stories through the year, in calendar order. Tap one to visit its day.
January
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2 Jan
1818 Six engineers found the Institution of Civil EngineersA group of six engineers founded the Institution of Civil Engineers in Britain. Civil engineers design things such as roads, bridges, canals and harb…
Photo: Henry Raeburn, Public domain
- 2 Jan 1900 The Chicago canal opens and makes a river flow backwardsThe Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal opened in Illinois, in the United States. The canal is about 51 kilometres long and links the Chicago River to th…
- 3 Jan 1870 Work begins on the Brooklyn Bridge in New YorkConstruction began on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, United States. The bridge crosses the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn. When it …
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4 Jan
1698 Fire destroys most of London's Palace of WhitehallA fire destroyed most of the Palace of Whitehall in London. It had been the main home of English kings and queens since 1530, when Henry VIII moved t…
Photo: Hendrick Danckerts, Public domain
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4 Jan
2010 The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest structure, opens in DubaiThe Burj Khalifa skyscraper officially opened in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 metres, it is the tallest structure…
Photo: Laika ac, CC BY-SA 2.0
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5 Jan
1875 The Palais Garnier opera house opens in ParisThe Palais Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, opened in Paris. It was built between 1861 and 1875 for the Paris Opera, on the…
Photo: Peter Rivera, CC BY 2.0
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5 Jan
1933 Building work starts on the Golden Gate BridgeConstruction began on the Golden Gate Bridge in California, United States. The suspension bridge crosses the Golden Gate, a strait about 1.6 kilometr…
Photo: Associated Oil Company / Chas. M. Hiller, Public domain
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12 Jan
1808 Reculver's leaders vote to pull down their ancient churchSt Mary's Church in Reculver, Kent, was founded in the 7th century inside an old Roman fort. By 1808 the sea was wearing away the cliff it stood on, …
Photo: PhilipJSchadenfreude, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 12 Jan 1895 The National Trust is founded to protect special placesThe National Trust was officially registered, with the aim of protecting beautiful and historic places for the nation. Its founders were social refor…
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15 Jan
1759 The British Museum opens to the publicThe British Museum in London opened its doors to the public for the first time, in a grand mansion called Montagu House. It was the world's first pub…
Photo: Ham, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 20 Jan 1401 One of Europe's first public banks opens in BarcelonaThe Taula de canvi, meaning 'table of change', opened for business inside a building called the Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, Spain. It was a bank run …
- 21 Jan 1326 Edward II confirms the founding of Oriel College, OxfordKing Edward II of England issued a royal charter confirming the founding of Oriel College, part of the University of Oxford. A charter is an official…
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21 Jan
1971 Emley Moor tower, the UK's tallest structure, starts broadcastingThe new Emley Moor transmitting station, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, began sending out colour television signals. The concrete tower replace…
Photo: Alan Zomerfeld, CC BY-SA 2.5
- 22 Jan 1506 The first Swiss Guards arrive to protect the PopeThe first group of 150 Swiss Guards arrived at the Vatican in Rome. The Swiss Guard was set up under Pope Julius II to protect the Pope and his palac…
- 23 Jan 1571 Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in LondonQueen Elizabeth I officially opened the Royal Exchange in the City of London and gave it its royal title. It was founded by the merchant Sir Thomas G…
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23 Jan
1967 Milton Keynes is founded as a new townThe government officially created Milton Keynes as a new town in Buckinghamshire, planned to grow into a city of 250,000 people. It was meant to ease…
Photo: Cnyborg, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 24 Jan AD 771 A Maya king dedicates the biggest stone the Maya ever quarriedK'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat ruled the ancient Maya city of Quiriguá, in what is now Guatemala. There he dedicated a giant carved stone monument called a …
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24 Jan
1664 Born: John VanbrughJohn Vanbrugh was an English architect and playwright. He is best known for designing two famous stately homes, Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He…
Photo: Godfrey Kneller, Public domain
- 26 Jan 1934 The Apollo Theater opens in Harlem, New YorkA theatre in the Harlem area of New York City reopened as the Apollo Theater. It became one of America's leading venues for African American performe…
- 27 Jan 1983 Diggers break through on Japan's undersea Seikan TunnelTunnellers broke through the pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel in Japan. The railway tunnel is 53.85 kilometres long and links Honshu, Japan's main is…
- 30 Jan 1826 Thomas Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge opens in WalesThe Menai Suspension Bridge opened, linking the island of Anglesey with the mainland of north-west Wales across the Menai Strait. It was designed by …
- 30 Jan 1847 The town of Yerba Buena is renamed San FranciscoThe small settlement of Yerba Buena, on San Francisco Bay in California, was renamed San Francisco. It had been founded in 1834 and was named after a…
February
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1 Feb
2013 The Shard's viewing gallery opens to the public in LondonVisitors could go up the Shard in London for the first time when its viewing gallery opened to the public. The pointed, pyramid-shaped skyscraper sta…
Photo: Colin, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2 Feb 1913 Grand Central Terminal opens in New York CityGrand Central Terminal in New York City opened just after midnight. It has more platforms than any other train station in the world. The station stan…
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5 Feb
1852 The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg opens to the publicThe New Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, opened its doors to the public. The Hermitage had been founded in 1764, when Empress Catherine …
Photo: GAlexandrova, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 8 Feb 1960 Work begins on the Hollywood Walk of FameBuilding work officially began on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, Los Angeles. It now has more than 2,800 five-pointed stars set into the pavements al…
- 13 Feb 1322 Ely Cathedral's central tower collapses, leading to its famous OctagonDuring the night, the old Norman central tower of Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire fell down, possibly because of digging nearby. Instead of rebuildin…
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13 Feb
1931 New Delhi becomes the capital of British IndiaNew Delhi was officially opened as the capital of British-ruled India, taking over from Calcutta. The city was designed by British architects Edwin L…
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14 Feb
1852 Great Ormond Street Hospital for children is founded in LondonThe Hospital for Sick Children in Great Ormond Street, London, was founded after a long campaign by Dr Charles West. It was the first hospital in Eng…
Photo: Nigel Cox, CC BY-SA 2.0
- 19 Feb 1910 Old Trafford football stadium hosts its first matchManchester United played their first match at their new stadium, Old Trafford, against Liverpool. The home fans did not get a win, as Liverpool won 4…
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20 Feb
1872 The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New YorkThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, often called the Met, opened in New York City. It is now the largest art museum in the Americas, with a collection of…
Photo: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
- 21 Feb 1885 The Washington Monument is dedicatedThe newly finished Washington Monument was dedicated in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It honours George Washington, the country's first pre…
- 22 Feb 1881 Cleopatra's Needle is put up in New York's Central ParkAn ancient Egyptian stone pillar, called an obelisk, was put up in Central Park, New York. It was made in the 15th century BC and was a gift to the U…
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23 Feb
AD 532 Work begins on the Hagia Sophia in ConstantinopleByzantine emperor Justinian I began building a new great church in Constantinople, now Istanbul in Turkey. It replaced an earlier church that had bur…
Photo: Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 24 Feb 1809 The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, burns downThe Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in London burned down after standing for only 15 years. It was the third theatre built on the site. Its owner, the pla…
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25 Feb
AD 138 Emperor Hadrian chooses Antoninus Pius to rule after himRoman emperor Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius as his son and chose him as the next emperor. Antoninus took over later that year, and his reign was a p…
Photo: Djehouty, CC BY-SA 4.0
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25 Feb
1939 The first Anderson shelter is put up in a London gardenAs part of Britain's air raid precautions, the first Anderson shelter was built in a garden in Islington, north London. These small shelters were mad…
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27 Feb
1964 Italy asks for help to stop the Leaning Tower of Pisa from fallingThe Italian government asked for help to stop the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over. The tower is the bell tower of Pisa Cathedral, and it lea…
Photo: MHoser, CC BY-SA 4.0
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29 Feb
2012 Work is finished on Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest towerConstruction of Tokyo Skytree, a broadcasting and observation tower in Tokyo, Japan, was completed. It had reached its full height of 634 metres the …
Photo: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 3.0
September
- 29 Sep 1963 The University of East Anglia is founded in NorwichThe University of East Anglia, known as UEA, was founded in Norwich. People had talked about starting a university in the city since the 1800s. Its c…
- 29 Sep 2007 Calder Hall nuclear power station is demolishedCalder Hall, at Sellafield in Cumbria, was the first full-scale nuclear power station to start working anywhere in the world. It ran from 1956 to 200…
October
- 1 Oct 1868 St Pancras railway station opens in LondonSt Pancras railway station opened to the public in London. It stands on Euston Road, beside the British Library. Now called St Pancras International,…
- 4 Oct 1927 Work begins on carving Mount RushmoreSculptor Gutzon Borglum and around 400 workers began carving Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA. The giant sculpture shows the he…
- 8 Oct 1645 Jeanne Mance opens Montreal's first hospitalJeanne Mance, a French nurse, opened the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, the first hospital in Montreal. She had been one of the founders of the city in 1642…
- 8 Oct 1965 Harold Wilson opens the tower now known as the BT TowerPrime Minister Harold Wilson officially opened a new communications tower in central London, now called the BT Tower. It was built for the General Po…
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9 Oct
1410 The Prague astronomical clock is first mentionedThe Prague astronomical clock, also called the Prague Orloj, was mentioned in writing for the first time. This medieval clock is attached to the Old …
- 9 Oct 1888 The Washington Monument opens to the publicThe Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., officially opened to the public. At the time, it was the tallest building in the world. The 169-metre ob…
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10 Oct
AD 415 The second church of Hagia Sophia opens in ConstantinopleThe second church built on the site of Hagia Sophia, in the city of Constantinople, was opened. The famous building that stands there now is the thir…
Photo: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 10 Oct 1913 A huge blast completes the main building work on the Panama CanalUS President Woodrow Wilson set off an explosion that blew up the Gamboa Dike, a bank holding back water. This completed the major building work on t…
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12 Oct
1901 The US president's home is officially named the White HousePresident Theodore Roosevelt officially renamed the American president's home. Its official name had been the Executive Mansion, but from now on it w…
Photo: Adam Cuerden, Public domain
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13 Oct
1269 The new church at Westminster Abbey is consecratedThe church building that still stands at Westminster Abbey in London was consecrated, which means it was officially blessed for worship. The abbey ha…
- 13 Oct 1792 Building work begins on the White House in Washington, D.C.The cornerstone of the US president's new home in Washington, D.C., was laid. A cornerstone is one of the first stones put in place when a building i…
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16 Oct
1834 Fire destroys most of the Palace of WestminsterA great fire destroyed most of the Palace of Westminster in London, the home of Parliament. It started when old wooden tally sticks, once used to kee…
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain
- 16 Oct 1995 The Skye Bridge opens in ScotlandThe Skye Bridge in Scotland opened. It is a road bridge over Loch Alsh, linking the Isle of Skye to a small island called Eilean Bàn. From there, the…
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20 Oct
1973 Queen Elizabeth II opens the Sydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House in Australia was opened by Queen Elizabeth II, after 14 years of building work. It stands on the edge of Sydney Harbour and ha…
Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0
- 21 Oct 1959 The Guggenheim Museum opens in New YorkThe Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York City. It is an art museum with works by I…
- 26 Oct 1825 The Erie Canal opens in New York StateThe Erie Canal opened in upstate New York, in the United States. It linked the Hudson River with Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. It was the first …
- 26 Oct 1936 Hoover Dam's first electric generator starts full operationThe first electric generator at the Hoover Dam went into full operation. A generator is a machine that turns movement into electricity, and at dams i…
- 27 Oct 1904 The New York City Subway opens its first lineThe first regular line of the New York City Subway opened, run by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company. Its first underground section linked New Yo…
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28 Oct
1420 Beijing becomes the Ming capital as the Forbidden City is finishedBeijing officially became the capital of China's Ming dynasty when the Forbidden City was completed. The Forbidden City is a vast palace complex in t…
Photo: Albert Herrmann & Georg Westermann, Public domain
- 28 Oct 1636 Massachusetts Bay Colony votes to start what becomes HarvardThe Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America. Its leaders voted to set up a college to teach religion. I…
- 28 Oct 1886 The Statue of Liberty is dedicated in New York HarborUS President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty, which stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. The giant copper-covered statue of …
- 28 Oct 1965 The Gateway Arch is completed in St LouisThe Gateway Arch in St Louis, Missouri, was completed. It is 192 metres tall, covered in stainless steel, and the tallest arch in the world. Its shap…
- 29 Oct 1986 Margaret Thatcher opens the final section of the M25Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opened the last section of the M25, the motorway that circles most of Greater London. At 188 kilometres (117 miles) …
- 29 Oct 2013 A railway tunnel under the sea links Europe and AsiaThe first part of the Marmaray rail project opened in Istanbul, Turkey. It included a railway tunnel under the Bosphorus, the strait that separates E…
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30 Oct
1632 Born: Christopher WrenChristopher Wren was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist, born in 1632. After the Great Fire of London in 1666, he was put …
Photo: Godfrey Kneller, Public domain
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30 Oct
2005 Dresden's rebuilt Frauenkirche church opens againThe Frauenkirche, a Lutheran church in Dresden, Germany, was consecrated again, which means it was blessed and opened for worship once more. The chur…
Photo: Netopyr, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 31 Oct 1941 Work on the giant presidents of Mount Rushmore is completedAbout 400 workers finished the giant sculptures of four US presidents at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. The heads show George Washington, Thomas Jef…
- 31 Oct 1950 Born: Zaha HadidZaha Hadid was an Iraqi and British architect, born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1950. She studied mathematics before going to architecture school, and she u…
November
- 1 Nov 1800 John Adams becomes the first president to live in the White HouseJohn Adams became the first US president to live in the Executive Mansion, later renamed the White House. The country's capital had just moved from P…
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2 Nov
1959 The first section of the M1 motorway opensThe first stretch of the M1 opened to traffic, along with two shorter motorways, the M10 and the M45. It was the first inter-urban motorway in the Un…
Photo: Klaus with K, CC BY-SA 3.0
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6 Nov
AD 447 An earthquake damages the great Walls of ConstantinopleA powerful earthquake destroyed large parts of the walls of Constantinople, including 57 of their towers. These stone walls had protected the city, n…
Photo: Apaleutos25, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 7 Nov 1949 Caspian Sea oil find leads to the world's first offshore oil platformOil was discovered beneath the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan. This led to the building of Neft Daşları, the world's first offshore oil plat…
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8 Nov
1602 Oxford's Bodleian Library opens to the publicThe Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford opened to the public. It was founded by Sir Thomas Bodley and is one of the oldest libraries in Euro…
Photo: Remi Mathis, CC BY-SA 3.0
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11 Nov
1920 The Cenotaph is unveiled and the Unknown Warrior is laid to restThe Cenotaph, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was unveiled on Whitehall in London as the UK's national memorial to those from Britain and its empire w…
Photo: Mike from England, CC BY-SA 2.0
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12 Nov
1835 The Wilberforce Monument is completed in HullBuilding work was completed on the Wilberforce Monument in Kingston upon Hull, the city where William Wilberforce was born. It is a column topped by …
Photo: Keith D at en.wikipedia, CC BY 3.0
- 12 Nov 1936 The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opensThe San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened to traffic in California. It is a group of bridges crossing San Francisco Bay, linking the cities of San …
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17 Nov
1869 The Suez Canal opens, joining two seasThe Suez Canal in Egypt officially opened after ten years of building work. This 193-kilometre, human-made waterway joins the Mediterranean Sea to th…
Photo: NASA, Public domain
- 18 Nov 1626 The new St Peter's Basilica in Rome is consecratedThe new St Peter's Basilica was consecrated, which means it was officially made a holy place. It stands in Vatican City, a tiny independent country i…
- 20 Nov 1992 Fire badly damages Windsor CastleA major fire broke out at Windsor Castle, the largest lived-in castle in the world and a home of the British monarch. It started in the Queen's Priva…
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21 Nov
1964 New York's Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge opensThe Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge opened in New York City, linking Staten Island and Brooklyn. It is a suspension bridge, and its central span is 1.3 kil…
Photo: H.L.I.T, Public domain
- 22 Nov 1855 Prince Albert lays the first stone of the Midland InstitutePrince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, laid the foundation stone of the Birmingham and Midland Institute in Birmingham. A foundation stone is …
- 25 Nov 1835 Born: Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie was born in a one-room weaver's cottage in Dunfermline, Scotland. When he was 12, his family moved to the United States. There he bui…
- 25 Nov 1986 The King Fahd Causeway linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain opensThe King Fahd Causeway was officially opened. It is a 25-kilometre series of bridges and causeways across the Gulf of Bahrain. It links the city of K…
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26 Nov
1805 Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct opens in WalesThe Pontcysyllte Aqueduct officially opened, carrying the Llangollen Canal high across the River Dee in north-east Wales. It was designed by the Scot…
Photo: Adrian Pingstone, Public domain
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27 Nov
1703 The Great Storm of 1703 sweeps away the first Eddystone LighthouseThe Great Storm of 1703 was one of the most severe storms ever to hit southern Britain. It swept away the first Eddystone Lighthouse, a wooden tower …
Photo: Henry winstanley, Public domain
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30 Nov
1936 The Crystal Palace in London is destroyed by fireThe Crystal Palace, a huge building of iron and glass in south London, was destroyed by fire. Designed by Joseph Paxton, it was first built in Hyde P…
Photo: Philip Henry Delamotte (1821–1889), Public domain
December
- 1 Dec 1990 The two halves of the Channel Tunnel meet under the seaTunnels dug from Britain and from France met beneath the seabed of the English Channel. The finished Channel Tunnel is a railway tunnel about 50 kilo…
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2 Dec
1697 Christopher Wren's new St Paul's Cathedral is consecratedThe new St Paul's Cathedral in London was consecrated, which means it was officially blessed for worship. The old cathedral had been destroyed in the…
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3 Dec
1838 Born: Octavia HillOctavia Hill was an English social reformer and a founder of the National Trust. A social reformer works to make life better and fairer for people. S…
Photo: John Singer Sargent, Public domain
- 5 Dec 1958 Britain's first motorway, the Preston Bypass, opensThe Preston Bypass, the United Kingdom's first motorway, opened to the public. It was about 13 kilometres long and ran around the east side of Presto…
- 6 Dec 1884 The Washington Monument is completedThe Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., was completed. It is a tall stone pillar called an obelisk, about 169 metres high. It honours George Was…
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7 Dec
1732 The Royal Opera House opens at Covent GardenThe Royal Opera House opened at Covent Garden in central London. The building is often simply called 'Covent Garden', after an earlier use of the sit…
Photo: Russ London (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
- 10 Dec 1993 County Durham's last coal mine, Wearmouth Colliery, closesThe last shift of miners left Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland, and the pit closed. It had opened in 1835 on the north bank of the River Wear. It was…
- 12 Dec 1917 Father Flanagan founds Boys Town in NebraskaEdward Flanagan, an Irish-born Catholic priest, founded Boys Town, a farm village for boys who were in trouble or homeless. It was near the city of O…
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14 Dec
2004 The Millau Viaduct, the world's tallest bridge, opens in FranceThe Millau Viaduct was officially opened near Millau in southern France. The bridge crosses the deep valley of the River Tarn. It was designed by a t…
Photo: Daniel CULSAN, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 15 Dec 2001 The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens, still leaningThe Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy reopened after 11 years. Work costing 27 million US dollars had made it more stable, but its famous lean was kept.…
- 18 Dec 2015 Kellingley Colliery, Britain's last deep coal mine, closesKellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire, the last deep coal mine in Great Britain, closed. It was known affectionately as the 'Big K'. A colliery is a…
- 21 Dec 1844 The Rochdale Pioneers open their co-operative shopA group called the Rochdale Pioneers opened their shop in Rochdale, England. It was a co-operative, a business owned by the people who use it. The sh…
- 22 Dec 1937 The Lincoln Tunnel opens under New York's Hudson RiverThe Lincoln Tunnel opened, running about 2.4 kilometres under the Hudson River. It links Weehawken, New Jersey, with Midtown Manhattan in New York Ci…
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22 Dec
1989 Berlin's Brandenburg Gate reopens after nearly 30 yearsThe Brandenburg Gate in Berlin reopened after being closed for nearly 30 years. Germany had been divided into two countries, East and West, and the r…
Photo: Unknown photographer, Reproduction by Lear 21 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
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27 Dec
AD 537 The great church of Hagia Sophia opens in ConstantinopleThe rebuilt Hagia Sophia was opened in Constantinople, the city now called Istanbul in Turkey. It was the third church on the site, and it had the la…
Photo: Adli Wahid, CC BY-SA 3.0
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27 Dec
1932 Radio City Music Hall opens in New YorkRadio City Music Hall opened in New York City with the largest auditorium in the world at the time. An auditorium is the part of a theatre where the …
Photo: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0
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28 Dec
1065 Westminster Abbey is consecratedWestminster Abbey in London, built by King Edward the Confessor, was consecrated, which means it was officially blessed as a church. It was the first…
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30 Dec
1845 New university colleges are founded in Belfast, Cork and GalwayThree new university colleges were founded in Ireland, in Belfast, Cork and Galway, as part of the Queen's University of Ireland. The one in Galway w…
Photo: Michael O'Sheil, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 31 Dec 2004 Taipei 101 opens as the world's tallest buildingTaipei 101, a skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, opened to the public. It is 508 metres high with 101 floors. It was officially the world's tallest buildi…