Timeline of Dallas

This article contains a timeline of major events in the history of Dallas, Texas (US). It serves as an abridged supplement to the main history article for the city and its several subarticles on periods in the city's history.

19th century

1841 – Dallas was founded.
1888 – The Dallas Zoo was opened, making it the second zoological garden in the country.^[1]
1890 – Population: 38,067.^[2]
1900 – Population: 42,638.^[2]

20th century

1900s–1950s

1901 – Dallas Public Library was opened.^[3]
1903 – Dallas annexed town of Oak Cliff on the south side of the Trinity River, expanding its size by a third.
1908 – The Great Trinity River flood
- Texas Electric launched Dallas interurban service.^[4]
1910 – Population: 92,104.^[2]
1917 – October 19: U.S. military Love Field (airfield) was created.
1920
- WRR radio began its broadcasting.^[5]
- Population: 158,976.^[2]
1921 – Kirbys Pig Stand eatery in business.^[6]
1922 - The Magnolia Building was opened. Its trademark neon Pegasus that would be erected in 1934 would come to be one of the city's most recognizable landmarks and representative of the city itself.
1927
- Love Field (airport) was opened for civilian use.
- The world's first convenience store was opened in Dallas by the Southland Ice Company, which would eventually become 7-Eleven.
1930
- C. M. Joiner stroke oil 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Dallas. Dallas became a center of commerce for the Texas oil trade.
- Bonnie and Clyde met in the West Dallas neighborhood of Dallas and began their crime spree across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
- Population: 260,475.^[2]
1934 – The criminal duo Bonnie and Clyde were buried in Dallas after being killed by police in Louisiana on May 23.
1949 – WFAA-TV and KRLD-TV (television) began broadcasting.^[7]
1958 – While working for Texas Instruments, Jack Kilby created the world's first integrated circuit at a Dallas laboratory in September, sparking an electronics revolution that changed the world and created a global market now worth more than $1 trillion a year.

1960s–1990s

1963 – November 22 – United States President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in a motorcade while traveling west on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza. This event is memorialized by the nearby Kennedy Memorial and by the Sixth Floor Museum in the former Texas School Book Depository at the corner of Elm and Houston, Kennedy died at Parkland Memorial Hospital, 30 minutes after the shooting.
1965 - NorthPark Center was opened - on 97 acres leased from the Caruth Family Foundation by developer Raymond Nasher, anchored by Neiman Marcus, Titches-Goettinger, Pennys and other stores.
1968 – Cooper Aerobics Center in business.^[8]
1972 - City logo design was adopted.^[9]
1974 – Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was opened.
1976 – Thanks-Giving Square was completed in downtown Dallas.
1978 – The soap opera Dallas was debuted with a CBS miniseries that was filmed entirely in Dallas. The actual series was later almost all filmed in a Los Angeles studio. The internationally popular show ran for 13 years.
1979 – US Congress passed the Wright Amendment, restricting passenger air service out of Love Field Airport.
1981 – USS Dallas (SSN-700), a nuclear submarine named after the city, was commissioned.
1984 – Dallas hosted the 1984 Republican National Convention
1985
- The 72-story Bank of America Plaza (then InterFirst Plaza) was opened as the tallest building in Dallas.^[10]
- Dallas Municipal Archives was established.^[11]
- Teatro Dallas (bilingual theatre) was founded.^[12]
1987 - Annette Strauss was inaugurated as the first female mayor of Dallas.^[10]
1990 – Population: 1,006,877.^[2]
1993 - Old 97's musical group was formed.^[13]
1994 – Dallas hosted the 1994 World Cup through the quarter-finals.
1996 – Dallas Area Rapid Transit began operating the first light rail system in Texas (and the Southwest) and first commuter rail in Texas.
1997 – Congress passed the Shelby Amendment, which simplified some of the Wright Amendment restrictions on Love Field Airport.
2000 – December 18 – Dallas Area Rapid Transit opened the first full-service subway station in Texas (and the American South), Cityplace Station.

January 2000, just a^[14] few months into the season. The deal has proven to be a financial success for Cuban and the team. The Mavericks are currently valued at $2.7 billion —^[15] ninth-highest in the NBA – according to Forbes.

21st century

2010 – Population: city 1,197,816; megaregion 19,728,244.^[16]
2014 – September 7 – Dallas became home of the first case of the Ebola Virus in the United States.
2016 – July 7 – A mass shooting targeting police officers during a protest occurred in downtown Dallas, resulting in the deaths of five officers along with the shooter, and the injuries of nine other officers and two civilians.
2019 – June 17 – A brief shooting occurred outside of the Earle Cabell Federal Building, leading to the death of the perpetrator and the injury of one other person.

References

^ DallasZoo.com Archived April 8, 2001, at archive.today – General Information. Retrieved September 28, 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
^ "Historical Sketches of Texas Libraries: Dallas", Handbook of Texas Libraries, Austin: Texas Library Association, 1904, hdl:2027/uc1.b4221835
^ "Texas Electric Railway Station". Stopping Points.com. July 15, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
^ Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: Texas", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
^ Becky Mercuri (2009). "Timeline". American Sandwich. Gibbs Smith. ISBN 978-1-4236-1192-9.
^ Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: Texas", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC 10512206
^ Patrick Robertson (2011). Robertson's Book of Firsts. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-60819-738-5.
^ "City of Dallas considers scrapping its 43-year-old 'D' logo", Dallas Morning News, August 30, 2015
^ ^a ^b Dallas Historical Society – Dallas History Timeline – 1980s Archived May 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 3, 2006.
^ Municipal Archives, City of Dallas, retrieved August 30, 2015
^ Charles M. Tatum, ed. (2014). Encyclopedia of Latino Culture. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-0099-3.
^ "Greatest Dallasites of All Time", D Magazine, September 2016
^ Jr, Tom Huddleston. "Mark Cuban says he bought the Dallas Mavericks 6 weeks after attending a game and thinking, 'I can do better than this'". CNBC. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
^ Rader, Doyle. "Mark Cuban Discusses Buying The Dallas Mavericks On Latest Episode Of 'How I Got Here With Chris Paul'". Forbes. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
^ "Megaregions: Texas Triangle". America 2050. USA: Regional Plan Association. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
^ "NCTCOG Members". Arlington: North Central Texas Council of Governments. Retrieved April 7, 2017.

External links

"Historical Maps of Texas Cities: Dallas". Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection. University of Texas at Austin.
Humanities and Social Sciences Division. "Resources for Local History and Genealogy by State: Texas". Bibliographies and Guides. Washington DC: Library of Congress.

[1] DallasZoo.com Archived April 8, 2001, at archive.today – General Information. Retrieved September 28, 2006.

[census1998-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998

[3] "Historical Sketches of Texas Libraries: Dallas", Handbook of Texas Libraries, Austin: Texas Library Association, 1904, hdl:2027/uc1.b4221835

[4] "Texas Electric Railway Station". Stopping Points.com. July 15, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2025.

[Alicoate1939-5] Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: Texas", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636

[6] Becky Mercuri (2009). "Timeline". American Sandwich. Gibbs Smith. ISBN 978-1-4236-1192-9.

[Alicoate1960-7] Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: Texas", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC 10512206

[Robertson2011-8] Patrick Robertson (2011). Robertson's Book of Firsts. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-60819-738-5.

[9] "City of Dallas considers scrapping its 43-year-old 'D' logo", Dallas Morning News, August 30, 2015

[1980s-10] Dallas Historical Society – Dallas History Timeline – 1980s Archived May 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 3, 2006.

[11] Municipal Archives, City of Dallas, retrieved August 30, 2015

[12] Charles M. Tatum, ed. (2014). Encyclopedia of Latino Culture. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-0099-3.

[greatest2016-13] "Greatest Dallasites of All Time", D Magazine, September 2016

[14] Jr, Tom Huddleston. "Mark Cuban says he bought the Dallas Mavericks 6 weeks after attending a game and thinking, 'I can do better than this'". CNBC. Retrieved March 9, 2023.

[15] Rader, Doyle. "Mark Cuban Discusses Buying The Dallas Mavericks On Latest Episode Of 'How I Got Here With Chris Paul'". Forbes. Retrieved March 9, 2023.

[16] "Megaregions: Texas Triangle". America 2050. USA: Regional Plan Association. Retrieved September 12, 2016.

[17] "NCTCOG Members". Arlington: North Central Texas Council of Governments. Retrieved April 7, 2017.

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