Timeline of Freetown

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

Prior to 19th century

• 1540-50s - native Bullom people conquered by the Mane
• January 1568 - English slave raider John Hawkins helps destroy Bonga, a town of around 10 000 people located in the area that would become Freetown.
• 1787
  • 9 May: Settlers arrive from Portsmouth, England.
  • Granville Town, Province of Freedom established by the London-based Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor.
• 1789 - Granville Town burned down.
• 1792 - Freetown established by black American ex-slaves (called the Nova Scotian Settlers) under the auspices of the Sierra Leone Company.
• 1794 - September: Settler Town attacked by French.
• 1800
  • September: Rebellion of Nova Scotian Settlers.
  • Jamaican Maroon settlers arrive.

19th century

File:A view of Freetown, 1803.jpg

Freetown, 1803

• 1805 - Martello Tower built.
• 1808
  • Freetown settlement becomes a British crown colony.
  • "Slavers court" established.
• 1811 - Population: 1,900.
• 1812 - Wilberforce suburb founded for Liberated Africans."
• 1816 - Krootown established.
• 1822
  • Rawdon Street Methodist Church built.
  • Population: 4,785.
• 1827 - Fourah Bay College established.
• 1828 - St. George's Cathedral, Freetown built.
• 1830s - Foulah Town Mosque built.
• 1845
  • Church Mission Society Grammar School founded.
  • John Ezzidio becomes mayor.
• 1846 - Cline Town established.
• 1847 - Female Institution (school) founded.
• 1853 - Inhabitants become "British subjects."
• 1865 - Samuel Lewis becomes mayor.
• 1866 - St. Edward's Primary School founded.
• 1867 - Government Wharf built.
• 1872 - Pope Hennessy Day festival begins.
• 1873 - Independent newspaper begins publication.
• 1874 - Wesleyan High School for Boys opens.
• 1875 - West African Reporter newspaper begins publication.
• 1884
  • Sierra Leone Weekly News begins publication.
  • Leopold Educational Institute opens.
  • Fire.
• 1891 - Population: 30,033.
• 1893 - Town attains city status; Freetown City Council established.
• 1895 - Governor's residence built.
• 1898 - Bank of British West Africa branch and ice factory established.
• 1899 - Songo Town-Freetown railway begins operating.

20th century

• 1901 - Population: 34,463.
• 1904
  • John Henry Malamah Thomas becomes mayor.
  • Albert Academy founded.
• 1905
  • Madrasa Islamia active.
  • Lisk-Carew photo studio in business.
• 1918 - Population: 34,000 (approximate).
• 1919 - July: Strike and anti-Syrian riot.
• 1922 - St. Edward's Secondary School founded.
• 1923 - Girls' Industrial and Technical Training School established.
• 1925 - Prince of Wales School founded.
• 1926
  • January: Railway strike.
  • December: City Council dissolved; Municipal Board established.
• 1928 - East End Lions Football Club formed.
• 1930 - Women granted right to vote.
• 1932
  • Muslim Congress created.
  • Sierra Leone Daily Mail newspaper begins publication.
• 1938
  • West African Youth League and League of Coloured Peoples branch headquartered in Freetown.
  • Freetown Secondary School for Girls established.
• 1948
  • Eustace Henry Taylor Cummings becomes mayor.
  • Population: 64,576.
• 1953 - Deep Water Quay construction begins.
• 1961 - City becomes capital of independent Sierra Leone.
• 1962 - Siaka Stevens becomes mayor.
• 1963 - Population: 127,917.
• 1964 - Bank of Sierra Leone headquartered in city.
• 1965 - Sierra Leone Port Authority established.
• 1966 - Constance Cummings-John becomes mayor.
• 1971 - City becomes capital of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
• 1974 - Population: 214,443.
• 1977 - Ode-lay Society (social club) formed.
• 1980 - Siaka Stevens Stadium opens.
• 1983 - For Di People newspaper begins publication.
• 1985 - Population: 469,776.

1990s

See also: Sierra Leone Civil War

• 1990 - Population: 529,000 (urban agglomeration).
• 1995 - Population: 603,000 (urban agglomeration).
• 1996 - Freetown/New Haven Sister Cities established.
• 1997
  • 25 March: "Rebels move into Freetown;" prisoners freed from the Pademba Road prison.
  • 30 May: Foreigners evacuated.
  • 2 June: AFRC conflict.
• 1998
  • February: "Ecomog storms Freetown and drives rebels out."
  • Kabbah returns to Freetown.
• 1999
  • January: City besieged by Armed Forces Revolutionary Council/Revolutionary United Front.
  • November: United Nations troops arrive.
• 2000
  • 2 May: City Hotel burns down.
  • 8 May: Peace demonstration.
  • Center for Media, Technology and Education established.
  • Population: 688,000 (urban agglomeration).

21st century

File:Flickr - stringer bel - Freetown, Sierra Leone (11).jpg

Freetown, 2009

• 2002
  • Sierra Leone Civil War ends.
  • Special Court for Sierra Leone and Kallon Football Club established.
• 2003 - 14 April: Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Sierra Leone) convenes.
• 2004
  • Winstanley Bankole Johnson becomes mayor.
  • Population: 772,873.
• 2005 - Njala University College established.
• 2010 - Population: 945,423.
• 2012
  • Cholera epidemic.
  • Sam Franklyn Gibson becomes mayor.
• 2015 - Population: 1,055,964.

See also

• Freetown history
• Schools in Freetown
• List of mayors of Freetown
• History of Sierra Leone

Bibliography

Published in 19th century

Published in 20th century

• H. R. Jarrett. The Port and Town of Freetown, Geography, Vol. 40, 1955, pp. 108–118.
• Michael Banton. West African City: A Study of Tribal Life in Freetown. London: Oxford University, 1957.
• M.B. Gleave. "Port activities and the spatial structure of cities: the case of Freetown, Sierra Leone." Journal of Transport Geography 5.4 (1997): 257–275.

Published in 21st century

• + website
• Kenneth Lynch et al. "Meeting the urban challenge? Urban agriculture and food security in post-conflict Freetown, Sierra Leone." Applied Geography (2012).
• Roy Maconachie, Tony Binns, and Paul Tengbe. "Urban farming associations, youth and food security in post-war Freetown, Sierra Leone." Cities 29.3 (2012): 192–200.

External links

• (Bibliography of open access Open access icon articles)
• (Images, etc.)
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