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1535 October 2-4: Jacques Cartier visits Hochelaga, an Iroquois village located on the island of Montreal. He names the mountain "Mont Royal".

1611 May 28: Samuel de Champlain, founder of Quebec City, explores part of the island of Montreal. His men construct a wall near the mouth of the Saint Pierre River (now St.Pierre Street). This is the first European construction on the island.

1639: Jerome Le Royer, Sieur de la Dauversiere, a French tac collector, formed a company in Paris to establish a colony on the island of Montreal.

1641 The company sent a Roman Catholic missionary group to the island to convert the natives to Christianity.

1642 May 17: The first French colonists, led by Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, land on the island and build a fort at what now is Place Royale in Old Montreal & established the tiny colony of Ville Marie.

1642 October 8: Jeanne Mance establishes the Hotel-Dieu de Montreal hospital.

1643 January 6: Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, commander of Ville-Marie, erects a wood cross on Mont Royal in thanks for the colony's escape from flooding.

1645 Construction of the Hotel Dieu building begins.

1648 November 24: Birth of Barbe Meunsnier, the first European born in Ville-Marie.

1658 April 30: Marguerite Bourgeoys begins teaching in a stable, "a stone building, 36 feet by 18 feet, located in Ville Marie, near hopital St-Joseph.

1663 March 9: The gentlemen of St-Sulpice become the seigneur of the island of Montreal.

1672 March 12: Dollier de Casson, Father Superior of the Seminaire de Montreal, lays out and names the first streets:

NOTRE DAME in honor of the Virgin Mary, patron of the colony;
ST-JOSEPH (now St-Sulpice);
ST-PIERRE in honor of Pierre Chevrier, baron of Fancamp, one of the founders of la Compagnie de Montreal;
ST-PAUL in honor of Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve;
ST-JACQUES in honor of Jean-Jacques Olier;
ST-CHARLES in honor of Charles Le Moyne;
ST-LAMBERT in honor of Lambert Closse;
ST-GABRIEL in honor of two Sulpicians - Gabriel Thubieres de de Levy de QueyLus and Gabriel Souart.
1700
1716 - The French authorities decide to build a wall around Montreal, it would take 20 years for the town to become truly fortified.
1734 April 10: A fire, started by an escaped slave, destroys 46 houses, Hotel Dieu and the convent.
1760 September 8: The capitulation of New France is signed in Montreal. British troops take over the town.
1766 - The town is divided into wards.
1775 May 1: The bust of George III which had been unveiled in Place d'Armes on October 7, 1773, is vandalized to denounce the Quebec Act which guaranteed use of the French language and freedom of religion. "Here is the pope of Canada and the English fool" is written on its base.
1776 November 13: The army fo the American insurgents, commanded by General Richard Montgomerey, enters Montreal through the Recollets Gates.
1776 April 29: Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase and the Jesuit Charles Caroll Stay in Thomas Walker's house in Montreal. They try to convince the local populace to join the American revolutionary cause.
1776 June 6: The American army leaves Montreal.
1778 June 3: Fleury Mesplet prints the first issue of Gazette du Commerce et litteraire pour la ville et le district de Montreal. Printed at Chateau Ramezay, this weekly later becomes The Gazette, the city's current daily newspaper.
1792 May 27: The city is divided into two parts, east and west, with St-Laurent Street as dividing line.
1800
1801 - Montreal Water Works is established to provide running water to the populace.
1801-1820 Demolition of the walls around the city.
1809 August 17: Construction of Nelson's Monument begins.
1809 November 3: "The Accomodation" owned by the Molson family, sails from Montreal to Quebec City.
1815 November: St-Paul Street is lit at night. The following year, lamps are installed on Notre Dame Street.
1817 November 3: The Bank of Montreal begins operations. It is incorporated on December 20, 1820, three years later.
1821 March 31: McGill College receives its Royal Charter.
1822 May 1: Construction of the Montreal General Hospital is completed.
1824 The Lachine Canal opens.
1824-1829 Construction of Eglise Notre Dame, designed by James O'Donnell.
1832 April 12: William IV gives royal assent to a law incorporating the city of Montreal.
1833 June 5: The first meeting of the city council. Jacques Viger is elected the first mayor of Montreal.
1833 July 19: The city council adopts the coat of arms and the motto "Concorcia Salus". The coat-of-arms consists of the four national flowers of France (fleur-de-lys), England (rose), Scotland (thistle), and Ireland (shamrock). Immigrants from these countries played key roles in the city's growth.
1840 The city is divided into six wards.
1844 March 14: The city of Montreal rents Marche Ste-Anne to the government of the united province of Canada. Montreal becomes the capital replacing Kingston.
1849 April 25: Rebellion Losses Act gives compensation for property lost during 1837-38 is passed. The Parliament is burned in protest.
1851 A law is passed requiring that the mayor of Montreal be elected popular suffrage.
1852 July 8: A fire destroys the Cathedrale St-Jacques, the bishop's palace and more than 1100 homes.
1853 July 22: Beginning of the construction of the Victoria Bridge.
1859 December 17: The first train crosses the Victoria Bridge.
1860 May: Construction of the Crystal Palace, designed by J.W. Hopkins.
1960 November 27: Christ Church Cathedrale is completed.
1861 November 27: The first streetcars in Montreal make their debut.
1863 May 1: A telegraphic alarm system is established to warn of fires.
1865 December 3: The first mass is celebrated in Eglise du Gesu.
1867 March 18: The cornerstone of St-Patrick's Hall is laid.
1869 December 15: Prince Arthur opens the Montreal Curling Club.
1873 October 14: Opening of the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association building.
1876 L'universite Laval establishes a branch in Montreal, it becomes independant in 1920.
1877 F.L. Olmstead draws up plans for a park on Mont Royal.
1878 March 11: Inauguration of the City Hall, later heavily damaged in a 1922 fire.
1883 Annexation of the town of Hochelaga.
1884 Annexation of the town of St-Jean Baptiste.
1886 June 28: Canada's first transcontinental train leaves Montreal for Vancouver.
1887 Annexation of the town of St-Gabriel.
1892 April 1: A decision to run the city's streetcars by electricity is made.
1893 Annexation of the town of Cote-St-Louis. December 2: Lord Aberdeen, Governor General of Canada, inaugerates the Royal Victoria Hospital.
1898 August 22: Completion of the new Victoria Bridge.
1899 July 16: Marked the crossing of the first carriage over the Victoria Bridge.
1899 November 21: Marked the first automobile on the streets of Montreal.
1900
1901 June 24: Parc Logan becomes Parc LaFontaine. A huge patriotic celebration is held
1901 August 13: The opening of a new military shooting range in Pointe-aux-Trembles.
1904 July 21: Completion of the first grain elevator in the port of Montreal.
1905 Annexation of the towns of St-Henri, Villeray and Ste-Cunegonde.
1905 January 28: Inauguration of the new Ecole Polytechnique building.
1905 July 13: Laying of the cornerstone of the Maison-Mere des Soeurs de la Congregation, in Westmount.
1906 Part of Rosemount and part of the parish of Sault-au-Recollet are annexed.
1906 May 26: Ecole des Hautes Commerciales is established.
1906 June 8: Ste-Helene's Island is sold to the City of Montreal by the federal government for the sum of $200,000.
1906 June 24: A monument to Octave Cremazie is unveiled.
1906 August 11: First recorded fatal automobile accident in Montreal.
1907 Annexation of part of the parish of Saint-Laurent.
1908 Annexation of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, additional parts of Rosemount and Sault-au-Recollet.
1908 October 22: Laying of the cornerstone of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales building.
1909 A contractor names Pauze begins construction of Bordeaux Jail. Annexation of St-Louis, Delormier as well as the city of Outremont.
1909 October 4: Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier lays the first stone of Ecole Technique.
1909 October 20: Edward VII inaugerates the Tuberculoses Sanitorium by telephone.
1910 Annexation of Ahuntsic, Cote-des-Neiges, Longue-Pointe, Notre-Dame-de-Grace, Saint Paul, Rosemont, Tetreaulrville, Ville Emard and part of the parish of Saint-Laurent.
1910 May 28: Beginning of streetcar service between Montreal and Longueuil.
1911 June 5: Completion of McGill University's faculty of medicine building, a gift from Lord Strathcona.
1913 March 11: The city council expropriates the land needed for Saint-Joseph Boulevard.
1914 Annexation of part of the parish of Saint-Laurent.
1914 June 10: The site of the municipal library is chosen.
1914 October 1: Unveiling of the statue of Edward VII in Philips Square.
1915 May 26: Ile Ste-Helene is opened to the public. It becomes the largest park in the region.
1915 June 15: The Utilities Commission decides to begin placing electric wires underground.
1916 Annexation fo the towns of Cartierville and Sault-au-Recollet.
1917 April 22: Inaugeration of the Canadian National Railway tunnel under Mount Royal.
1917 September 4: Official opening of the municipal library.
1918 February 6: Annexation of the town of Maisonneuve.
1919 Canada's first radio began broadcasting, CFCF of Montreal.
1921 Creation of the Metropolitan Commission.
1924 February 12: The municipal executive council accepts the construction of buildings higher than 10 storeys, under certain conditions.
1924 December 25: The new cross erected on Mont-Royal is first illuminated.
1926 February 9: Lieutenant Governor Narcisse Perodeau inaugurates the Sun Life Building.
1926 February 19: Official opening of the rebuilt City Hall.
1926 November 22: Inauguration of the new Palais de Justice, Designed by Ernest Cormier.
1927 January 9: A fire in the Laurier Palace Cinema kills 78 Children.
1927 April 23: Sir Herbert Holt lays the cornerstone of the Royal Bank head office on St-Jacques Street.
1928 May 5: The opening of the Montreal Stadium is attended by 22,000 people.
1929 July 10: Completion of a new bridge across the St-Lawrence River. It was named after Jacques Cartier in 1934.
1930 June 22: Unveiling of monument of Vauquelin.
1930 September 28: Unveiling of a monument to Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine in Lafontaine Park.
1930 October 31: Inauguration of The Ahuntsic Bridge.
1934 The Montreal Symphony Orchestra is created.
1934 July 11: The Mercier Bridge links Lasalle (on the island) to Kahnewake.
1943 June 3: Official opening of l'Universite de Montreal building on Mont Royal.
1945 December 18: A major press campaign calling for construction of a subway system begins.
1950 July 6: Opening of the Cote=St-Luc railway yards.
1950 November 6: The city council approves the purchase of Viger Station to be used for municipal offices.
1951 June 16: The city takes over the streetcar company.
1952 October 27: Bus service replaces the streetcat on Saint-Laurent Boul.
1953 October 12: The statue to Laurier in Dominion Square is unveiled.
1954 Jean Drapeau is first elected mayor if Montreal.
1957 November 9: Inauguration of the new Hopital Sainte-Justine building.
1959 Construction of Place Ville Marie starts.
1959 June 26: Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower open the St-Lawrence Seaway.
1962 May 23: Construction of the Metro (subway) system begins.
1963 The opening of Place des Arts.
1967 January 11: Official opening of Chateau Champlain Hotel, then the tallest hotel in Canada.
1967 March 11: Inauguration of the Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine bridge tunnel.
1967 April 21: Daniel Johnson, premier of Quebec, opens the Quebec pavilion at Man and His World, site of the universal exposition.
1967 April 27: Official opening of EXPO'67.
1968 October 24: Annexation of Ville St-Michel.
1969 December 23: The Montreal Urban Community is created.
1970 April 25: The Mouvement Cooperatif Desjardins announces construction of a five building complex.
1972 Construction of the extension of the metro begins.
1973 Save Montreal is formed.
1976 July 17: Inauguration of the XXth Summer Olympic Games.
1982 Annexation of the northern suburb of Point-aux-Trembles.
1983 May 27: Official opening of the Palais des Congres.
1985 Montreal's first independant public hearings dealing with broad issues of urban planning held, at the Vieux Port.
1986 Montreal Citizen's Movement enjoys overwhelming victory in municipal election, Jean Dore becomes Mayor.
1987 Federal government passes leglistation making Montreal an International banking center.
1996 Montreal Canadiens move to a new home, the city says farewell to the old Forum & opens the new Molson Center in the Spring of 1996.