Timeline of Port Harcourt
This is a timeline of the history of Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, Nigeria.
19th century
- 1869 – A civil war in the Bonny Kingdom splits the polity into rival houses; Jaja leads the Opobo group to found Opobo at the Imo River estuary, reshaping trade routes across the Bonny–Imo river corridor near the future Port Harcourt area.
- 1884–1885 – Britain proclaims the Oil Rivers Protectorate over the Niger Delta, extending consular jurisdiction over the Bonny River approaches and adjacent creeks.
- 1893 – The Oil Rivers Protectorate is renamed the Niger Coast Protectorate, consolidating British administration across the eastern Niger Delta prior to amalgamation into Southern Nigeria in 1900.
20th century
- 1925 – Braithwaite Memorial Hospital begins operating.
- 1961 – Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt established.
- 1965 – Port Harcourt Refining Company founded at Alesa-Eleme.
- 1971 – Newspaper The Tide begins publication.
- 1972
- * Rivers State College of Science and Technology opens.
- * Sharks F.C. formed in Port Harcourt.
- 1975
- * University College, Port Harcourt created.
- * Port Harcourt Zoo established.
- 1977 – University College gains university status and becomes the University of Port Harcourt.
- 1980
- * Rivers State University of Science and Technology replaces Rivers State College of Science and Technology.
- * University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital begins operation.
- 1981 – Radio Rivers begins broadcasting.
- 1984 – Rivers State School of Basic Studies commences in Port Harcourt.
- 1985 – Rivers State Television inaugurated.
- 1988 – Dolphins football club founded.
- 1993 – Sister-city relationship with Kansas City formed.
- 1995 – Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine are buried in Port Harcourt Cemetery.
- 1996 – Meridian Hospital begins operating.
- 1999 – Rivers State School of Basic Studies is revamped and renamed Rivers State College of Arts and Science.
21st century
- 2001 – Liberation Stadium opens.
- 2004
- * National Network newspaper begins publication.
- 2005 – Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crashes.
- 2006
- * Port Harcourt International Airport stops operations for maintenance.
- 2008
- * Garden City Literary Festival begins.
- * Street Rhymes Studios opens for business.
- 2009 – Port Harcourt International Airport named Nigeria's third-busiest airport.
- 2010 – Bus electrocutions accident occurs in the region.
- 2011 – 91.7 FM begins broadcasting.
- 2012
- * Port Harcourt selected 2014 World Book Capital.
- * Massacre of four Uniport students.
- 2013
- * Kelsey Harrison Hospital and Rivers State Dental and Maxillofacial Hospital begin operations.
- * I'm on Fire becomes a successful Port Harcourt–based mixtape release.
- * Port Harcourt International Fashion Week begins.
- * Garden City Literary Festival is renamed the Port Harcourt Book Festival.
- 2014 – Port Harcourt hosts the World Book Capital programme events.