Timeline of Rwandan history
This timeline of Rwandan history is a chronological list of major events related to the human inhabitants of Rwanda.
19th century
| Year | Date | Event |
| 1858 | The area is visited by British explorer John Hanning Speke, the first European to do so. | |
| 1884 | 28 March | The Society for German Colonization is formed by Karl Peters in order to acquire German colonial territories in overseas countries. Peters signs treaties with several native chieftains on the mainland opposite Zanzibar. |
| 1884 | August | Rwanda becomes a German protectorate. |
| 1885 | 2 April | The German East Africa Company is formed by Karl Peters to govern German East Africa. |
| 1899 | Rwanda is incorporated into German East Africa. |
20th century
| Year | Date | Event |
| 1901 | 23 February | A boundary is agreed between German East Africa and Nyasaland. |
| 1916 | Rwanda is occupied by Belgian forces. | |
| 1922 | 20 July | Rwanda-Urundi are joined as a League of Nations mandate, governed by Belgium. |
| 1933 | All citizens in Rwanda-Urundi are issued with an identity card defining their ethnicity. | |
| 1943 | Famine affects the region. | |
| 1945 | Rwanda-Urundi becomes a United Nations Trust Territory. | |
| 1957 | The Hutu Manifesto is published. | |
| 1959 | 24 July | Mwami Mutara III dies. |
| 1959 | 3 September | The Union Nationale Rwandaise party is formed. |
| 1959 | 1 November | Politician Dominique Mbonyumutwa is beaten by members of UNAR, leading to a violent backlash that kills thousands of Tutsis. |
| 1960 | An election is held. | |
| 1961 | Rwandans vote to abolish the Tutsi monarchy. | |
| 1961 | 28 January | Dominique Mbonyumutwa becomes provisional President of Rwanda. |
| 1962 | 1 July | Belgium grants Rwanda independence. |
| 1962 | 26 October | Grégoire Kayibanda becomes the first elected President of Rwanda. |
| 1963 | Following a Tutsi guerilla attack from Burundi, an anti-Tutsi backlash kills thousands. | |
| 1973 | 5 July | Grégoire Kayibanda is overthrown in a military coup d'état. Juvénal Habyarimana becomes the third President of Rwanda. |
| 1985 | 26 December | American naturalist Dian Fossey is murdered in her Rwandan cabin. |
| 1990 | 1 October | The Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front makes an attack from Uganda, starting the Rwandan Civil War. |
| 1993 | 4 August | The Arusha Accords are signed between President Habyarimana and leaders of the RPF in Arusha, Tanzania, ending the Rwandan Civil War. |
| 1994 | 6 April | President Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira are assassinated as their aircraft is shot down approaching Kigali. This incident sparks the Rwandan genocide. |
| 1994 | 8 April | Théodore Sindikubwabo becomes interim President of Rwanda. |
| 1994 | 3 July | The RPF takes control of Kigali. |
| 1994 | 19 July | The RPF forms a provisional government and Pasteur Bizimungu becomes President of Rwanda. |
| 1994 | 21 August | The RPF controls the whole of Rwanda. |
| 1994 | 8 November | The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is established. |
| 2000 | 24 March | Paul Kagame is selected as interim President of Rwanda. |
| 2000 | 22 April | Paul Kagame is sworn in as the fourth President of Rwanda. |