The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Brest, France.

• 1060s – Moat dug around the Château de Brest (approximate date).
• 1240 - Ceded by a count of Léon to John I, Duke of Brittany
• 14th C. – Tour Tanguy built (approximate date).
• 1342 – 18 August: Battle of Brest (1342).
• 1386 - Siege of Brest (1386)
• 16th C. Château de Brest construction concluded.^[1]
• 1512 – 10 August: Naval Battle of Saint-Mathieu occurs offshore.
• 1631 - Richelieu constructed a harbour with wooden wharves.^[1]
• 1680/88 - Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban fortified the harbour.^[1]
• 1694 - (18 June) Battle of Camaret, an English squadron under John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton, was miserably defeated.^[1]
• 1702 – St. Louis Church, Brest [fr] consecrated.
• 1749 – Saint-Sauveur Church built in Recouvrance.
• 1751 – Brest Prison built.
• 1752 – Académie de Marine founded.^[2]
• 1783 – Questel Fort built.
• 1784 – Fort Montbarey built.
• 1793
  • 2 January: Childers Incident occurs in the Goulet de Brest.
  • Population: 24,180.
• 1794 - French fleet, under Villaret de Joyeuse, was beaten by the English Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
• 1805 – Prison de Pontaniou [fr] built.
• 1848
  • Phare du Petit Minou and Phare du Portzic (lighthouses) built.
  • Lycée de Brest [fr] (school) founded.
• 1851 – Chamber of Commerce established.^[3]

• 1858
  • Nantes-Brest canal begins operating.
  • Société académique de Brest [fr] founded.
• 1861 – Pont National (swing-bridge) built.
• 1865 – Paris–Brest railway begins operating.
• 1876 – Population: 66,828.^[4]
• 1882 – Société de géographie de Brest founded.^[2]
• 1886
  • La Dépêche de Brest [fr] newspaper begins publication.^[5]
  • Population: 70,778.^[6]
• 1898 – Brest tramway begins operating.

• 1903 – Tramways Électrique du Finistère begins operating.
• 1905 – AS Brestoise [fr] football club formed.
• 1911 – Population: 90,540.^[7]
• 1930 – Plougastel Bridge built near city.
• 1932 – Gare de Brest built.
• 1939 – Augustin-Morvan Hospital [fr] built.
• 1940
  • World War II [fr] begins.
  • Gegen Engeland German-language newspaper begins publication.
• 1942 – Brest submarine base [fr] built in the Arsenal.
• 1944
  • August: Battle for Brest begins.
  • 9 September: Sadi-Carnot explosion [fr].
  • 18 September: Germans ousted by Allied forces.^[8]
• 1947
  • 28 July: Ocean Liberty explosion [fr].
  • Brest trolleybus [fr] begins operating.
• 1951 – Pont de l'Harteloire (bridge) built.
• 1954
  • Pont de Recouvrance (bridge) built.
  • Société d'études de Brest et du Léon [fr] founded.^[2]
• 1957 – Bibus [fr] regional transit network created.
• 1958 – St. Louis Church, Brest [fr] rebuilt.
• 1959 – Georges Lombard [fr] becomes mayor.
• 1970 – University of Western Brittany founded.^[9]
• 1973 - Rïnkla Stadium built.
• 1974 - Urban Community of Brest established.
• 1975 - Population: 166,826.
• 1976 – Dialogues (bookshop) [fr] in business.
• 1982
  • Pierre Maille becomes mayor.
  • Brest becomes part of the Brittany (administrative region).
• 1986 – Brest European Short Film Festival begins.
• 1997 – Socialist Party national congress held in Brest.

• 2001 – François Cuillandre [fr] becomes mayor.
• 2012
  • Brest tramway begins operating.
  • Population: 141,315.
• 2014 – Brest Arena built.
• 2016 – Brest aerial tram [fr] begins operating.
• 2017 – Les Ateliers des Capucins [fr], a mall and cultural venue, opens.

• Brest history
• History of Brest, France [fr]
• List of mayors of Brest, France [fr]
• Timeline of Brittany [fr]

other cities in the Brittany region

• Timeline of Rennes
• Timeline of Vannes [fr]