Timeline_of_San_Juan,_Puerto_Rico
Timeline of San Juan, Puerto Rico
History of San Juan, Puerto Rico by century
The following is a timeline of the history of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
- 1511 – First Catholic Diocese established in San Juan[2]
- 1521 – "Ciudad de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico" founded by Spanish colonists from nearby Caparra.[3][4]
- 1523 – Convento de Santo Tomas de Aquino founded.[5]
- 1524 – Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion hospital built.[5]
- 1526 – October 4: St. Francis Hurricane occurs.[3]
- 1529 – October 18: Harbor attack by Caribs.[5]
- 1530
- 1532 – San José Church construction begins.[6]
- 1540 – La Fortaleza built.[5]
- 1542 – Cathedral of San Juan Bautista construction begins.[7]
- 1560 – City wall construction begins.[3]
- 1560s – San Antonio Bridge built across Condado Lagoon.[5]
- 1568 – September 7: Hurricane occurs.[3]
- 1582 – Population: 850 (approximate estimate).[5]
- 1591 – Castillo San Felipe del Morro construction begins.[6]
- 1595 – November 22: Battle of San Juan begins.[5][4]
- 1598 – June: San Juan taken by British forces; Boquerón battery sacked.[3][4]
- 1605 – Cabildo constructed in Plaza de San Juan.[6]
- 1615 – September 12: Hurricane occurs.[3]
- 1625 – September 24: Town besieged by Dutch forces.[5]
- 1733 – Palacio Episcopal construction begins (approximate date).[7]
- 1769 – Powder house built.
- 1780 – Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud (chapel) built.[7]
- 1783 – Castillo de San Cristóbal built.[4]
- 1787
- May 2: 1787 Boricua earthquake.
- May 3: Fiesta de Cruz begins.[8]
- 1797 – April: San Juan besieged by British forces.[9][4]
- 1806 – Gaceta de Puerto Rico newspaper begins publication.[10]
- 1813 – Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País en Puerto Rico founded.
- 1820 – Population: 7,658.[11]
- 1822 – Board of charity established.[12]
- 1823 – Sociedad Filarmónica (philharmonic society) formed.[13]
- 1832
- Real Audiencia de Puerto Rico [es] established.[7]
- Teatro Municipal (theatre) opens.
- 1840 – Colegio de Abogados founded.[7]
- 1845 – Town divided into barrios San Francisco, San Juan, Santa Barbara, Santo Domingo, and Ballaja.[14]
- 1848 – Cafe de La Mallorquina in business.[15]
- 1850 – Real Intendencia Building constructed.[6]
- 1853
- 1859 – Barrios De la Marina and Puerta de Tierra become part of San Juan.[17]
- 1863
- Santurce becomes part of San Juan.[18]
- Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery established.
- 1864 – Ballajá Barracks built.
- 1865 – Colegio de Párvulos built.
- 1873 – Slavery officially abolished in Puerto Rico.
- 1876 – Ateneo Puertorriqueño (cultural entity) founded.
- 1877 – Cárcel de la Princesa (prison) built.[19]
- 1879 – José Ramón Becerra y de Gárate becomes mayor.[20]
- 1882 – Ponce de León statue erected in the Plaza de San José [es].[21]
- 1885 – Civil Hospital built.
- 1888 – La Carbonera barrio becomes part of San Juan.[15]
- 1893
- Sociedad Anónima de Economías y Préstamos (later Banco Popular de Puerto Rico) founded.
- Christopher Columbus statue erected in the Plaza Colón.
- 1894 – Population: 23,414.[22]
- 1898
- May 12: Bombardment of San Juan by United States forces.[4]
- June 22: Second Battle of San Juan.
- June 28: Third Battle of San Juan.
- August 12: End of hostilities between US and Spanish military forces. United States Military Government begins.
- October: Francisco del Valle becomes mayor.[20]
- Carretera Central (Ponce-San Juan road) built.
- San Juan News begins publication.[23]
- Railway built (approximate date).[24]
- 1899
- April 11: Town becomes part of United States-annexed Puerto Rico per Treaty of Paris.
- Chamber of commerce founded.[19]
- Population: 32,048.[25][4]
- 1900
- May 1: Foraker Act comes into force, civil government for Puerto Rico begins. United States Military Government ends.
- Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico Department of Education headquartered in San Juan.
- Insane asylum established.[12]
- La Perla settlement begins (approximate date).
1900s–1950s
- 1901
- Trolley de San Juan begins operating.
- San Juan high school opens.[26]
- 1902 – City government formed into legislative and executive branches.[27]
- 1903
- University of Puerto Rico established.
- Roberto H. Todd Weels becomes mayor.[20]
- 1909 – Harbor enlarged.[4]
- 1910
- Dos Hermanos Bridge opens.
- Puerto Rico Ilustrado begins publication.[23][28]
- Population: 48,716.[4]
- 1913 – Cine Luna opens.[29]
- 1918 – October 11: 1918 San Fermín earthquake.
- 1919
- San Juan Asamblea Municipal (municipal assembly) and Concejo de Administración (administrative council) created.[27]
- Condado Vanderbilt Hotel in business.
- 1920 – Population: 70,707.[30]
- 1921 – Academia del Perpetuo Socorro founded.
- 1922 – WKAQ radio begins broadcasting.[31]
- 1923
- U.S. military Fort Buchanan established.
- Mansion Georgetti (residence) built.[6]
- 1925 – Academia San Jorge founded.
- 1928
- Luis Muñoz Rivera Park laid out.
- September: San Felipe Segundo Hurricane occurs.
- 1929
- Women's suffrage begins in Puerto Rico.[27]
- Capitol of Puerto Rico building constructed.
- 1930 – Population: 114,715.[32]
- 1932 – September–October: San Ciprian hurricane.
- 1935 – Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration headquartered in San Juan.
- 1939 – Martín Peña Bridge built.
- 1940
- United States Naval Air Station Isla Grande established.[33]
- Population: 169,247.[32]
- 1946 – Felisa Rincón de Gautier becomes mayor.
- 1947 – WAPA, WIAC, WITA, and WRSJ radio begin broadcasting.[31]
- 1948 – City flag [es] design adopted.
- 1949
- Caribe Hilton Hotel built.[6]
- San Juan National Historic Site United States National Park Service established.
- 1950
- October 30: San Juan Nationalist revolt.
- Residencial Las Casas housing complex built.
- Population: 224,767.
- 1951 – Río Piedras becomes part of San Juan municipality.[18]
- 1952 – City becomes part of newly created Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
- 1954
- WAPA-TV and WKAQ-TV (television) begin broadcasting.[34]
- Ballets de San Juan founded.[35]
- 1955
- Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport opens.
- Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and Archivo General de Puerto Rico headquartered in city.
- 1956 – Casals Festival of music begins.
- 1958
- Supreme Court Building constructed.[6]
- Casa del Libro established.[36][37]
- 1959
- June: U.S. National Governors Association meets in San Juan.[38]
- Regional Puerto Rico Metropolitan Bus Authority established.
- The San Juan Star English-language newspaper begins publication.[23]
1960s–1990s
- 1960
- Office of Secretario de la Asamblea Municipal (secretary of the municipal assembly) created.[27]
- Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico opens.[13]
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico formed.[39]
- Population: 451,658.
- 1962 – Hotel El Convento in business.
- 1966
- Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico and San Juan Children's Choir established.
- July: 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games held.
- 1968 – Plaza Las Américas shopping mall in business.
- 1970
- San Sebastián Street Festival active.
- Population: 452,749.[40]
- 1971 – San Juan Botanical Garden inaugurated.[41]
- 1973 – Puerto Rico National Library headquartered in city.
- 1974 – April: Association of Caribbean Historians organized during meeting in San Juan.[42]
- 1976 – June: 2nd G7 summit held near city.
- 1979 – July: 1979 Pan American Games held.
- 1981 – Centro de Bellas Artes (opera house) opens.[13]
- 1983 – Old San Juan designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- 1984 – Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art established.
- 1986
- June: U.S. Conference of Mayors held in San Juan.
- San Juan Philharmonic Chorale formed.
- 1988 – Archivo Histórico Arquidiocesano de San Juan (historical archives) established.[18]
- 1989
- September: Hurricane Hugo.
- Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía headquartered in San Juan.[43]
- 1991 – Autonomous Municipalities Act of 1991 created.[27]
- 1992
- Plaza del Quinto Centenario built.
- Museo de Las Américas established in the former Ballajá Barracks.[44]
- 1994 – Teodoro Moscoso Bridge opens.
- 2000 – Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico established.
- 2004
- September: Hurricane Jeanne occurs.
- Tren Urbano (regional rapid transit system) begins operating.
- Martín Peña Channel "G-8" group formed.
- 2008 – September: Hurricane Kyle occurs.
- 2009 – May: Economic protest.[45]
- 2010 – Population: 395,326.[46]
- 2012 – November 6: Territorial Puerto Rican status referendum, 2012 held.
- 2013 – Carmen Yulín Cruz becomes Mayor of San Juan.
- 2017 - September 20: Hurricane Maria occurs and is covered extensively by CBS journalist David Begnaud[47]
- 2019 - July 8 - August 12: Protests throughout San Juan in response to Telegramgate[48]
- 2021 - Miguel Romero becomes Mayor of San Juan .
- San Juan history
- List of mayors of San Juan, Puerto Rico
- List of bishops of San Juan, since 1511
- Subdivisions of San Juan, Puerto Rico
- National Register of Historic Places listings in metropolitan San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Timelines of other municipalities in Puerto Rico: municipalities in Puerto Rico: Bayamón, Hormigueros (in Spanish), Mayagüez, Ponce
- Matovina, Timothy (March 4, 2016). "American Latino Theme Study: Religion (U.S. National Park Service)". NPS.gov Homepage (U.S. National Park Service). Retrieved July 30, 2019.
- Federal Writers' Project 1940, p. 387-391: "Chronology"
- "Puerto Rico", Oxford Art Online. Retrieved May 24, 2017
- "US Newspaper Directory: Puerto Rico: San Juan". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- San Juan, Puerto Rico. Annual Report of the Insane Asylum of San Juan Porto Rico 1906. NY. hdl:2027/mdp.39015068580359.
- Malena Kuss, ed. (2007). "Puerto Rico". Music in Latin America and the Caribbean: an Encyclopedic History. University of Texas Press. pp. 151–188. ISBN 978-0-292-78498-7.
- "Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico" (in English and Spanish). San Juan: Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades. OCLC 234072526. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- Adolfo de Hostos; Oficina del Historiador Oficial, eds. (1949). Tesauro de datos historicos (in Spanish). San Juan: Imprenta del Gobierno de Puerto Rico.
- "Municipalities: San Juan: Mayors". Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico (in English and Spanish). San Juan: Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades. OCLC 234072526. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- Paul G. Miller (1922). Historia de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Rand, McNally.
- "Spain: Colonies: Cuba and Porto Rico". Statesman's Year-Book. London: Macmillan and Co. 1895. hdl:2027/njp.32101072368325.
- "San Juan (P.R.) Newspapers". WorldCat. USA: Online Computer Library Center. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- Governor, Puerto Rico (1902). Annual Report of the Governor of Porto Rico. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
- "Breve historia de la Asamblea Municipal" [Brief history of the Municipal Assembly] (in Spanish). Legislatura Municipal de San Juan. 25 January 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- "Porto Rico". Nelson Chesman & Co.'s Newspaper Rate Book. USA. 1922.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - "Movie Theaters in San Juan, Puerto Rico". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- "United States of America: Outlying Territories: Porto Rico". Statesman's Year-Book. London: Macmillan and Co. 1921. hdl:2027/njp.32101072368440.
- "United States AM Stations: Puerto Rico", Yearbook of Radio and Television, New York: Radio Television Daily, 1964, OCLC 7469377 – via Internet Archive
- U.S. Bureau of the Census (1943), Leon E. Truesdell (ed.), "Puerto Rico: Housing, General Characteristics", Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940 (in English and Spanish), Washington DC: Government Printing Office, hdl:2027/umn.31951p00820205t
- "Bases in South America and the Caribbean Area, Including Bermuda". Building the Navy's Bases in World War II. Volume II, Part III: The Advance Bases. Washington DC: U.S. Govt. Printing Office. 1947. Archived from the original on 2014-10-08.
- "United States TV Stations: Puerto Rico", Yearbook of Radio and Television, New York: Radio Television Daily, 1964, OCLC 7469377
- Don Rubin; Carlos Solórzano, eds. (1996). "Puerto Rico". World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre. Vol. 2: The Americas. Routledge. pp. 377+. ISBN 978-1-136-35928-6.
- "Pynson Printers records, 1927–1933". Research Collections. New York Public Library. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- "Casa del Libro". San Juan. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- "About: Meetings". Washington, D.C.: National Governors Association. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- "Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: Puerto Rico". Norway: Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- "General Population Characteristics: Puerto Rico", 1970 Census of Population, Características generales de la poblacíon, Puerto Rico (in English and Spanish), Washington DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1971, hdl:2027/txu.059173012521967
- "Garden Search: Puerto Rico". London: Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- "Historia de la SPG". Genealogiapr.com (in Spanish). Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
- "Orígenes, Historia y Misión" (in Spanish). Museo de Las Américas. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- "Timeline: Puerto Rico". BBC News. 23 February 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- "San Juan Municipio, Puerto Rico". QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- Romero, Simon; Robles, Frances; Mazzei, Patricia; Real, Jose A. Del (27 July 2019). "15 Days of Fury: How Puerto Rico's Government Collapsed". The New York Times.
Published in 17th–19th centuries
- in English
- Antonio de Alcedo; G.A. Thompson (1812), "Puerto Rico", Geographical and Historical Dictionary of America and the West Indies [Diccionario geográfico-historico de las Indias Occidentales o América], London: Printed for James Carpenter,
Puerto Rico, the capital
- Jedidiah Morse; Richard C. Morse (1823), "Porto Rico", A New Universal Gazetteer (4th ed.), New Haven: S. Converse
- William Drysdale (January 18, 1891). "In Porto Rico's Capital". New York Times.
- M. de Magalhães (1898). "San Juan". Colonial Business Directory of the Island of Puerto Rico. New York. OCLC 39940968.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Frederick A. Ober (1899), "San Juan, the Capital", Puerto Rico and its Resources, New York: D. Appleton and Co.
- Robert Thomas Hill (1899), "Cities of Porto Rico: (San Juan)", Cuba and Porto Rico (2nd ed.), New York: Century Company
- in Spanish
- Antonio de Alcedo (1788), "Puertorico", Diccionario geográfico-historico de las Indias Occidentales o América (in Spanish), Madrid: Manuel Gonzalez
- Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra (1866), Historia geográfica, civil y natural de la Isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico [Geographic, civil and natural history of the island of Saint John the Baptist of Puerto Rico] (in Spanish), Puerto-Rico: Imp. y Librería de Acosta, OCLC 82511773, OL 20590535M
- Waldo Jiménez de la Romera (1887), "La capital", Cuba, Puerto-Rico y Filipinas (in Spanish), Barcelona: Daniel Cortezo y C.ª, OCLC 3153821
- Rafael del Castillo, ed. (1891), "San Juan de Puerto Rico", Gran Diccionario geográfico, estadístico e histórico de España y sus provincias (in Spanish), vol. 3, Barcelona: Henrich y Compañía en Comandita
- "San Juan de Puerto Rico". Diccionario enciclopédico hispano-americano de literatura, ciencias y artes (in Spanish). Vol. 18. Barcelona: Montaner y Simon. 1896. hdl:2027/mdp.35112203983350.
- in other languages
- Joannes de Laet (1625), "St. Juan de Porto Rico", Nieuwe wereldt, ofte, Beschrijvinghe van West-Indien [New World, Description of the West Indies] (in Dutch), Tot Leyden: Isaack Elzevier
- Arnoldus Montanus (1671). "Porto Rico". De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld [The New and Unknown World: or Description of America and the Southland]. Antwerp: J. Meurs.
Published in 20th century
- in English
- A.P.C. Griffin; Library of Congress (1901). List of Books (with References to Periodicals) on Porto Rico. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. (Includes bibliographic information relevant to San Juan, p. 53+ etc.)
- "Porto Rico: San Juan". Official Commercial Directory of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Entire West Indies, with Bermuda. New York: Spanish-American Directories Company. 1901. pp. 340+.
- Charles Hartzell, ed. (1903), "Sketches of Cities, Towns, and Villages: San Juan", Register of Porto Rico for 1903, San Juan: Louis E. Tuzo and Co., pp. 200+
- "Porto Rico: San Juan Bautista", United States, with Excursions to Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico, and Alaska (4th ed.), Leipzig: K. Baedeker, 1909, pp. 669+, OCLC 02338437
- "San Juan". Commercial Guide and Business Directory of Porto Rico. New York: F.E. Platt. 1910. pp. 17–66.
- "San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). 1910. p. 151.
- A. Hyatt Verrill (1914), "San Juan", Porto Rico past and present and San Domingo of today, New York: Dodd, Mead
- Ernst B. Filsinger (1922), "San Juan", Commercial Travelers' Guide to Latin America, Washington, DC: Govt. Print. Office
- Federal Writers' Project (1940), "San Juan", Puerto Rico: a Guide to the Island of Boriquén, American Guide Series, New York: University Society, pp. 171–232, hdl:2027/mdp.39015030579083, OCLC 245805 – via HathiTrust
- Frank Otto Gatell (1959). "Puerto Rico in the 1830s; The Journal of Edward Bliss Emerson". The Americas. 16.
- Martha Ellen Davis (1972). "Social Organization of a Musical Event: The Fiesta de Cruz in San Juan, Puerto Rico". Ethnomusicology. 16.
- Jay Kinsbruner (1978). "The Pulperos of Caracas and San Juan during the First Half of the Nineteenth Century". Latin American Research Review. 13.
- Jay Kinsbruner (1990). "Caste and Capitalism in the Caribbean: Residential Patterns and House Ownership among the Free People of Color of San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1823–46". Hispanic American Historical Review. 70.
- Joseph P. Sanchez (1991). "Infrastructure of Puerto Rico in the 19th Century". Second International Symposium on Historic Preservation in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Lectures. San Juan, Puerto Rico: U.S. National Park Service, San Juan National Historic Site. hdl:2027/wu.89074121823.
- J. W. Joseph; Stephen C. Bryne (1992). "Socio-Economics and Trade in Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico: Observations from the Ballaja Archaeological Project". Historical Archaeology. 26: 45–58. doi:10.1007/BF03374159. S2CID 160583426.
- Ramón Grosfoguel (1994). "World Cities in the Caribbean: The Rise of Miami and San Juan". Review. 17 (3). Fernand Braudel Center, State University of New York: 351–381. JSTOR 40241296. (Abstract)
- Forts of Old San Juan: San Juan National Historic Site, Puerto Rico. Handbook ;151. Washington, D.C.: United States National Park Service. c. 1998. hdl:2027/pur1.32754067979769. ISBN 9780912627625.
- Félix V. Matos Rodríguez (1999), Women and urban change in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1820–1868, Gainesville: University Press of Florida, ISBN 0813016762
- in Spanish
- "Puerto Rico: San Juan". Anuario del comercio, de la industria, de la magistratura y de la administracion de España, sus colonias, Cuba, Puerto-Rico y Filipinas, estados hispano-americanos y Portugal (in Spanish). Vol. 4. Madrid: Bailly-Bailliere e Hijos. 1908. (Directory)
- Adolfo de Hostos (1966) [1948]. Historia de San Juan, ciudad murada [History of San Juan: Walled City, 1521–1898] (in Spanish). San Juan. OCLC 243313.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - José Seguinot Barbosa (1992). "Geografía histórica de la Ciudad de San Juan, Puerto Rico". Boletín de la Real Sociedad Geográfica (in Spanish) (128). Madrid. ISSN 0210-8577.
Published in 21st century
- in English
- David Marley (2005), "San Juan", Historic Cities of the Americas, Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, pp. 185+, ISBN 1576070271
- Arleen Pabón-Charneco (2012), "Old San Juan Historic District/ Distrito Histórico del Viejo San Juan" (PDF), National Historic Landmark Nomination,
NPS Form 10-900
- Arleen Pabón-Charneco (2017). Architecture of San Juan de Puerto Rico: Five centuries of urban and architectural experimentation. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-42358-4.
- in Spanish
- Silvia Álvarez Curbelo; Aníbal Sepúlveda-Rivera (2011). De vuelta a la ciudad: San Juan de Puerto Rico 1997–2001 [Back to the city: San Juan de Puerto Rico 1997–2001] (in Spanish). San Juan, P.R.: Fundación Sila M. Calderón. ISBN 9780982080603.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Items related to San Juan, various dates (via University of Puerto Rico's Biblioteca Digital Puertorriqueña)
- "(San Juan)" – via Digital Library of the Caribbean.
- Nancy Abreu Báez; et al. (eds.). "Indice de Temas: (San Juan (P.R.))" [Topic Index]. Conuco: Indice de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). OCLC 772645549. (Includes bibliographic information on San Juan history)
- "San Juan", American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection, USA – via University of Wisconsin, ca.1766–2003
- Materials related to San Juan, Puerto Rico, various dates (via U.S. Library of Congress, Prints & Photos Division)
- Works related to San Juan, PR, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).
- Map of San Juan, 1982
- Map of San Juan, 1940
- "Breve Historia del Desarrollo Urbano de la Ciudad de San Juan Bautista, Ciudad Capital de Puerto Rico" [Brief History of Urban Development of the City of San Juan Bautista, City Capital of Puerto Rico] (in Spanish). Legislatura Municipal de San Juan. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012.
- "Archivo Histórico Arquidiocesano" [Historical Archive of the Archdiocese of San Juan] (in Spanish). Arquidiocesano de San Juan. Located in the Palacio Arzobispal on Calle San Sebastián
- Digitized materials related to San Juan in the Archivo Histórico Nacional of Spain, records of the Ministerio de Ultramar; via Portal de Archivos Españoles
