| 1701 | Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Detroit after he landed on what is now the location of the Civic Center in the downtown area. Detroit became a fur-trading center. |
| 1760 | Britain took command of Detroit as a result of the French and Indian War. |
| 1796 | American forces took command of Detroit and it became a U.S. city. |
| 1802 |
Detroit held its first election.
Detroit was incorporated as a town. |
| 1805 |
Detroit burned to the ground. All but one of the town's 300 buildings was destroyed. |
| 1815 | Detroit was incorporated as a city. |
| 1824 | Detroit's first mayor, John R. Williams, was elected. |
| 1837 |
Michigan was admitted to the Union as the 26th state.
Detroit became an important station on the Underground Railroad. |
| 1843 | The first schoolhouse is opened by the Board of Education. |
| 1850 | Detroit's leading industry manufactured stove and kitchen range. |
| 1851 | Hog Island was officially renamed Belle Isle after Lewis Cass' daughter, Belle. |
| 1872 |
Elijah McCoy, an African American inventor, patented the automatic locomotive Lubricator, which was so good that railroad men asked for "the real McCoy." |
| 1879 | Belle Isle opened as a public park. |
| 1889 | The Hammond Building, Detroit's first skyscraper, was built. |
| 1890s | Detroit built more ships than any other American city. |
| 1896 |
Charles Brady King introduced Detroit's first automobile. Three months later, Henry Ford completed his first car, the Quadricycle.
The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau was founded. |
| 1897 | Sebastian S. Kresge opened his first dime store, which later became Kmart. |
| 1901 | The first concrete road in the world was built in Detroit. |
| 1903 | Ford Motor Company was formed. |
| 1908 |
Henry Ford introduced the Model T. It became the first low-priced, mass-produced automobile with standard interchangeable parts.
General Motors was formed. |
| 1920 |
Due to the automobile industry, the city's population rapidly increased. Nearly two million foreign-born residents were now living in Detroit. |
| 1929 | The Ambassador Bridge opened. |
| 1930 | The Detroit-Windsor tunnel opened. |
| 1934 | Wayne University was formed and renamed Wayne State University in 1956. |
| 1935 |
The United Automobile Workers of America (UAW) was formed.
The Detroit Tigers won their first World Series.
The Detroit Lions won their first National Football League championship. |
| 1936 | The Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup. |
| 1937 | Joe Louis Barrow won the world's heavyweight boxing championship. |
| 1940s |
Detroit was known as the "Arsenal of Democracy," producing a fifth of the world's armament during World War II. |
| 1947 | Detroit's first commercial television station, WWJ-TV, began broadcasting. |
| 1950 | Detroit began constructing its freeway system. |
| 1951 | The city celebrated its 250th anniversary. |
| 1954 |
The nation's first shopping mall (Northland Center) opened in nearby Southfield, Michigan. |
| 1960s |
Detroit became Hitsville USA with Detroit musical talent capturing the hearts of a generation.
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| 1960 |
Cobo Hall (now Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center), Detroit's major convention center, opens to rave reviews. |
| 1963 |
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Detroit two months before its famous delivery in Washington, D.C. |
| 1967 |
New Detroit was founded as the United States' first urban coalition. It was organized to improve education, employment, housing and economic development in the city. |
| 1970 |
Detroit Renaissance, which consisted of a group of business leaders, was founded to help plan Detroit's future. |
| 1971 |
Henry Ford II, head of Detroit Renaissance, announced plans for the construction of the Renaissance Center. |
| 1974 |
Coleman A. Young became the first African-American mayor and was the
longest serving chief executive of Detroit, holding the position for twenty years. |
| 1977 |
The Renaissance Center, the largest office complex in Michigan, opened as a symbol of Detroit's rebirth. |
| 1987 |
The Detroit People Mover, an elevated train system, began operations.
Pope John Paul II visited Detroit. |
| 1996 | In November, Michigan voted to allow the operation of three casinos in Detroit. |
| 1999 |
The Detroit Tigers played their final baseball game in the classic Tiger Stadium, which opened in 1912. |
| 2001 | Detroit celebrated its 300th birthday. |
| 2002 |
The Detroit Lions football team began playing in the new, state-of-the-art Ford Field, returning to downtown Detroit after 27 years in suburban Pontiac. |
| 2004 |
The "restored" Campus Martius Park opens in downtown Detroit featuring an ice skating rink. |
| 2005 | Detroit hosts the Major League Baseball's All-Star Game at Comerica Park. |
| 2006 | The city hosts Super Bowl XL. |
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