• 1782 Explorers discover Cherokee village of Standing Peachtree.
  • 1820s Cherokee and Creek leaders cede millions of acres to white settlers in hopes of keeping peace.
  • 1837 The town, newly named Terminus, is selected as the site of a railroad terminus connecting Georgia with the Tennessee River. The same year, 17,000 Native Americans are forced to march westward on a "Trail of Tears."
  • 1843 Terminus is renamed Marthasville.
  • 1845 The first locomotive chugs into town. The city is renamed Atlanta.
  • 1851 Georgia secedes from the Union, the Civil War begins, and Atlanta becomes a major Confederate supply depot and medical center.
  • 1864 Union forces under General Sherman burn Atlanta.
  • 1865 Civil War ends.
  • 1877 Atlanta becomes the capital of Georgia.
  • 1886 Newspaper editor Henry Grady inspires readers with vision of a "New South." John S. Pemberton introduces Coca-Cola.
  • 1900 Atlanta University professor W. E. B. Du Bois founds the NAACP.
  • 1904 Piedmont Park designed.
  • 1917 Fire destroys 73 square blocks of the city.
  • 1929 Atlanta's first airport opens; Delta Air Lines takes to the skies and becomes Atlanta's home carrier.
  • 1936 Margaret Mitchell's blockbuster novel, Gone With the Wind, is published.
  • 1939 The movie version of Gone With the Wind premières in Atlanta.
  • 1952 The city of Atlanta incorporates surrounding areas, increasing its population by 100,000 and its size from 37 to 118 square miles.
  • 1960 Sit-ins and boycotts protesting segregation begin. The million-square-foot Merchandise Mart is erected.
  • 1961 Ivan Allen, Jr., defeats segregationist Lester Maddox in mayoral election. Atlanta's public schools and the Georgia Institute of Technology are peacefully desegregated.
  • 1964 Atlanta native Martin Luther King, Jr., wins Nobel Peace Prize.
  • 1965 A plane crash at Orly Airport in Paris kills 106 of Atlanta's civic and cultural leaders. Atlanta Fulton County Stadium is built.
  • 1966 Baseball's Braves move from Milwaukee and the Falcons become a new NFL expansion team. The Beatles perform in Atlanta.
  • 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis.
  • 1974 Atlanta's first black mayor, Maynard Jackson, is inaugurated. Atlanta Braves' Hank Aaron hits his record-breaking 715th home run.
  • 1976 Georgian Jimmy Carter elected president. Georgia World Congress Center, the nation's largest single-floor exhibit space, is completed.
  • 1979 MARTA rapid-transit train system opens.
  • 1980 New Hartsfield International Airport dedicated.
  • 1983 Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, birthday becomes national holiday.
  • 1988 Atlanta hosts Democratic National Convention.
  • 1989 Underground Atlanta reopens with great fanfare.
  • 1992 Atlanta completes the new 70,500-seat Georgia Dome.
  • 1994 Atlanta hosts Super Bowl XXVIII at the Georgia Dome.
  • 1995 On their third try, the Atlanta Braves win the World Series.
  • 1996 Atlanta completes the 85,000-seat Olympic Stadium and hosts the Centennial Olympic Games.
  • 1997 Atlanta reopens Olympic Stadium as the new Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves baseball team.
  • 1998 A renovated Centennial Olympic Park opens as a major city gathering spot and a lasting legacy of the Centennial Olympic Games.
  • 1999 Atlanta completes the Philips Arena, home to the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team.
  • 2000 The city hosts Super Bowl XXXIV.
  • 2003 The $95-million Georgia International Convention Center -- featuring a 40,000-square-foot ballroom -- opens for business.
  • 2005 The 5-million-gallon Georgia Aquarium opens in the middle of revitalized downtown Atlanta.
  • 2007 The all-new, bigger and better World of Coca-Cola opens downtown next to the Georgia Aquarium.
  • 2009 Atlanta's population continues to climb, having recently bypassed the five million milestone.
  • 2011 The Georgia Aquarium pumps $110 million into a new dolphin exhibit, making the world's largest aquarium an even bigger draw.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.