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Dateline
- 3rd century A.D. Singapore mentioned in Chinese records.
- 5th century Indian and Persian traders arrive in the region.
- 1295 Marco Polo visits Sumatra; has a swell time.
- 1390 Iskander Shah establishes sultanate on Singapura but is soon ousted.
- 1700s Malay temenggongs rule Singapura.
- 1819 Sir Stamford Raffles lands on Singapura, also has a swell time.
- 1820s First billiards club, first newspaper, first judicial system, first census (counting 4,727).
- 1824 East India Trading Company buys the island.
- 1827 Straits Settlements is formed, which includes Malaya and Singapore; first steamship seen in Singapore.
- 1833 East India Trading Company loses its foothold in Southeast Asia; population 20,978.
- 1840 First bank opened; population 33,969.
- 1845 First Masonic Lodge; arrival of first P&O mail boat.
- 1850 Population 52,891.
- 1854 First Singapore postage stamp printed.
- 1860 Telegraph opened between Singapore and Batavia; population 81,734.
- 1864 First use of gas street lighting.
- 1867 Singapore is declared a British colony.
- 1869 Suez Canal opens; Singapore leaps to prominence.
- 1871 Singapore's population reaches 94,816; telegraph opened between Singapore and Hong Kong.
- 1877 Experimental rubber seeds smuggled from Brazil, planted at the Botanic Gardens.
- 1877 Chinese Protectorate is formed to curb violence among rival Chinese gangs.
- 1879 First telephone; first official postcards issued.
- 1881 Population 137,722.
- 1886 Steam trams begin operation.
- 1887 Statue of Raffles unveiled.
- 1888 Rubber trees introduced into Malaya as a commercial crop.
- 1891 Singapore Golf Club formed; population 181,602; first concert by Philharmonic Society.
- 1896 First automobile arrives.
- 1901 Population 226,842.
- 1903 Singapore-Kranji Railway opens.
- 1905 First frozen foods arrive in Singapore; electric trams introduced.
- 1911 Population 303,321.
- 1914 Outbreak of the Great War in Europe.
- 1915 Singapore Sling invented at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel (becomes a smashing success).
- 1919 First airplane arrives in Singapore.
- 1921 Britain severs its defense alliance with Japan; population 418,358.
- 1922 Prince of Wales visits.
- 1929 Direct Singapore-London telegraph link.
- 1931 Population 570,128.
- 1932 Last tiger on island killed.
- 1936 Anti-Japanese riots by Chinese in Singapore; start of wireless broadcasting.
- 1937 Sultan Mosque installs loudspeakers for muezzin's call to prayer; opium sales proceeds providing 25% of Straits Settlements' budget.
- 1939 World War II begins in Europe.
- 1942 Japanese invade Singapore from the north.
- 1945 Japanese surrender; British rule restored.
- 1946 Singapore becomes a Crown Colony.
- 1948 Communist Party of Malaya attempts to take control of the peninsula; emergency powers instituted to discourage such activities.
- 1955 Constitution allows a freely elected parliament; People's Action Party (PAP) is formed.
- 1958 Singapore granted internal self-government.
- 1959 People's Action Party (PAP) wins general election; Lee Kuan Yew becomes first prime minister.
- 1961 First oil refinery.
- 1963 Singapore is admitted to the Federation of Malaysia; Internal Security Act passed.
- 1965 Singapore expelled from Federation and becomes an independent state; Singapore admitted into the United Nations.
- 1967 Singapore issues its own currency.
- 1981 Changi International Airport opens, named the best service in Southeast Asia.
- 1987 Singapore's policy of limiting families to two children reversed due to declining birth rate; hefty incentives given for third child.
- 1988 The Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT), an intra-island subway network built to the tune of S$5 billion (US$3.2 billion/£1.65 billion), opens.
- 1990 Singapore celebrates 25 years of independence; Lee Kuan Yew takes a back seat as senior minister, and Goh Chok Tong becomes new prime minister.
- 1992 Chewing gum banned due to vandals plugging up elevator buttons and subway doors.
- 1994 Rogue securities trader Nick Leeson turns fugitive and is eventually captured after the S$2.18 billion (US$1.4 billion/£610 million) collapse of Britain's Barings Bank.
- 1997 Asian Economic Crisis hits; compared with the economic troubles in neighboring Southeast Asian nations, Singapore weathers the storm effectively.
- 1999 S. R. Nathan declared president without election. No other candidates were certified eligible.
- 2003 Lee Kuan Yew becomes minister mentor, Goh Chok Tong becomes senior minister, and Lee Kuan Yew's son, Lee Hsien Loong, becomes prime minister.
- 2004 Underwater quake sends tsunamis throughout South and Southeast Asia. Malaysia suffers 68 casualties from waves that hit Penang, Langkawi, and the northwestern shores of the peninsula. The waters around Singapore are unaffected.
- 2004 Singapore Airlines makes aviation history with the first direct nonstop flight from Singapore to New York. The 18-hour flight covers almost 9,000 nautical miles.
- 2005 Singapore approves controversial plan to legalize gambling in casinos.
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.
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