B.C.
5000 First human settlers. Ghar Dalam phase.
3600-2500 Megalithic temples constructed.
2000-1400 Bronze-using people.
800-480 Phoenician rule.
700-600 Greek influence.
480-218 Carthaginian rule.
264-146 Punic Wars.
218 Roman rule begins.
A.D.
60 Shipwreck of St. Paul the Apostle.
117-138 Islands become municipium under Emperor
Hadrian.
395 Roman rule ends.
395-870 Byzantine rule.
454 Islands occupied by the Vandals (?)
464 Islands occupied by the Goths (?)
533 Islands restored to BByzantine rule (?)
870-1090 Arab rule.
1048 First Byzantine attempts to regain islands.
1090-1194 Norman conquest.
1122 Arab uprising.
1144 Second Byzantine attempt to regain islands.
1154 John made Bishop of Palermo and Malta.
1154-1205 Genoese influence.
1194-1266 Swabian rule.
1224 Final expulsion of Arabs from Sicily and
Malta.
1266-1283 Angevin rule.Creation of the Universita'.
1282 Sicilian Vespers.
1283-1412 Aragonese rule.
1412-1530 Aragonese and Castilian rule.
1350 Establishment of Maltese Nobility.
1350-1357 First incorporation into Royal Domain.
1393-1397 Time of the Tyrants.
1397-1420 Second incorporation into Royal Domain.
1397 Universita' established. Petitions
to Sicily.
1420 Feudal possession of Don Antonio Cardona.
1425 Revolt against Don Consalvo de Monroy.
1429 Tunisian Saracens attempt capture of islands.
1428-1530 Last incorporation into Royal Domain.
1530 Knights of St. John take possession.
1551 Dragut's raid on Gozo.
1561 Inquisition officially established.
1565 Great Siege. Malta besieged by Turks but the
Knights helped by the Maltese resist and win.
1566 Founding of Valletta.
1568 Jean Parisot De La Valette buried in
Valletta.
1571 Battle of Lepanto. Christian victory over Turks.
1573 Foundation stone laid for St. John's
Co-Cathedral.
1578 Consecration of St. John's Co-Cathedral.
1592 Founding of Jesuits College.
1615 Wignacourt Aqueduct completed.
1676 School of Anatomy and Surgery founded
at the Sacred Infirmary.
1732 Manoel Theatre dedicated.
1768 Jesuits expelled and property transferred
to the Knights by Papal Order.
1769 Conversion of Jesuits College to a
University.
1775 Uprising of the priests.
1784 Creation of a legal code.
1792 Possessions of the Knights of St. John
located in France seized by the government.
1798 French invasion. Knights of St. John
expelled. Inquisition abolished.
1799 French occupation. revolt against the French.
Dun Mikiel Xerri executed by the French.
British take the islands under their
protection in the name of the King of Two
Sicilies. Battle of Aboukir Bay.
1800 French occupation ends. British rule begins.
1802 Treaty of Amiens.
1813 The Bathurst Constitution.
1814 Treaty of Paris. Malta declared free of the
plague.
1815 Congress of Vienna affirms Treaty of Paris.
1819 The Universita' dissolved.
1828 Vatican Church-State proclamation. Right
of Sanctuary revoked.
1831 See of Malta made independent of See of
Palermo.
1833 Construction begins on Mosta dome.
1835 First Council of Government under British
rule.
1839 Abolition of Press censorship. Laying of
cornerstone for St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral.
1846 Carnival riots.
1849 Council of Government with elected members
under British rule.
1869 Opening of the Suez Canal.
1870 Referendum on Ecclesiastics serving on
Council of Government.
1881 Creation of Executive Council under British
rule.
1882 Anglo-Egyptian Bank founded in Malta.
1883 Malta Railway begins operation.
1885 First postage stamps issued.
1886 Surgeon Major David Bruce discovers microbe
causing Malta Fever.
1887 Council of Government with "dual control"
under British rule.
1888 Construction begins on Royal Opera House.
Simmons-Rampolla agreement.
1903 Return to the 1849 form of Council of
Government under British rule.
1904 Tram service begins.
1905 Dr. Themistocles Zammit discovers source
of Malta Fever.
1912 Dun Karm writes his first poem in Maltese.
1914-18 World War I; Malta becomes known as the
Nurse of the Mediterranean.
1919 Sette Giugno riots. National Assembly
convened by Dr. Filippo Sciberras.
1921 Self-government granted under British rule.
First Parliament opens. Joseph Howard named
Prime Minister.
1923 "Innu Malti" played first time in public.
Dr. Francisco Buhagiar becomes Prime Minister.
1924 Sir Ugo P. Mifsud becomes Prime minister.
1927 Sir Gerald Strickland becomes Prime Minister.
1930 Constitution suspended because of Church
actions under British rule.
1931 Malta railway closes.
1932 Constitution restored under British rule.
Sir Ugo Mifsud becomes Prime Minister.
1933 Constitution withdrawn under British rule.
Malta reverts to the Crown Colony status
it held in 1813.
1934 Malti and English become dual official
languages.
1935 Rediffusion Radio begins.
1936 Constitution revised to provide for nomination
of members to Executive Council under British
rule.
1939 Constitution revised to provide for an elected
Council of Government under British rule.
Germany invades Poland.
1939-45 World War II.
1940 First air raids of the Great Siege of World
War II.
1941 Italian e-boat attack on Grand Harbour. HMS
Illustrious damaged, bombed, repaired and
departs. Pearl Harbour bombed by Japanese.
1942 Award of the George Cross to the people of
Malta. Operation Pedestal Convoy arrives in
Grand Harbour.
1943 Pres. Franklin D. roosevelt and Winston
Churchill visit Malta. George VI arrives in
Grand Harbour for a visit. Invasion of Sicily
from Malta. Surrender of the Italian Fleet
in Malta.
1945 Churchill and Roosevelt meet in Malta prior
to the Yalta Conference with Stalin.
1946 National Assembly results in 1947 constitution
under British rule.
1947 Self-government restored under British rule.
Dr. Paul Boffa becomes Prime Minister.
1948 Red Flag incident.
1949 NATO Treaty signed.
1950 Dr. Enrico Mizzi becomes Prime Minister from
September to December. Dr. Georgio Borg
Olivier becomes Prime minister in December.
1953 Coronation incident.
1955 Dom Mintoff becomes Prime Minister. Roundtable
Conference held.
1956 Referendum on Integration with Britain.
Incident at Rediffusion.
1958 Caravaggio incident. Dom Mintoff resigns as
Prime Minister. Dr. Georgio Borg Olivier
declines forming alternative government.
Colonial governor takes direct administration
under British rule.
1959 Interim Constitution provides for an Executive
Council under British rule.
1961 Blood Commission provides for a new constitution
allowing for a measure of self-government and
recognizing the "State" of Malta.
1962 Dr. Georgio Borg Olivier becomes Prime Minister.
Stolper report delivered.
1964 "Innu Malti" recognized as the national anthem.
Referendum on Independence Constitution. Malta
granted independence, becoming a sovereign nation
within the British Commonwealth.
1968 Central Bank established.
1970 Malta enters an Association agreement with the
European Community.
1971 Dom Mintoff becomes Prime Minister. Sir Anthony
Mamo becomes the first Maltese national to be
named Governor-General.
1972 Military base agreement signed by Malta, the
United Kingdom and other NATO nations. The
King's Own Malta Regiment disbanded. Change to
decimal monetary system. Government bars the
U.S. Naval Forces from using Malta as a liberty
port.
1973 Formation of Air Malta.
1974 Malta becomes a Republic, remaining in the
Commonwealth. Sir Anthony Mamo elected first
President. Government increases its control over
the University.
1975 Barclays Bank International, Ltd. taken over to
become Mid-Med Bank.
1976 Dr. Anton Buttigieg becomes second President.
1979 Military base agreement terminated. British
forces leave. First Referendum Day celebrated.
1981 The Malta Labour Party wins the general election by its
majority of seats in Parliament, but the Opposition
Nationalist PArty has the absolute majority of
votes.
1982 Agatha Barbara becomes third, and first female,
President.
1984 Dr. Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici becomes Prime Minister
after the resignation of Prime Minister Dom
Mintoff.
1987 Dr. Eddie Fenech Adami becomes Prime Minister.
1988 Freeport Corporation organized.
1989 First gathering of Knights of St. John in Malta
since their departure in 1798. U.S./Soviet
Summit meets in Malta. Dr. Vincent Tabone elected
fourth President.
1990 Government formally applies for full membership
in the European Community. Pope John Paul II
makes the first Papal visit. Prof. Guido De
Marco elected President of 45th Annual UN General
Assembly.
1991 Agreement signed for Malta Cable Television.
Two Vatican Agreements between the Malta Govern-
ment and the Holy See signed in Rome. New
Delimara Power Station opened.
1992 Nationalist Party wins election. Queen Elizabeth
II and Prince Philip in Malta for the 50th
Anniversary of the awarding of the George Cross.
New Air Terminal opened. 50th Annibversay of
Operation Pedestal celebrated. Stock Exchange
opened. Maritime Museum opened in Vittoriosa.
Dr. Alfred Sant elected Leader of the Malta
Labour Party.
1993 Malta receives positive response, subject to a
list of prior conditions, from the European
Community. First University degree courses
offered in Gozo. Government signs the Inter-
national Convention banning the use of chemical
weapons. The Fifth Games of the Small States
of Europe held in Malta. First elections for
Local Councils held.
1994 Dr. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici elected fifth President.
1996 Malta Labour Party wins the elections Dr. Alfred
sworn in as Prime Minister of Malta.
1997 Malta's application to join the EU is 'frozen'.
MLP government instead seeks industrial free trade
zone and closer relations to EU but not
membership.
1998 Dr. Alfred Sant calls for election following vote
of no-confidence. Dr. Eddie Fenech Adami is
elected Prime Minister.
1999 Prof. Guido de Marco appointed President of Malta.
TO BE CONTINUED
(Source: Berg, Warren G. Historical Dictionary of Malta. Maryland,
US: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. 1995. Miscellaneous other publications).
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