Gibraltar

British overseas territory on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula

30 dated entries naming Gibraltar, drawn from 29 separate years between 155 BCE and 2002 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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2nd century BC

155 BCEUnder the command of Punicus and then Caesarus, the Lusitani, a Hispanic tribe, reach a point near modern day Gibraltar. Here they are defeated by the Roman praetor Lucius Mummius.source

5th century

480The Visigoths under King Euric extend their rule from the Loire to Gibraltar (approximate date).source

8th century

711April 27 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Muslim troops (7,000 men) led by Tariq ibn Ziyad land at Gibraltar, and begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (now Spain and Portugal). Tariq begins his Islamic conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, which during the decade he occupies and brings under Umayyad sovereignty.source

13th century

1278August 5 – Reconquista: Siege of Algeciras – Castilian forces (some 30,000 men) led by King Alfonso X ("the Wise") besiege Algeciras (at this time under control of the Marinids). A fleet of 24 ships and some 80 galleys is placed in the Bay of Gibraltar to prevent the supply of the city from nearby Gibraltar. The fleet is made up of most of the members of the Order of Saint Mary of Spain, a military-religious order which is concentrated in naval warfare.source

14th century

1309September 12 – Siege of Gibraltar: Castilian forces under Juan Núñez II de Lara and Alonso Pérez de Guzmán besiege and conquer the Saracen fortress at Gibraltar, which had been held by them for nearly 600 years (since the year 711). During the siege, the port is blockaded. Ferdinand IV of Castile orders repairs of the damaged city walls.source

15th century

1436August 31 – An attempt by Spain to recapture Gibraltar from the Moors fails as the expedition leader Enrique Pérez de Guzmán drowns along with 40 of his men after reaching the shore.source
1462August 20 – On the Saint Bernard's Day, the Spanish army of the Kingdom of Castile, led by Enrique Pérez de Guzmán y Fonseca, captures Gibraltar, which has been under the rule of the Sultanate of Morocco for almost 130 years since its capture in 1333 AD. King Enrique IV declares himself "King of Gibraltar" in addition to his other titles.source
1469June 3 – King Henry IV of Castile makes a gift of Gibraltar to Enrique de Guzmán, 2nd Duke of Medina Sidonia, as a reward for Guzman's work in capturing Gibraltar from the Moors.source

16th century

1540September 10 – Gibraltar is sacked by the fleet of Barbary pirate Ali Hamet, a Sardinian renegade in the service of the Ottoman Empire, and many of its leading citizens are taken as captives to Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera in Morocco. This leads to construction of the defensive Charles V Wall, at this time known as the Muralla de San Benito.source

17th century

1622Dutch ships under Jochem Swartenhont, while escorting a convoy, repel a Spanish squadron near Gibraltar.source
1664December 3 – The English warships HMS Nonsuch and HMS Phoenix are wrecked in a storm at Gibraltar.source
1694March 1 – British flagship (carrying gold coin) and twelve other ships are wrecked in a storm in the Mediterranean off Gibraltar with the loss of approximately 1,200 lives.source

18th century

1707December 24 – The first British Governor of Gibraltar, directly appointed by Queen Anne, Roger Elliott, takes up his residence in the Convent of the Franciscan Friars.source
1713March 27 – First Treaty of Utrecht between Great Britain and Spain: Philip V is accepted by Britain and Austria as king of Spain; Spain cedes Gibraltar and Menorca to Britain.source
1727January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain refuses and the Thirteenth Siege of Gibraltar begins on February 22.source
1728June 14 – The Congress of Soissons opens at the French town of Soissons to negotiate a treaty between Great Britain and Spain. The treaty, which is concluded on November 9, 1729, recognizes the Spanish royal family's rule of parts of Italy, and Britain's possession of Gibraltar and Menorca.source
1779July 16 – The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins. This is an action by French and Spanish forces to wrest control of Gibraltar from the established British garrison. The garrison, led by George Augustus Eliott (later 1st Baron Heathfield of Gibraltar), survives all attacks and a blockade of supplies.source

19th century

1891March 17 – The British steamship , carrying Italian migrants to New York, sinks in the inner harbor of Gibraltar after collision with the battleship HMS Anson, killing 564.source

20th century

1908March 27 – The first Scout troop outside the U.K. is formed in Gibraltar.source
1941November 14 – WWII: British aircraft carrier sinks under tow off Gibraltar, after being torpedoed the previous day by .source
1942June 12–15 – WWII: Operation Harpoon – An Allied convoy under Admiral Alban Curteis leaves from Gibraltar with 6 merchant ships escorted by the British battleship HMS Malaya, aircraft carriers HMS Argus and HMS Eagle, 4 cruisers and 17 destroyers to Malta. Two of the six merchant ships completes the journey, at the cost of several Allied warships.source
1943February 22 – WWII: Royal Canadian Navy corvette HMCS Weyburn sinks east of Gibraltar, after being mined.source
1966October 5 – Spain closes its Gibraltar border to vehicular traffic.source
1969June 8 – Francisco Franco orders the closing of the Gibraltar–Spain border and communications between Gibraltar and Spain in response to the 1967 Gibraltar sovereignty referendum. The border remains closed until a partial reopening on December 15, 1982.source
1969March 20 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono are married at Gibraltar, and proceed to their honeymoon "Bed-in" for peace in Amsterdam.source
1980April 10 – In Lisbon, Portugal, the governments of Spain and the United Kingdom agree to reopen the border between Gibraltar and Spain (closed since 1969) in 1985.source
1982May 2 – Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, killing 323 sailors. Operation Algeciras, an attempt to destroy a Royal Navy warship in Gibraltar, fails.source
1985February 4 – The border between Gibraltar and Spain reopens for the first time since Francisco Franco closed it in 1969.source
1988March 6 – Operation Flavius: A Special Air Service team of the British Army shoots dead 3 unarmed members of a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) Active service unit in Gibraltar.source

21st century

2002November 7 – A sovereignty referendum is held in Gibraltar. The people reject Spanish sovereignty.source