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Rio de Janeiro

city of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil

45 dated entries naming Rio de Janeiro, drawn from 40 separate years between 1502 CE and 2025 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.

Also written as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

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16th century

  • 1502January 1 – Portuguese explorers, led by Gonçalo Coelho, sail into Guanabara Bay, Brazil, mistaking it for the mouth of a river, which they name Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 1555November 1 – French Navy Vice-Admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon leads a small fleet of two ships and 200 soldiers and colonists to take possession of Serigipe Island, near modern-day Rio de Janeiro in Brazil at Guanabara Bay, and builds Fort Coligny.source
  • 1565March 1 – The city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is founded as São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro by Estácio de Sá.source

18th century

  • 1763January 27 – The seat of colonial administration in the Viceroyalty of Brazil is moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 1792April 21 – Tiradentes, a leading figure in the Inconfidência Mineira conspiracy, is executed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.source

19th century

  • 1807November 29 – Portuguese Queen Maria I and the Court embark at Lisbon, bound for Brazil. Rio de Janeiro becomes the Portuguese capital.source
  • 1808March 7 – Transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil: The Portuguese royal court arrives in Rio de Janeiro, making it the centre of the Portuguese Empire.source
  • 1808October 12 – Banco do Brasil, a major financial group in South America, founded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.source
  • 1816The French Artistic Mission arrived in Rio de Janeiro under the invitation of King John VI of Portugal. Led by artists like Jean-Baptiste Debret and Nicolas-Antoine Taunay, the mission aimed to establish European artistic and cultural standards in Brazil. This initiative later contributed to the founding of the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes, shaping Brazilian art and architecture and leaving a lasting cultural legacy.source
  • 18382 January: The National Public Archives is established in Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 1841July 18 – Emperor Pedro II of Brazil is crowned in Rio de Janeiro. — Sundaysource
  • 1854Formation of the Maua, McGregor and Company Bank in Rio de Janeirosource
  • 1862Christie Question - British sailors were arrested in Rio de Janeiro for promoting mutinies.source
  • 1883July 24 - Campos dos Goytacazes, in the province of Rio de Janeiro, is the first city in Brazil to have street lights.source
  • 1884January 2: The Brazilian Spiritist Federation is founded in Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 1886June 25 – Arturo Toscanini makes his conducting debut, with an Italian opera company visiting Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 1889July 15 – The Emperor of Brazil, Pedro II, survives an assassination attempt in Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 1898August 21 – Clube de Regatas Vasco da Gama is founded in Rio de Janeiro.source

20th century

  • 1902July 21 – Fluminense Football Club is founded in Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 190417 April - Bangu Atlético Clube is founded at the Fábrica Bangu in Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 1910November 22 – Revolt of the Lash at Rio de Janeiro: Mutineers in the Brazilian Navy, led by João Cândido, seize control of the new dreadnought battleship Minas Geraes and other ships, whose guns are aimed at the city as the crews demand improvements in their conditions (which are conceded on November 26 by the Brazilian government).source
  • 19225 July - The 18 of the Copacabana Fort revolt occurs in Rio de Janeiro, then Federal District of Brazil. It is the first revolt of the tenentista movement, in the context of the Brazilian Old Republic.source
  • 1928December 3 – In Rio de Janeiro, a seaplane sent to greet Alberto Santos-Dumont crashes, killing all on board. The pilot had tried to avoid another plane which came too close.source
  • 194331 July - The Brazilian passenger ship and freighter Bage, largest commercial ship in Brazil's fleet, is torpedoed and sunk off the coast of the Sergipe state. The Bage, carrying 129 passengers and 102 crew, was en route from Belém to Rio de Janeiro when it was struck by a German U-boat. Seventy-eight people (41 passengers and 37 crew) are lost.source
  • 1950June 16 – Maracanã Stadium, which becomes a well-known sports venue of Brazil, opens in Rio de Janeiro, in advance of the opening of the 1950 FIFA World Cup in the country on June 24.source
  • 195214 October: The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil is founded in Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 1955July 25-August 4: Bishops from all over Latin America meet in Rio de Janeiro for the first Episcopal Conference of Latin America.source
  • 1955November 3: President Café Filho is admitted to a hospital in Rio de Janeiro after suffering a heart attack.source
  • 1958May 8: A collision between two electric trains occurs in Rio de Janeiro, leaving more than 300 dead.source
  • 1960April 21 – In Brazil, the country's capital (Federal District) is relocated from the city of Rio de Janeiro to the new city, Brasília, in the highlands. The former Federal District, in which the city of Rio de Janeiro was situated, becomes the State of Guanabara.source
  • 19647 January: French actress Brigitte Bardot arrives in Rio de Janeiro and spends her summer in the resort of Búzios, drawing the attention of the national and international press to the place. Thanks to Bardot's visit, Búzios has now became one of the hottest spots in the Brazilian summer.source
  • 1965April 26 – Rede Globo is founded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.source
  • 1968June 26 – The "March of the One Hundred Thousand" takes place in Rio de Janeiro as crowds demonstrate against the Brazilian military government.source
  • 1970December 7 – Giovanni Enrico Bucher, the Swiss ambassador to Brazil, is kidnapped in Rio de Janeiro; kidnappers demand the release of 70 political prisoners.source
  • 1975March 15 – In Brazil, Guanabara State merges into the state of Rio de Janeiro. The state's capital moves from the city of Niterói to the city of Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 1983December 19 – The Jules Rimet Trophy is stolen from the Brazilian Soccer Confederation building in Rio de Janeiro. As of 2025, the trophy has not been recovered.source
  • 1992June 3–14 – The Earth Summit is held in Rio de Janeiro.source
  • 1992June 8 – The first World Oceans Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.source
  • 1992December 28 – Actress Daniella Perez is murdered in Rio de Janeiro, after being stabbed 18 times with scissors by actor Guilherme de Pádua and his then-wife Paula Thomaz. The crime shocked Brazil, due to both the victim and the murderer being romantic partners in the telenovela De Corpo e Alma, which aired on TV Globo.source

21st century

  • 2009June 1 – Air France Flight 447, en route from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 on board.source
  • 2009October 2 – The International Olympic Committee awards Rio de Janeiro the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.source
  • 2013July 22–28 – XIV World Youth Day, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.source
  • 2016August 5–21 – The 2016 Summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the first time in South America.source
  • 2018September 2 – A fire breaks out in the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, destroying more than 90 percent of its archive of 20 million items.source
  • 2025October 28 – Operation Containment: In Rio de Janeiro, more than 120 people are killed in raids targeting criminal organization Comando Vermelho during the deadliest police operation in Brazilian history.source

Named in the same entries