/year

Rio de Janeiro

city of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil

32 dated entries naming Rio de Janeiro, drawn from 28 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.

JSONWikipedia articleWikidata Q8678

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
  • 1567February 20 – Estácio de Sá, Portuguese officer, founder of Rio de Janeiro (b. 1520)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
  • 1841Emperor Pedro II of Brazil is crowned 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 1971November 20 – A bridge still under construction, called Elevado Engenheiro Freyssinet, falls over the Paulo de Frontin Avenue, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 48 people are killed and several injured. Reconstructed, the bridge is a part of the Linha Vermelha elevate.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
  • 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
  • 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

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
  • 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