Countries Chile | History by KabAstro

Events in Chilean History

The Golden Hind

1578-08-20 Francis Drake renames his flagship the 'Pelican' to the 'Golden Hind' in honor of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton [1]

Admiral, Explorer and Navigator Francis Drake

1598-12-21 Battle of Curalaba: the Mapuche people led by Pelentaru revolt and inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile
1643-05-13 Heavy earthquake strikes Santiago, Chile; kills a third of the population
1810-09-18 Chile declares independence from Spain (National Day)

San Martin Crosses the Andres

1817-01-18 Argentine general José de San Martín leads a revolutionary army over the Andes to attack Spanish royalists in Chile

1818-02-12 Chile gains independence from Spain
1818-03-16 Second Battle of Cancha Rayada - Spanish forces defeat Chileans under José de San Martín
1818-04-05 Battle of Maipú: Chile's independence movement led by Bernardo O'Higgins and José de San Martín win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead
1823-07-24 Slavery is abolished in Chile

Darwin Climbs Campana

1834-08-17 Charles Darwin reaches the top of Campana in Chile during his voyage on the Beagle

1834-11-21 HMS Beagle anchors at Bay of San Carlos, Chile
1835-02-20 Concepcion, Chile, destroyed by earthquake; 5,000 die
1835-03-11 HMS Beagle anchors off Valparaiso, Chile
1835-05-12 Charles Darwin visits Alexander Caldcleugh’s copper mines at Panuncillo in northern Chile and is impressed by the extraordinary feats of labor performed by the workers
1836-11-11 Chile declares war on Bolivia & Peru
1839-01-20 Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance
1863-12-08 2,500 reported killed as result of fire at Jesuit Church of La Compana, Santiago, Chile
1865-11-26 Battle of Papudo: The Spanish navy engages a combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet north of Valparaiso, Chile
1865-12-05 Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain.
1866-03-31 The Spanish navy bombards the harbor of Valparaíso, Chile
1868-08-08 Earthquake destroys the city of Arica, Chile
1879-02-14 Chilean troops occupy Antofagasta
1879-03-23 War of the Pacific fought between Chile and the joints forces of Bolivia and Peru. Chile successfully takes over Arica and Tarapacá, leaving Bolivia a landlocked country.
1879-04-05 Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.
1879-05-21 Battle of Iquique: Chilean naval forces overcome Peruvian ships (War of the Pacific)
1879-10-08 War of the Pacific: the Chilean Navy defeats the Peruvian Navy in the Battle of Angamos, Peruvian Admiral Miguel Grau is killed in the encounter.
1883-10-20 Treaty of Ancon; Peru cedes Tarapaca to Chile
1904-03-13 Bronze statue of Christ on Argentine-Chilean border dedicated
1904-10-20 Bolivia and Chile sign a treaty ending the War of the Pacific; recognizing Chile's possession of the coast, providing for construction of a railway linking La Paz, Bolivia, to Arica on the coast
1906-08-16 -17] 8.6 earthquake destroys Valparaiso Chile, fire kills 20,000

Wilson Accepts Mediation

1914-04-25 US President Woodrow Wilson is persuaded by Argentina, Brazil, and Chile to accept mediation in the conflict with Mexico

1914-11-01 German-British naval battle at Coronel, Chile
1915-03-14 German cruiser Dresden scuttled off Más a Tierra, Chile, having been pursued by the Royal Navy after the Battle of the Falkland Islands, with her engines worn out and virtually no coal
1927-04-11 Chilean general Carlos Ibáñez names himself president
1927-04-27 Carabineros de Chile (Chilean national police force and gendarmery) created
1929-06-03 Chile and Peru sign the Treaty of Lima, finally resolving their border dispute from the War of the Pacific (1879–83). Chile keeps Arica and Peru regains Tacna.
1931-07-27 Chilean president Carlos Ibáñez forced out
1931-10-04 Juan Esteban Montero becomes President of Chile
1932-06-04 Chilean coup led by Colonel Marmaduke Grove against President Juan Esteban Montero
1932-09-14 Military coup in Chile under Arturo Alessandri
1932-12-24 Arturo Alessandri wins presidential election in Chile
1939-01-24 30,000 killed by earthquake in Concepcion Chile
1939-01-25 Earthquake hits Chillan Chile, 10,000 killed
1939-01-30 Heavy aftershocks destroy some of Chile
1943-01-31 Chile breaks off relations with Germany & Japan
1945-02-14 Peru, Paraguay, Chile & Ecuador joins UN
1947-10-11 Brazil & Chile break diplomatic relations with USSR
1952-09-05 General Carlos Ibáñez elected president of Chile
1953-05-07 Record 537-kg swordfish is caught by LE Marron, in Chile
1955-06-14 Chile becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty
1962-06-17 FIFA World Cup Final, Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile: Brazil go 1-down early but recover to beat Czechoslovakia, 3-1
1964-09-04 Eduardo Frei Montalva elected President of Chile
1965-03-07 Christian-democrats win parliament in Chile
1969-07-10 Chilean Association of Librarians created
1970-06-05 Chile becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty

Election of Interest

1970-09-04 Marxist Salvador Allende wins a narrow plurality of votes in Chile's presidential election

Marxist and President of Chile Salvador Allende

1970-10-24 Marxist Salvador Allende elected President of Chile by the Chilean Congress
1970-11-03 Marxist Salvador Allende inaugurated as President of Chile
1970-12-31 President Allende nationalizes Chilean coal mines
1971-03-29 Chile president Allende nationalizes banks/copper mines
1971-07-11 Chilean parliament nationalizes American copper mines
1972-06-17 Chilean President Salvador Allende forms a new socialist government
1972-10-13 Uruguay to Chile plane crashes in Andes Mountains, (passengers eat crash victims to survive, 16 of 45 rescued 2 months later)
1973-04-02 ITT admits to asking CIA to influence Chilean presidential election
1973-08-22 Chilean parliament accuses pres Allende violating laws
1973-09-11 Chilean President Salvador Allende, the 1st elected Marxist president of a South America country, is deposed in a military coup led by general Augusto Pinochet
1973-09-28 ITT Building in New York City bombed to protest ITT's involvement in the September 11 1973 coup d'état in Chile.

Event of Interest

1974-07-01 General Augusto Pinochet becomes president and dictator of Chile

1976-09-21 Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C. He was a member of the Chilean socialist government of Salvador Allende, overthrown in 1973 by Augusto Pinochet.
1976-12-18 Soviet dissident Viktor Bukovskiexchanged for Chile CP-leader Corvalan
1976-12-19 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Santiago, Chile: Paolo Bertolucci & Adriano Panatta give Italy unassailable 3-0 lead; beat Patricio Cornejo & Jaime Fillol of Chile 6-3, 2-6, 9-7, 6-3; ends, 4-1
1977-03-12 Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet bans the Christian-Democratic Party
1979-01-08 Argentina & Chile sign Beagle Canal accord
1979-11-08 The Chilean Communist Party (Proletarian Action) is formed.
1980-09-11 Chile adopts its constitution
1981-03-11 Chile constitution takes effect, Augusto Pinochet's second term begins
1981-04-22 10,000 copper workers in Chile strike
1986-07-02 General strike against Pinochet regime in Chile
1986-09-07 Failed assassination attempt on Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, kills 5 people
1987-05-26 Cecilia Bolocco, 22, of Chile, crowned 36th Miss Universe
1987-10-03 Michael Pruffer of France skis 135.26 MPH at Portillo, Chile
1988-10-05 Chile votes in a referendum 56-44 against extending Augusto Pinochet's regime by 8 years thus ending the dictator's 16½ years in power
1989-03-12 2 cyanide-contaminated Chilean grapes found (Philadelphia)
1989-03-13 FDA orders recall of all Chilean fruit in US
1989-06-30 NASA closes down tracking stations in Santiago, Chile & Guam
1989-07-30 Chile amends its constitution
1991-06-18 Mud storm in Antofagasta Chile, kills 80
1993-12-11 Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle elected President of Chile
1994-03-11 Eduardo Frei succeeds Patricio Aylwin as President of Chile
1998-10-16 Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet is arrested in London on a Spanish warrant requesting his extradition on murder charges
2000-03-02 Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet heads home after being told the UK would not extradite him on torture charges
2004-08-21 Nicolás Massú & Fernando González win the men's doubles tennis at the Athens Olympics beating German pair Nicolas Kiefer & Rainer Schüttler in 5 sets; it's Chile's first Olympic gold medal
2004-08-22 After winning the doubles tennis gold medal at the Athens Olympics, Chile's Nicolás Massú wins the men's singles gold 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 over American Mardy Fish
2004-12-13 Former Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet is put under house arrest, after being sued under accusations over 9 kidnapping actions and manslaughter. The house arrest is lifted the same day on appeal.

Event of Interest

2006-03-11 Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as the first female president of Chile

2008-05-06 Chaiten Volcano erupts in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.

Olympic Gold

2008-08-17 Rafael Nadal of Spain beats Chile's Fernando González 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 to win the men's tennis singles at the Beijing Olympics; Spain's first ever Olympic gold medal in tennis

2009-06-05 Chile officially enters recession; it is the first South American country to enter the global recession
2010-02-27 8.8 magnitude earthquake rattles central Chile; epicenter just off the coast also triggers a tsunami

Event of Interest

2010-03-11 Sebastián Piñera becomes Chilean president for the 1st time

Businessman and President of Chile Sebastián Piñera

Copiapó Mine Rescue

2010-10-13 Copiapó mining accident in Chile comes to a happy end as all 33 miners arrive at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground

A miner kneels to pray after being rescued from the San Jose mine in Copiapó

2013-12-15 Michelle Bachelet is re-elected President of Chile

Presidential Medal of Freedom

2015-08-03 Chilean-born author Isabel Allende receives the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama

2015-09-16 8.3 magnitude quake hits off coast of Illapel, Chile killing 11 and prompting evacuation of 1 million
2017-01-22 Chile declares a State of Emergency and requests international assistance as wildfires rage out of control
2017-03-26 Mass protests in Chile over country's privatised pension system
2017-07-02 FIFA Confederations Cup: Germany defeats Chile 1-0 to win for the 1st time at Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia
2017-08-21 Chile's constitutional court approves bill to ease country's total abortion ban
2017-08-23 World's driest place, the Atacama desert in Chile blooms after unexpected rainfall
2017-12-17 Sebastián Piñera wins Chile's presidential election run-off, returning to office after 4 years

Pope Visits Chile

2018-01-15 Pope Francis arrives in Chile for a three-day visit amid child sexual abuse claims against church clergy

2018-03-08 Asia-Pacific trade deal signed in Santiago, Chile by 11 countries after US pulled out
2018-05-18 All of Chile's 34 Roman Catholic bishops offer their resignation to Pope Francis in wake of child sex scandal

Gravitational Redshift

2018-07-26 Observation of a black hole by The Very Large Telescope in Chile proves Albert Einstein's prediction of "gravitational redshift", published in "Journal Astronomy & Astrophysics"