Events in Colombian History
Francisco Pizarro
1524-11-14 Francisco Pizarro begins his 1st great expedition, near Colombia
- 1538-08-06 Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
- 1539-04-27 Re-founding of the city of Bogotá, New Granada (now Colombia), by Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar.
- 1586-12-03 Sir Thomas Herriot introduces potatoes to England from Colombia
- 1708-01-08 Spanish armada headed by the San Jose and loaded with gold sunk after British squadron attacks off coast of Colombia (rediscovered 2015)
- 1741-03-04 British fleet under Rear Admiral of the Blue Sir Chaloner Ogle reaches Cartagena de Indias (Colombia)
- 1773-06-17 Cúcuta, Colombia is founded by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar
- 1810-07-20 Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada (now Colombia), declare independence from Spain
- 1811-11-11 Cartagena Colombia declares independence from Spain
- 1819-08-07 Battle of Boyacá; Bolívar defeats Spanish in Colombia
- 1819-12-17 Congress of Angostura establishes Colombia's independence from Spain
- 1831-11-07 State of Gran Colombia disbands
- 1831-11-17 Ecuador and Venezuela separated from Greater Colombia
- 1858-05-22 Confederación Granadina (now Colombia) forms
- 1863-05-08 Confederación Granadina becomes Estados Unidos de Colombia
- 1867-10-22 Foundation of the National University of Colombia.
- 1875-05-16 Eathquake in Venezuela & Colombia kills 16,000
- 1886-08-04 Colombia adopts constitution
- 1903-01-22 The Hay-Herran Treaty concerning the USA's right to the Panama Canal is signed by the Colombian Charge d'affaires in Washington, D.C. (never ratified)
- 1903-11-03 Colombia grants independence to Panama
- 1903-11-04 Panama and Colombia wake up to news that the insurrectionists have declared an independent Republic of Panama
- 1904-07-28 Rafael Reyes becomes dictator of Colombia after losing Panama
- 1906-01-31 Strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake then recorded at 8.8 on the Richter Scale, occurs off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia killing over 1,00 people
- 1909-01-05 Colombia recognizes Panama's independence
- 1914-04-08 US & Colombia sign a treaty concerning Panama Canal Zone
- 1934-05-24 Colombia & Peru sign accord about harbor city Leticia
Event of Interest
1934-07-10 1st sitting US President to visit South America, FDR in Colombia
- 1936-12-23 Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty
- 1945-11-05 Colombia joins the United Nations.
- 1948-04-30 Organization of American States charter signed at Bogotá, Colombia
- 1953-06-14 Military coup by General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla in Colombia
- 1956-08-07 Dynamite transport explodes in Colombia; about 1200 die
- 1957-05-11 Gabriel Paris forms government of Colombia
- 1957-05-24 Heavy earthquake strikes Colombia
- 1958-05-04 Alberto Lleras Camargo chosen as president of Colombia
- 1965-10-30 Fireworks explosions kill 50 in Cartagena, Colombia
- 1967-11-14 The Congress of Colombia in commemoration of the 150 years of the death of Policarpa Salavarrieta, declares this day as "Day of the Colombian Woman"
- 1971-04-19 75th Boston Marathon: Álvaro Mejía of Colombia wins in 2:18:45; American Sara Mae Berman 1st woman for 3rd straight year in 3:08:30 (unsanctioned)
- 1974-06-28 Fall of earth and rocks kill 200 (Quebrada Blanca Canyon, Colombia)
- 1978-06-04 Liberal Julio Turbay Ayola wins Colombia elections
- 1981-03-24 Colombia drops diplomatic relations with Cuba
Márquez's Nobel Prize
1982-12-08 Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez receives the Nobel Prize for Literature
- 1983-03-31 Popayán Earthquake (5.5 Mw Depth) in Colombia kills 267 people, injuring some 7,500
- 1983-11-27 Colombian jetliner Boeing 747 crashes in Madrid killing 181
- 1985-11-06 M-19 guerrillas occupy Palace of Justice Bogota Colombia
- 1985-11-07 Colombian troops end 27-hr siege of Bogota's Palace of Justice
- 1985-11-13 Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupts in Colombia, killing 25,000 in the town of Armero
- 1985-11-14 Volcano Nevado del Ruiz Colombia erupts, 1000s killed
- 1986-05-25 Virgilio Barco elected president of Colombia
- 1988-03-07 Colombia becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty
- 1988-05-03 4,200 kg Colombian cocaine in seized at Tarpon Springs Florida
- 1988-05-19 Carlos Lehder Rivas, of Colombia's Medellin drug cartel, is convicted in Florida for smuggling more than 3 tons of cocaine into US
- 1989-08-18 Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.
- 1989-11-27 Colombian jetliner bombed killing 107
- 1990-05-27 Caesar Gaviria Trujillo chosen President of Colombia
- 1990-05-28 Cesar Gaviria Trujillo installed as president of Colombia
Pablo Escobar Jailed
1991-06-19 Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar surrenders to police
- 1991-10-30 Colombian government negotiate with M-19-guerrilla
Event of Interest
1992-07-22 Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes prison
- 1992-10-18 6.6 earthquake hits Colombia with no fatalities
- 1993-02-15 Bombings by mafia drug lords kill 14 in Bogotá, Colombia
- 1993-05-19 Boeing 727 crashes into mountain at Medellín, Colombia, kills 132
- 1994-06-06 6.0 earthquake followed by avalanche destroys Toez, Colombia (about 1000 killed)
- 1994-06-19 Ernesto Samper elected president of Colombia
- 1994-06-22 FIFA World Cup: USA beats Colombia 2-1 in round match at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, 1st WC win since 1950
- 1994-08-07 Ernesto Samper sworn in as president of Colombia
- 1995-01-11 DC-9 crashes near Maria La Baya, Colombia: 51 die, 9 yr old girl lives
- 1995-02-08 6.4 earthquake at Trujillo, Colombia (46+ killed)
- 1997-08-04 In Colombia, international oil company Occidental Petroleum declare force majeure on all oil exports from the Cano Limon field after a series of attacks knocked out a major oil pipeline
- 1998-04-20 TAME Boeing 727-200 chartered by Air France, crashes into Cerro El Cable mountain after takeoff from Bogotá, Colombia, killing 53
- 1999-01-25 Earthquake hits Colombia, South America, killing around 300 and injuring 1000
- 1999-04-22 Luis Garavito [The Beast, Tribilín], Colombian serial killer described as "the world's worst serial killer" (138-300+ victims) apprehended
- 2002-01-28 TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92
- 2002-05-26 Álvaro Uribe becomes President of Colombia
- 2008-07-02 Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other FARC hostages are rescued by the Colombian armed forces.
- 2009-06-25 Colombia enters into recession after witnessing 0.7% contraction in the last quarter of 2008 and 0.6% in the following quarter
- 2010-01-12 Colombia officially leaves the recession after achieving 2% economic growth in the last quarter of 2009
- 2013-01-01 13 FARC members are killed by an airstrike by the Colombian military
- 2015-01-25 Miss Colombia Paulina Vega is crowned Miss Universe 2014
- 2015-05-17 A mudslide hits the alpine town of Salgar in Western Colombia killing over 50 people
- 2015-11-27 "Holy grail" of shipwrecks the San Jose, sunk 1708, is confirmed found by an international team off the coast of Colombia
- 2016-01-23 Zika virus outbreak in Brazil prompts Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Jamaica to recommend women delay pregnancies for up to 2 years
- 2016-06-23 Ceasefire agreement signed between Colombian government and Farc rebels - ending more than 50 years of conflict
- 2016-08-19 Colombian BMX rider Mariana Pajón successfully defends her Olympic title when she beats American Alise Post in the final in Rio de Janeiro
- 2016-10-02 Colombia votes against a peace agreement with rebel group FARC in a national referendum
Nobel Peace Prize
2016-10-07 Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos wins the Nobel Peace Prize for attempts to end armed conflict with FARC
- 2016-11-28 Plane carrying Brazilian Chapecoense football team crashes near Medellín, Colombia killing 71 players and journalists
- 2017-03-31 Mudslides caused by heavy rains sweep through Mocoa, Colombia killing more than 200
- 2017-06-27 Colombia's rebel group FARC officially end armed existence after 52 years in ceremony with President Juan Manuel Santos in Mesetas
- 2017-08-16 Last batch of Farc rebel weapons removed by the UN in Colombia
- 2018-07-01 Colombia's Chiribiquete National Park declared a world heritage site by the UN
Famous Colombians
Fernando Botero
Gabriel García Márquez
Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela
Griselda Blanco
John Leguizamo
Juan Manuel Santos