Events in Ho Chi Minh City History
- 1866-06-05 French colonial expedition to explore Mekong River (world's 12th longest, though Southeast Asia) sets out from Saigon, led by Ernest Doudart de Lagrée
- 1962-06-16 2 US army officers killed in Saigon
Vietnamese Monk Burns Himself Alive
1963-06-11 Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức immolates himself at a Saigon intersection, creating one of the Vietnam War's most iconic images
- 1964-11-01 Vietcong-assault on airport Bien Hoa at Saigon
- 1965-03-30 Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others
- 1965-06-17 1st bombing by B-52 (50 km north of Saigon)
- 1968-01-30 Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese launch the Tet offensive against South Vietnames and US forces
Execution of a Viet Cong Prisoner
1968-02-01 Saigon police chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executes Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém with a pistol shot to head. The execution is captured by photographer Eddie Adams and becomes an anti-war icon.
The Fall of Saigon
1975-04-29 Vietnam War: US begins to evacuate its citizens from Saigon in Operation Frequent Wind in response to advancing North Vietnamese forces, bringing an end to US involvement in the war
- 1975-04-30 North Vietnamese troops capture Saigon, ending the Vietnam War
Miss Saigon
1989-09-20 Musical "Miss Saigon" premieres in London, created by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil
- 1991-04-11 Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil's musical "Miss Saigon", based on Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly", and starring Jonathon Pryce and Lea Salonga opens at Broadway Theater, NYC; runs for 4,092 performances, winning 3 Tony Awards
- 1997-05-09 1st US ambassador since Saigon fell arrives in Vietnam
- 2002-10-29 Ho Chi Minh City ITC Inferno, a fire destroys a luxurious department store with 1,500 people shopping. Over 60 people died and over 100 are missing. It is the deadliest disaster in Vietnam during peacetime.
- 2022-09-06 Fire in a karaoke bar near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam kills at least 32 [1]
Famous People from Ho Chi Minh City
- 1914-04-04 Marguerite Duras, French novelist and playwright (Sea Wall), born in Saigon, French IndoChina (d. 1996)
- 1918-08-15 Raymond Gallois-Montbrun, French violinist and composer, born in Saigon, Vietnam (d. 1994)
Bernard Moitessier (1925-1994)
1925-04-10 French sailor, vagabond and author who famously led the 1st non-stop, singlehanded, round the world yacht race before sailing a 2nd lap of the world back to Tahiti, born in Saigon, French Vietnam [1]
- 1939-11-18 Amanda Lear, French pop singer, born in Saigon, French Indochina [some sources give date as June 18]
- 1949-06-12 Yann Piat [née Marie], French politician (National Assembly, 1986-94 - FN/PR), born in Saigon, French Cochinchina (now Vietnam) (d. 1994)
- 1951-09-14 Eugene H. Trinh, Vietnamese-American astronaut (STS 50), born in Saigon, Vietnam
- 1962-09-17 Dustin Nguyen, Vietnamese-American actor (Harry-21 Jump Street), born in Saigon, Vietnam
- 1963-03-16 Phung Vuong, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List), born in Saigon, Vietnam
- 1971-08-20 Ke Huy Quan [Jonathan Ke Quan], Vietnamese-American actor (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Everything, Everywhere All at Once), born in Saigon, South Vietnam
- 1971-09-05 Kim Maher, American softball infielder (Olympic gold 1996), born in Saigon, Vietnam
- 1972-04-20 Lê Huỳnh Đức, Vietnamese footballer, born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- 1973-09-14 Tony Bui, Vietnamese-American film director (Three Seasons), born in Saigon, Vietnam
- 1973-12-14 Thuy Trang, Vietnamese-American actress (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), born in Saigon, Vietnam (d. 2001)
- 1975-01-25 Dat Phan, Vietnamese-born American stand-up comedian, born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Bảo Đại
Ho Chi Minh
Ngô Đình Diệm
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
Võ Nguyên Giáp