Timeline / 1840 to After 1930 / EGYPT
Date Country Theme
1843 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
Muhammad Sharif Pasha builds the Sharif Pasha Palace situated on Kirdassi Street, off Hasan al-Akbar Street, in Cairo. The Pasha held a number of important posts during the reigns of Muhammad ‘Ali and his successors.
1846 Egypt Travelling
Ibrahim Pasha is received with respect and curiosity when he visits western Europe.
1854 Egypt Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
Sa‘id Pasha’s accession to the Viceroyalty of Egypt provides French businessman Ferdinand de Lesseps new impulse to develop the Suez Canal.
1863 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
On 18 October, under the rule of Khedive Isma‘il, the Egyptian Museum opens in the Caireen district of Bulaq under the management of French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, known as Mariette Pasha.
1863 - 1879 Egypt Reforms And Social Changes
Education attracts renewed interest during Isma‘il Pasha’s era. His government establishes schools and reviews students’ expenses, including their living expenses, which sees the restoration of the Diwan (or ministry) of Schools that Sa‘id had annulled. Now as the education budget increased, gradually, the government also returned to dispatching missions to Europe, mostly to France. A number of primary schools were established across the country: from Alexandria in the north to Minya in the south.
1863 Egypt Migrations
Muhammad Sa‘id Pasha dispatches part of a Sudanese battalion to help stop a rebellion against the Second Mexican Empire.
1865 Egypt Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
The royal yacht Mahroussa is built for Isma‘il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt.
1866 - 1867 Egypt Reforms And Social Changes
In 1866 the School of Irrigation and Architecture is inaugurated at al-Za‘faran Saray in ‘Abbasiyya in Cairo; it then transfers to Mustafa Fadil Saray at Darb al-Jama‘iz in 1867. The School provides a study programme of five years: a preparatory year followed by a further four years; two years respectively specialising in irrigation and architecture.
1866 Egypt Great Inventions Of The 19th Century Date Country Theme
The first Egyptian stamps are issued on 1 January.
1867 Egypt Travelling
Khedive Isma‘il Pasha visits Paris and then London, where he is received by Queen Victoria and welcomed by the Lord Mayor. He attends a British Royal Navy fleet review alongside the Ottoman Sultan.
1868 - 1874 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
Construction of the Abdeen Palace in Cairo begins in 1868 and inauguration takes place some six years later.
1868 - 1886 Egypt Reforms And Social Changes
A Law School is established during Isma‘il Pasha’s era in 1868. Known then as the School of Management and Languages, the two schools separate in 1882 and remain as such until July 1886. That year, it becomes the School of Law with two departments, primary and high.
1869 Egypt Travelling
Khedive Isma‘il Pasha visits Britain.
1869 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
The Opera House is inaugurated in November 1869 with Verdi’s Opera Rigoletto. In attendance, seated in the Royal loge, are Khedive Isma‘il Pasha, Empress Eugénie and her husband Napoleon III, and François Joseph I of Austria.
1869 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
Khedive Isma‘il commissions a French company to construct the first bridge across the River Nile in Cairo, the Qasr al-Nil Bridge.
1869 Egypt Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
With completion of the Suez Canal a number of dignitaries and high-profile personalities arrive in Egypt for the inauguration, including Empress Eugénie of France.
1871 - 1877 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
Jezira Bridge is constructed in 1871 and opens to traffic in 1877. The intention is to link the districts of Dokki and Bulaq al-Dakrur with Zamalek. Construction requires redirection of the Nile bed.
1871 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Giuseppe Verdi’s Egyptian-themed Aida premiers in Cairo on 24 December.
1874 Egypt Migrations Date Country Theme
Khedive Isma‘il attempts to reduce slave trading and extends Egypt’s rule in Africa. Managing to annex Darfur in 1874, he is prevented from further expansion into Ethiopia when his army is defeated by the Emperor Yohannes IV.
1875 - 1876 Egypt Economy And Trade
In December 1875 Stephen Cave and John Stokes are sent by the British Government to inquire into the finances of Egypt. Their report, published in April 1876, advises that in view of the perceived “waste and extravagance” it is necessary for foreign powers to interfere to restore credit.
1875 Egypt Migrations
The Egyptian Geographic Society is established by a decree of Khedive Isma‘il Pasha on 19 May 1875. Its first president is the German botanist, traveller and ethnologist Georg August Schweinfurth.
1877 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Yaqub Sanu‘ founds the satirical magazine Abu Naddara early in this year. It has immediate and wide appeal to both the literate and the illiterate, who find someone to read it to them.
1879 - 1882 Egypt Political Context
The ’Urabi Revolution, led by Colonel Ahmed ’Urabi, erupts in February 1879 and continues until 1882. It is the first revolution of the modern age in Egypt.
1882 Egypt Political Context
Britain occupies Egypt.
1883 Egypt Travelling
Arriving in Egypt as diplomatic agent and Consul-General of Britain, Sir Evelyn Baring’s (Lord Cromer’s) first task is to demand that Khedive Muhammad Tawfiq should abandon Sudan. Tawfiq consents reluctantly, but having done so he then does everything he can to ensure success of the policy that Baring has been sent to carry out.
1883 - 1903 Egypt Economy And Trade
The Egyptian Exchange, one of the oldest stock markets in the Middle East, traces its origins to 1883 when the Alexandria Stock Exchange is established, followed by the Cairo Stock Exchange in 1903.
1885 Egypt Economy And Trade
Alexandria’s Futures Market is one of the oldest in the world. The first recorded local cotton transaction takes place in 1885 in Café de l’Europe on the Place des Consuls, later renamed Muhammad ‘Ali Square. It is here that cotton merchants meet and cut deals based on supply and demand for the long staple, Karnak and Date Country Theme Menuf, or the short to medium staple, Ashmuni, Giza and Zagora. Over the years, deals extend to cottonseed varieties such as Hull, Afifi and Sakellaridis.
1885 - 1889 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
The singer Salama Hijazi turns to acting with the Kirdahi and al-Haddad troupes. Through his contributions, many musical theatre troupes emerge such as Aziz Eed, Naguib al-Rihani and ‘Ali al-Kassar. As one of the first artists to travel abroad, Hijazi achieves worldwide acclaim for his musical and theatrical works. Warmly welcomed in Italy, Syria and Tunisia, he is granted awards of appreciation by many international governments. Hijazi’s statue stands at the Museum of Napoli.
1887 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
El-Hakaneia Palace on Manshieh Square in Alexandria is designed by Alfonso Maniscalco in the Beaux-Arts tradition. Constructed as the seat of the “Mixed Tribunals” the building is still used as a courthouse today.
1890 Egypt Reforms And Social Changes
The Alexandria Sporting Club is built; it is one of the oldest clubs in Egypt.
1892 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
Muntazah Palace is constructed for Khedive ‘Abbas, which he uses as both a hunting lodge and residence for his companion.
1892 Egypt Travelling
The Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria is created.
1894 - 1900 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Qasim Amin publishes his book Les Egyptiens in French in 1894. In it he rejects the negative claims against the traditions of Oriental society made by Duke Drocom in his book, L’Egypte et les Egyptiens. In defence of Islam, Amin compares the rights of women according to Islam with those of civilized European women. In 1899, he then publishes The Emancipation of Women, which is severely criticized. In 1900, Amin refutes the arguments of his critics with The New Woman, a work that provides fresh fuel to his ardent battle for the emancipation of women.
1898 Egypt Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
Shahin Pasha Aqueduct, constructed under Muhammad ‘Ali and located between the Omar Shah and Tukuz Tamar (Darb el-Jamamiz) aqueducts, is infilled with earth.
1898 - 1902 Egypt Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
The British begin construction of the first Dam across the Nile in 1898 and work continues to 1902. Opened on 10 December 1902, the Aswan Low Dam is a gravity (masonry) buttress dam on the Nile in Aswan. Date Country Theme
1899 Egypt Economy And Trade
The National Bank of Egypt introduces notes in denominations of 50 piasters, and one, five, ten, 50 and 100 Egyptian pounds.
1899 Egypt Migrations
British diplomat Alfred Mitchell-Innes was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Finance in Egypt.
1899 Egypt Travelling
British diplomat Alfred Mitchell-Innes is appointed Undersecretary of State for Finance in Egypt.
1899 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
Prince Muhammad ‘Ali Tawfiq is responsible for opening the Al-Manyal Palace Museum in 1899, which is set in a large garden of thirty feddans (approx 31 acres).
1900 Egypt Travelling
On a visit to Britain, ‘Abbas Hilmi II tells the authorities that he thinks the British have carried out good work in Egypt. He declares himself ready to cooperate with British officials administering Egypt and Sudan.
1903 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
The House of Arab Antiquities opens on 28 December 1903, located on Bab al- Khalq Square which is famous for its Islamic infrastructure: the mosques of Ahmad ibn Tulun and Muhammad ‘Ali, and the Citadel of Saladin. The Museum is only the second concrete-iron building to be constructed after the Egyptian Museum.
1904 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
The Egyptian Geological Museum (EGM) is established and opened to the public as part of the Egyptian Geological Survey (EGS), founded earlier in 1896. The Museum supports the theses that Egyptians are pioneers in extraction and utilization of metals and stones, the essential basics of civilization, and that they were the first to discover gold and copper and mine them from the Eastern Desert and Sinai.
1905 Egypt Reforms And Social Changes
The Egyptian Olympic Athletes Club is built in Alexandria.
1909 Egypt Economy And Trade
Trading had hardly started that day (30 April) at Shari‘ al-Borsa al-Jadida or New Bourse Street when it was announced that Raphael Suares, the leading laissez- faire banker-industrialist in Egypt, had passed away. The Bourse closed for the rest of the day. It was largely thanks to Saures’ efforts that Cairo had a bourse in the Date Country Theme first place. His unexpected and early death meant that Suares missed by only a few months the imposition of the first ever bourse regulations.
1912 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
Bulaq Abu-l-‘Ala Bridge is inaugurated during the reign of Khedive ‘Abbas Hilmi II. It is seen as an architectural marvel that will link Cairo with Zamalek Island.
1912 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Muhammad Husayn Haykal publishes the first volume of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He intended the book to create a cultural intermarriage between the East and West and hoped it would lead to a new intellectual revolution by providing an example to the West.
1914 Egypt Reforms And Social Changes
Laying of the Foundation Stone of the University of Fuad I.
1914 Egypt Political Context
On 25 July, at the onset of World War I, ‘Abbas Hilmi II is in Constantinople where he suffers wounds to his hands and cheeks during a failed assassination attempt. On 5 November of that same year, when Britain declares war on Turkey, ‘Abbas is accused of deserting his country because he did not return home forthwith. In addition, because the British believe that he has been plotting against their rule, when the Ottoman Empire joins the central powers in the war, Britain declares Egypt an independent Sultanate under British Protectorate on 18 December, and ‘Abbas is deposed.
1916 - 1917 Egypt Economy And Trade
More paper currency enters circulation: the 25 piaster together with the five and 10 piaster.
1917 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Strong cultural pressure at this time puts constraints on female performers. When the singer Munira al-Mahdiyya begins her career, she is the first female Muslim performer to appear onstage.
1918 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Najib al-Rihani introduces a new type of theatre known as Musical Theatre or Operette. Cooperating with the famous Egyptian singer and composer Sayyid Darwish and the actor and writer Badi‘ Khayri, together, they produce several successful Operettes.
1918 Egypt Migrations
George Park begins building work on Alexandria Opera House, known also as Sayyid Darwish Theatre, which opens in 1921. Date Country Theme
1919 Egypt Reforms And Social Changes
The 1919 Egyptian Revolution is a milestone, not only in terms of the nationalist struggle, but also in the history of popular revolutions in general. Its overall influence, extending well beyond the politics and political parties of Egypt, exceeds the impact of the earlier ’Urabi Revolution.
1919 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Taha Husayn is appointed Professor of History at Fuad I University, where, through his own will and craving for knowledge, he becomes the leader of the Arab cultural renaissance.
1920 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
Tal‘at Harb Pasha founds Banque Misr.
1922 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Mrs Dawlat Abyad writes a play to address the various problems experienced by Egyptian women in the early 20th century.
1922 Egypt Political Context
Britain declares Egyptian independence, but retains control of Egyptian foreign policy and the basic administration of the country. On 15 March of this year, Fuad I issues a decree changing his title from Sultan of Egypt to King of Egypt.
1923 Egypt Reforms And Social Changes
Huda Sha‘rawi becomes the first president of the Egyptian Feminist Union having returned from the International Woman Suffrage Alliance Congress in Rome.
1926 Egypt Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
On 4 December, in the city of Luxor, the Minister of Transportation, Muhammad Mahmud along with a group of Ministers inaugurates the Luxor–Aswan Railway. The railway is considered one of Mahmud Pasha’s greatest accomplishments as Minister of Transportation.
1927 Egypt Travelling
King Fuad I of Egypt’s visit to Italy.
1934 - 1940 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces
The Post Museum is established in February 1934; it opens to the public in January 1940.
1938 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Abbas Mahmud al-Akkad writes his only novel Sarah in which he relates a personal experience with the only woman he loved. According to al-Akkad’s view women Date Country Theme were to be respected and admired, and this appreciation for women is expressed in three books he wrote where he demands the full participation of women in building Egyptian society.
1939 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Zaki Najib Mahmud receives a Literary Distinction Award.
1946 Egypt Migrations
Zog I, King of the Albanians, and most of his family, leave England and settle in Egypt at the behest of King Faruq.
1952 Egypt Migrations
Having been forced to abdicate, On 26 July, Faruq leaves Egypt for Italy. He passes away in Rome in 1965 and his body is brought back to Egypt to be buried in al-Rifa‘i Mosque.
1960 Egypt Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
Egyptian television begins to broadcast six hours daily on 21 July 1960.