By Tim Lambert
1086
Leeds is a small village with a population of around 200
1207
Maurice De Gant, the Lord of the Manor makes Leeds a small market town
1300
Leeds has a population of around 1,000
1552
A grammar school is founded in Leeds
1600
Leeds has a population of around 3,000
1626
Leeds is given a corporation and mayor
1634
St John’s Church is built
1642
During the Civil war royalists capture Leeds
1643
Parliamentarians capture Leeds in January but they withdraw in the Summer
1644
The parliamentarians capture Leeds again
1645
Leeds suffers an outbreak of plague
1665
Leeds is a flourishing town with a population approaching 6,000. The wool trade is booming.
1694
Leeds gains a piped water supply
1718
The first newspaper in Leeds is published
1750
Leeds is a rapidly growing town. Wool is still its main industry.
1755
The streets of Leeds are lit with oil lamps
1777
Assembly Rooms are built
1790
Scavengers clean the streets
1794
Work begins on the Leeds to Liverpool Canals
1801
The population of Leeds is over 30,000
1819
The streets are lit by gas
1822
Brewery is founded
1832
Cholera kills more than 700 people
1834
Leeds is connected to Selby by rail
1849
Cholera kills more than 2,000 people
1851
The population of Leeds is 101,000
1858
Leeds Town Hall is built
1872
Horse drawn trams run in the streets of Leeds. The first public library opens.
1878
Grand Theatre is built. Thorntons Arcade is built.
1889
Queens Arcade opens
1891
Leeds gains an electricity supply
1894
The first electric trams run in Leeds
1899
It is made compulsory for dwellings in Leeds to be connected to sewers
1901
The population of Leeds is 178,000
1904
Leeds University is founded
1905
The first cinema in Leeds is built
1925
St James Hospital is founded
1933
Leeds Civic Hall is built
World War II
Bombing kills 77 people in Leeds
1964
Merrion Shopping Centre is built
1970
Leeds Polytechnic is founded
1974
The boundaries of Leeds are extended
1985
St Johns Shopping Centre opens
1993
Quarry House opens
1995
The Royal Armouries Museum opens
1997
The Thackray Medical Museum opens
1999
The Monet Garden opens
2000
Millennium Square opens