1792 – Captain George Vancouver spends only one day on the site which, almost 100 years later, would bear his name. Captain George Vancouver from England then took his ship called the HMS Discovery right into the Burrard Inlet.
19th century
1808 – Simon Fraser becomes the first European to reach the area overland, descending the river which bears his name.
1827: HBC Fort Langley established east of present-day Vancouver. Contact and trade began accelerating significantly, primarily with the Fraser River Salish.
1846 – The Oregon Treaty permanently established the 49th parallel as the boundary between the United States and British North America to the Pacific Ocean.
1858 – Fraser Canyon Gold Rush began. Gold is found within the Fraser River and then within a few weeks time, about 25,000 prospectors make their way over for their share of the gold.
1867 – Gassy Jack opens the first saloon to provide drinks to workers from the Hastings Mill. Gastown then builds up around this popular saloon.
1867 – Weekly stage service is established between the Brighton Hotel, a popular summer vacation spot which is located just west of the Second Narrows Bridge and New Westminster.
1886 – The Town of Granville is incorporated as the City of Vancouver (the name was in fact chosen by the President of Canadian Pacific Railway). Rate-payers elect Malcolm Alexander MacLean, a real estate dealer, as the first mayor of Vancouver. The city has a population of about 1,000 people.
1890 – The original Brockton Point Lighthouse is built. The current structure was built in 1914.
1897 – The Klondike Gold Rush boosts a continent-wide depression of the 1890s. By 1900, Vancouver displaces Victoria, the provincial capital, as the leading commercial centre on Canada's west coast.
1898 – The 9 O'Clock Gun is placed at Brockton Point (it still signals the time by being discharged every evening at 9:00 p.m. precisely).
1913 – A world-wide depression lasts two years and severely reduces trade and slows railway development. Declining resources also end a provincial mining boom.
1983 – BC Place Stadium opens. The world's largest air-supported Dome (60,000 seats) is the home of the BC Lions football team as well as trade shows, large gatherings, and major star concerts.
2011 - The Vancouver Canucks hockey team reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in 40 years, only to lose out to the Boston Bruins. Fans riot in the streets of downtown Vancouver following the loss.
2013 - First ever Vancouver International Busker Festival.