History of Bangkok

Timeline
c 14th century Settlement of Bangkok
c 1538 Construction of river bypass canal
1688 Siege of Bangkok expels French garrison
1767 Fall of Ayutthaya; Taksin establishes Thonburi as capital
1782 Phutthayotfa Chulalok moves capital to eastern bank
1820 Cholera pandemic kills 30,000
1849 Cholera again devastates population
1864 First paved road constructed
1893 Paknam railway opens
1893 Paknam Incident & French blockade
1894 Electric trams begin service
1914 Beginning of city water supply
1924 Don Mueang Airport opens
1932 Memorial Bridge opens
1932 Coup ends absolute monarchy
1941–45 Bombing of Bangkok in World War II
1942 City-wide flooding lasts 2 months
1966 Bangkok hosts the 5th Asian Games
1968 First high-rise building constructed
1972 Merger of Phra Nakhon and Thonburi Provinces
1975 Establishment of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
1981 First expressway opens to service
1985 First governor election
1990 Gas truck explodes on New Petchburi Road
1998 Bangkok hosts Asian Games for the fourth time
1999 First mass-rapid transit line in Bangkok opens (BTS Sukumvit and Silom Lines)
2011 Severe floods inundate parts of city
2015 August 2015 Bangkok bombing kills 23 in Thailand's deadliest-ever single terrorist attack

The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years.