Egypt - 1900 - 2000 A.D.
1883 - 1903 A.D.
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.
1898 - 1902 A.D.
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.
1903 - 1903 A.D.
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 - 1904 A.D.
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 - 1905 A.D.
The Egyptian Olympic Athletes Club is built in Alexandria.
1909 - 1909 A.D.
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 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 - 1912 A.D.
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 - 1912 A.D.
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 - 1914 A.D.
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.
1914 - 1914 A.D.
Laying of the Foundation Stone of the University of Fuad I.
1916 - 1917 A.D.
More paper currency enters circulation: the 25 piaster together with the five and 10 piaster.
1917 - 1917 A.D.
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 - 1918 A.D.
George Park begins building work on Alexandria Opera House, known also as Sayyid Darwish Theatre, which opens in 1921.
1918 - 1918 A.D.
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.
1919 - 1919 A.D.
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.
1919 - 1919 A.D.
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.
1920 - 1920 A.D.
Tal‘at Harb Pasha founds Banque Misr.
1922 - 1922 A.D.
Mrs Dawlat Abyad writes a play to address the various problems experienced by Egyptian women in the early 20th century.
1922 - 1922 A.D.
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 - 1923 A.D.
Huda Sha‘rawi becomes the first president of the Egyptian Feminist Union having returned from the International Woman Suffrage Alliance Congress in Rome.
1926 - 1926 A.D.
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 - 1927 A.D.
King Fuad I of Egypt’s visit to Italy.
1934 - 1940 A.D.
The Post Museum is established in February 1934; it opens to the public in January 1940.
1938 - 1938 A.D.
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 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 - 1939 A.D.
Zaki Najib Mahmud receives a Literary Distinction Award.
1946 - 1946 A.D.
Zog I, King of the Albanians, and most of his family, leave England and settle in Egypt at the behest of King Faruq.
1952 - 1952 A.D.
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 - 1960 A.D.
Egyptian television begins to broadcast six hours daily on 21 July 1960.