Peru Timeline of Events

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Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

Timeline of Events

1535

1.18.1535

Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Lima, the capital of Peru.

1540

8.15.1540

Arequipa, Peru, is founded.

1551

5.12.1551

National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, is founded in Lima, Peru.

1817

1.19.1817

An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru.

1821

7.28.1821

José de San Martín declares the independence of Peru from Spain.

1839

1.20.1839

In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.

1865

12.5.1865

Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain.

1866

5.2.1866

Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.

1879

3.23.1879

War of the Pacific is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru. Chile takes over Arica and Tarapacá, leaving Bolivia as a landlocked country.

4.5.1879

Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.

5.21.1879

War of the Pacific: Two Chilean ships blocking the harbor of Iquique (then belonging to Peru) battle two Peruvian vessels in the Battle of Iquique.

1883

10.20.1883

Peru and Chile signed the Treaty of Ancón, by which the Tarapacá province is ceded to the latter, bringing an end to Peru's involvement in the War of the Pacific.

1920

4.30.1920

Peru becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1947

4.28.1947

Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the ''Kon-Tiki'' to prove that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia.

1953

7.7.1953

Ernesto "Che" Guevara sets out on a trip through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador.

1959

10.12.1959

At the national congress of APRA in Peru a group of leftist radicals are expelled from the party. They will later form APRA Rebelde.

1962

1.11.1962

An avalanche on Huascaran in Peru causes 4,000 deaths.

1971

3.18.1971

In Peru a landslide crashes into Lake Yanahuani, killing 200 at the mining camp of Chungar.

1982

1.1.1982

Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary General of the United Nations.

1987

12.7.1987

Alianza Lima air disaster. A plane crashes killing all Alianza Lima team in Ventanilla, Callao, Peru.

1988

8.20.1988

Peru becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

1992

9.12.1992

Abimael Guzmán, leader of the Shining Path, is captured by Peruvian special forces; shortly thereafter the rest of Shining Path's leadership fell as well.

1995

2.17.1995

The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a cease-fire brokered by the UN.

2000

11.17.2000

Alberto Fujimori is removed from office as president of Peru.

2001

12.29.2001

A fire at the Mesa Redonda shopping center in Lima, Peru, kills at least 291.

2004

12.8.2004

The Cuzco Declaration is signed in Cuzco, Peru, establishing the South American Community of Nations.

2007

8.15.2007

An 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast devastates Ica and various regions of Peru killing 514 and injuring 1,090.