Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, began as a small mining settlement founded by Chinese tin prospectors at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers, in the Malay state of Selangor. The name means muddy confluence in Malay. The settlement grew quickly as a tin-mining town, but was troubled by disease and by civil wars between rival Chinese and Malay factions, from which Yap Ah Loy emerged as the leading Chinese leader. The British, who had a Resident in Selangor, rebuilt the town after a fire, and made it the capital of the Federated Malay States. It became the capital of independent Malaya in 1957 and of Malaysia after 1963, and is known for the Petronas Twin Towers.
Before and after
- 18 December 1856Birth of Joseph John Thomson
- 28 December 1856Birth of Woodrow Wilson
- from 1857 to 1947Indian independence movement
- 1857Rise of Symbolism
- 1857Founding of Kuala Lumpur
- 1857Publication of Madame Bovary
- 1857Rise of spiritism
- 24 January 1857Founding of University of Calcutta
- 22 February 1857Birth of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 11 August 1804 to 8 June 1867Austrian Empire
- 1831Discovery of Lewis chessmen
- from 23 October 1868 to 30 July 1912Meiji era
- October 1871Schliemann begins digging at Hisarlik
- 1879Altamira cave paintings are discovered
- 1899Oracle bones reveal early Chinese writing
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.