Nairobi, now the capital of Kenya, was founded as a rail depot on the Uganda Railway, which the British were building from Mombasa to Lake Victoria. The site was chosen as a midway point on a swampy plain by the Nairobi River, whose name comes from a Maasai phrase meaning cool waters. It replaced Mombasa as the capital of British East Africa a few years later, and it became the capital of independent Kenya in 1963. It grew into a metropolis of millions and is the headquarters of United Nations agencies, including the Environment Programme. Nairobi National Park, on the edge of the city, shelters lions, giraffes and rhinoceroses and is unusual for being a wildlife park next to a capital.
Before and after
- 1899Publication of Heart of Darkness
- from January 1899 to August 1907Adamawa Wars
- 1899Construction of White Hart Lane
- 1899Founding of AFC Bournemouth
- 1899Founding of Nairobi
- 1899Founding of SV Werder Bremen
- 1899Oracle bones reveal early Chinese writing
- from 4 February 1899 to 2 July 1902Philippine–American War
- 8 March 1899Founding of Eintracht Frankfurt
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 1799 to 1849Sikh Empire
- 6 February 1819Founding of modern Singapore
- from 1839 to 1876Tanzimat
- from 8 February 1861 to 1 May 1865Confederate States of America
- 1891Discovery of Gundestrup cauldron
- March 1900Arthur Evans begins digging at Knossos
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.