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| 1869, Nov. 17 |
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| OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE SUEZ CANAL. Construction of the waterway began in 1859, following concessions granted by the Egyptian government in Nov. 1854 and Jan. 1856 to the Suez Canal Company established by the Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps. Egypt supplied the labor for the project and also bought shares in the company (which it sold to the British government in 1875). The canal soon handled a substantial portion of world shipping and proved a successful private venture: by 1920 its profits had paid eight times the original investment. Britain became its main user and was prompted to occupy Egypt in 1882 partly by perceived threats to free passage in the waterway. | 1 |
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| 1869–79 |
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| Expansion in Africa. The Egyptians occupied the Red Sea coast and Harar, fought a war with Abyssinia, and penetrated the Upper Nile region, bringing the regions of Bahr al-Ghazal and Darfur under tenuous Egyptian control. | 2 |
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| 1870 |
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| The Khedivial Library (now the Egyptian National Library, or Dar al-Kutub) was founded in Cairo by Khedive Isma’il. | 3 |
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| 1872 |
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| Opening of the Dar al-Ulum teacher's college to train Arabic teachers for the state primary and secondary schools. It played a leading role in the development of Arabic studies in Egypt. | 4 |
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| 1873 |
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| Death of RIFA’A RAFI’ AL-TAHTAWI (b. 1801), one of the leading writers and educators during the first phase of Egyptian modernization. His writings, translations of European works, and teaching activities introduced generations of Egyptians to Western ideas and the notion of Egyptian patriotism. | 5 |
| Opening of the first girls' school by the khedive's third wife. | 6 |
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| June 8 |
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| An Ottoman decree consolidated various previous grants of privileges to Isma’il, among them almost unrestricted legislative autonomy, full control over nonpolitical external affairs, and the right to enlarge the Egyptian army. The decree affirmed Ottoman suzerainty over Egypt. | 7 |
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