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| 1920–22 |
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| Abortive negotiations with Britain. In intermittent talks the Wafd failed to win British agreement to full Egyptian independence. The Wafd proclaimed a policy of passive resistance to British rule on Jan. 23, 1922. | 1 |
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| 1920 |
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| The population stood at about 13 million, over 90 percent of whom were Sunni Muslims. About one-quarter of the inhabitants resided in cities and large towns. The biggest cities were Cairo (900,000) and Alexandria (500,000). | 2 |
| Founding of BANK MISR under the guidance of Tal‘at Harb, one of the country's most prominent businessmen. The purpose of the project was to promote economic development, particularly in industry, and to encourage investment in Egyptian-owned businesses. | 3 |
| Harb was one of the few visionaries among the Egyptian leadership who recognized the need to diversify and expand the country's economy, which was largely reliant throughout the interwar period on the export of cotton. Egypt's first burst of industrial growth occurred during the 1930s, mainly in light industries such as textiles and food processing. Overall, though, industry remained a small sector of the economy, which continued to be dominated by agriculture. | 4 |
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| Jan. 12 |
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| Creation of the Wafdist Women's Central Committee at a nationalist convention in St. Mark's Cathedral which drew over 1,000 upper-class women. It was the first women's political organization in Egyptian history. | 5 |
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