Until the 19th Century |
Beginning of the13th Century
| The construction of watermills expands, especially around Riga. |
| Beginning of the 14th Century | The first records on the construction of windmills. |
| 1588 | A printing-house begins its work in Riga. |
End of the 16th Century
| Steel manufactures are founded in Kurzeme (Courland). |
| 1632 | A post-house in Riga and an international post route Riga – Jelgava are established. |
| 1638 | The Shipyard of Ventspils is founded. |
| 1639 | The general post system of Sweden is applied to Estonia and Vidzeme. |
Middle of the 17th Century
| The government of Sweden encourages the foundation of manufactures around Riga with the help of distributing privileges. |
| 1663 | A centralised water main is installed in the centre of Riga. |
| 1695 | An atlas of roads in Vidzeme is published. |
| 1702 | Swedish soldiers build a float bridge over the River Daugava. |
| 1775 | Peter’s Academy is founded in Jelgava – the first scientific centre in the territory of Latvia. |
| 1785 | The first public flight of an air-balloon takes place in Jelgava. |
19th Century |
| 1819 | Steam engines are introduced into industry – R. Hant establishes a steam lumber-mill in Riga. |
| 1829 | The construction of highroads is begun. |
| 1830 | The first steamer enters the Harbour of Riga. |
| 1832 | A factory of mechanical engineering and an ironworks Wörman & Sohn is founded in Riga (the beginnings of mechanical engineering). |
| 1839 | The optical telegraph-line of Petersburg-Warsaw crosses the territory of Latvia. |
| 1852 | A telegraph-line from Riga to Bolderaja is built (the first line for public use in Eastern Europe). |
| 1860 | The railway of Petersburg-Warsaw crosses the territory of Latvia (the beginnings of railway). |
| 1861 | A railway from Riga to Daugavpils is opened. |
| 1862 | The first technical university - Riga Polytechnic School – is opened; a gas factory begins its work; a gas illumination system is installed in Riga. |
| 1863 | A centralised water-supply system working on steam pumps is installed in Riga. |
| 1868 | The Great Northern Telegraph Company lays a telegraph cable from Liepaja to Frederiksberg (in Denmark). |
| 1874 | Horse omnibuses begin to work in Riga (the beginnings of public transport). |
| 1877 | A telephone call is demonstrated in Riga. |
| 1882 | Horse-tram lines are opened in Riga; Bell’s Company opens a telephone exchange in Riga for 3,000 subscriber lines. |
| 1883 | The electric illumination is demonstrated in the first industrial exhibition in Riga. |
| 1884 | Electric illumination is installed in Hartvig’s Textile Factory at Bolderaja. |
| 1886 | A bicycle factory Leutner & Co is founded in Riga (the first factory in Russia). |
| 1887 | A power station besides the German Theatre (the present Opera House) is opened in Riga. |
| 1896 | The first moving picture show takes place in Riga; the first automobiles are taken to Latvia from France. |
| 1897 | The first narrow-gauge railway from Valka to Pärnu (Estonia) crosses the territory of Latvia. |
| 1899 | Narrow-gauge tramlines are opened in Liepaja (the first of the kind in the Baltic States); the first automobile is built in the bicycle factory Leutner & Co; submarines are being built in Liepaja (for the first time in Russia’s history). |
20th Century |
| 1901 | Electric tramlines are opened in Riga; the hydroelectric power station at Smiltene on the River Abula begins to produce electricity (the beginnings of hydroenergetics). |
| 1905 | The thermal power station at Andrejsala in Riga begins a centralised electricity supply. |
| 1907 | The first taxis begin their work in Riga. |
| 1908 | Reinforced concrete is used in building bridges for the first time a regular (including intercity) bus communication is begun. |
| 1909 | A commercial production of the automobile brand Russo-Balt is begun in Russian-Baltique Carriage Factory in Riga (for the first time in Russia’s history). |
| 1910 | A commercial production of aeroplanes is begun in Russian-Baltic Carriage Factory in Riga; a radiotelegraph station begins its work at Kundzinsala. |
| 1919 | The main workshops of the Post and Telegraph Department (abbreviated as PTDGD) are established in Riga, which later becomes the State Electronic Fabric (abbreviated as VEF). |
| 1930 | PTGDG begins a commercial production of radios. |
| 1937 | A television broadcast is demonstrated in Riga. |
| 1938 | The factory VEF begins a commercial production of the first miniature photo-camera VEF-Minox in the world. |
| 1946 | A tram communication system is opened in Daugavpils. |
| 1947 | A trolleybus communication system is opened in Riga. |
| 1960 | In the laboratory of Latvian Academy of Science an electronic calculator is built. |
