What are the important landmarks in the history of Sai Gon?

1558-1772: Viet Nam under the Le Dynasty was divided into two, with the Trinh Lords controlling the North. The Nguyen gradually expanded their territory southward and reached the Mekong River Delta in the second half of the 17th century.
1698: General Nguyen Huu Canh, a special envoy from the Nguyen Lords, toured the newly settled South and created the prefecture of Gia Dinh on the current site of Sai Gon.
1790: Lord Nguyen Anh (who later became King Gia Long) built a citadel in Gia Dinh, using a style that had been favored by Sebastien le Prestre de Vauban, the famous French military architect. Nguyen Anh used Gia Dinh as his base to fight the lay San peasant movement.
1859: The French captured Sai Gon after meeting with fierce resistance from Vietnamese patriots. Vietnamese partisans continued their struggle against the French for many years after Sai Gon fell.
1861: A French military engineer planned a city for 500,000 people.
1862: The Nguyen Government ceded three eastern provinces of the South - including Sai Gon - to France as part of the Treaty of Sai Gon.
1867: The French named the city "Ville de Saigon."
1874: France established sovereignty over the whole of the South (Cochinchina). 1870s & 1880s: Construction of major building in Sai Gon:
1863: The Customs House (now the Ho Chi Minh Museum)
1877 -1883: Notre Dame Cathedral.
1890: The Palace of the Governor of Cochinchina.
1897: The Hotel de Ville (now the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Building).
1900: Sai Gon's population reached 200,000.
1925: French architect Hebrard developed a common plan for Sai Gon and Cho Lon.
1930: Sai Gon and Cho Lon merged, resulting in a combined population of 400,000.
1945: Viet Minh forces gained control of Sai Gon during the August Revolution and set up a revolutionary administration. British and French forces re-entered Sai Gon only days after President Ho Chi Minh read Viet Nam's Declaration of Independence.
1945-1954 - The Resistance War against France: Patriotic Viet Minh forces fought against the French colonialists, who were backed by the Americans. The war ended with the Geneva Accords in the summer of 1954.
1955-1975 - The American War: The Geneva Accords divided Viet Nam into North and South, with elections to be held in 1956. The United States supported the South, which refused to allow elections. In 1968, patriotic forces launched the Te't Offensive, penetrating the U.S. Embassy in Sai Gon. On 30 April 1975, the last American forces left Sai Gon.
1976: Viet Nam's National Assembly gave Sai Gon its current formal name, Ho Chi Minh City.