609 B.C. The first canal was dug under the orders of Pharaoh Necho II. This connected the Nile to the Bitter Lakes and these to the Red Sea. 285 to 246 B.C. Ptolemy II widened the canal. 96 to 117 Darius and Trajan renovated Necho II’s canal, but as this was not very suitable for navigation it was later abandoned. 1574 The idea of digging a canal through the Suez isthmus was put to the Council of Ten by the Republic of Venice. The project was abandoned as being too expensive. 1798 The engineers accompanying Bonaparte in Egypt had been ordered by the Directoire to dig the isthmus. Bonaparte put J-B. Le Père in charge of carrying out a survey. Despite Laplace’s opinion to the contrary, Le Père concluded that the level of the Red Sea was higher than that of the Mediterranean, an error which was to set the project back by half a century. 1833 A (subsequently disregarded) project for a canal across the Suez isthmus by the Saint Simonian Prosper Enfantin. 1854 30 November First concession granted by Said Pasha, son of Mohammed-Ali, to Ferdinand de Lesseps for the digging and use of a canal through the Suez isthmus for 99 years. 1857 5 November Floatation of Suez Canal. The share price was fixed at Frf 500, and 207,229 of the 400,000 shares available were bought. 1858 15 December Establishment of the «Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez». 1859 25 April Start of the digging of the canal at Port Said. 1859 9 June An official order by the Egyptian government to halt work, ignored by Ferdinand de Lesseps. 1859 23 October After meeting with Ferdinand de Lesseps, Napoleon III officially supports the canal project. 1862 18 November The waters of the Mediterranean flow into Lake Timsah. 1863 18 January Upon the death of Said, Ismail Pasha becomes the Viceroy of Egypt. Turkey orders the project to be suspended. 1864 The conflict between Egypt and Turkey is resolved thanks to Napoleon III’s arbitration. The Company then abandons the fresh water canal and 60,000 hectares of irrigable land and accepts the obligation that fellahs should no longer be employed on the construction. The latter are partially replaced by machines. 1866 19 March Ratification of the concession by the Turkish sultan, Abdul-Aziz-Khan (Egypt is a province of Turkey). 1869 15 August The waters of the Red Sea join those of the Mediterranean. 1869 16 November Inauguration of the Suez Canal. 1872 The Company narrowly avoids bankruptcy. 1875 25 November The British government buys the 176,602 Compagnie universelle du canal de Suez shares held by Ismail and thus becomes the principal shareholder. 1876 21 February Convention solving the conflict over the tariffs for using the shipping canal. June 1884 to February 1885 Establishment of a works programme for the widening of the Suez Canal. 1887 1 March Authorisation for the night-time navigation of the canal. 1888 22 December The Constantinople International Convention guaranteeing the neutrality and free use of the Suez Canal. 1956 26 July Nationalisation of the Suez Canal by Colonel Nasser.