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The city was founded on November 22, 1573 by a Tupi Indian named Araribóia (who later received the Christian name of Martim Affonso de Souza). It is the only Brazilian city to have been founded by an Indian.

After the war with France for the Guanabara Bay (in the so-called France Antarctique episode), Araribóia requested from the Governor-General, Mem de Sá, a piece of land, which he called "Banda D'Além" ("land beyond"). His request was granted, and the village of "São Lourenço dos Índios", Niterói's first name, was born.

In 1819, the village was recognized as such by the central government, and received the new name of "Vila Real da Praia Grande" (Royal Village of Long Beach), which occupied only the area where today the centre of the city is. It only begun expanding beyond those limits in the late 19th century, when a tramway service begun circulating, allowing the expansion of urban construction. In the early 20th century19th century 20th century 21st century more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901- 2000 in the sense of the Gre, the city started its industrialization boom.

During the period ( 1834Events January 1 Abolition of customs charges at borders within Germany. January 3 The government of Mexico imprisons Stephen F. Austin in Mexico City March 6 York, Upper Canada is incorporated as Toronto. March 18 The Tolpuddle Martyrs, six Dorset farm l - 1975Events January January 1 Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up and are sentenced to 30 months to 8 years in jail on February 21 January 5 The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, i) when Rio de Janeiro was divided in two states: Rio de Janeiro and State of Guanabara ( Federal DistrictStatistics Capital: Brasilia Area:5,802 km² Inhabitants:2,051,146 2000 Pop. density:353. km² Timezone:UTC-3 ISO 3166-2:BR-DF Map The Brazilian Federal District (in Portuguese, Distrito Federal is set apart for Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. It is locate), where the national capital was, Niterói served as the capital of Rio de Janeiro State (between 1834-1894 and 1903-1975; during the period comprised between 1894Events January 8 A fire at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago causes a good deal of damage. January 9 New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard ( Lexington, Massachusetts). February 15 04:51 GMT and 19031903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasn't had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. Events January 1 Edward VII of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Emperor of India, the city of PetrópolisPetropolis also known as The Imperial City of Brazil, is a town in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 60 km from the state's capital. Population: about 256,000. County area: 811 square km (313. 12 square miles). Altitude: 830 meters (2750 feet) above sea was the state capital) , which on March 15March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). There are 291 days remaining. In the Roman calendar March 15 was known as the Ides of March. Events 44 BC Ides of March: Julius Caesar, General of the Roman Republic, was, 1975Events January January 1 Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up and are sentenced to 30 months to 8 years in jail on February 21 January 5 The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, i was remerged with the State of Guanabara (correspondent to the city of Rio de Janeiro). The city was elevated to state capital by the Ato Adicional of 1834.

Anciently spelled Nictheroy, the name means "hidden waters" in the Tupi language and was officially changed to "Niterói" on March 6, 1835 (from its last official name, "Vila Real da Praia Grande", with the old spelling, which persisted until the mid-20th century), in which occasion it was elevated to the category of city (until then, it was officially a village). It is within 5 km (3.1 miles) of the Rio de Janeiro city, to which it is linked by the Rio-Niterói Bridge and a Ferry service. Quality of life in Niterói is one of the best (3rd place) among 5,600 Brazilian cities according to UN standards. The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum , the city's landmark, was designed by the famous Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer.

In the early 1990s, the administrative division of Niterói was altered.