| 1000. | Leif Ericson discovers Vinland (New England). |
| 1492. | Oct. 12. Columbus discovers the New World. |
| 1497. | The Cabots discover the continent of North America. |
| 1498. | Columbus on third voyage discovers South America. |
| 1506. | Columbus dies at Valladolid. |
| 1507. | New World named after Americus Vespucius. |
| 1513. | Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean and Ponce de Leon discovers Florida. |
| 1519-1521. | Cortez conquers Mexico. Magellan sails round the world. |
| 1524. | Verrazano and Gomez explore New England coast. |
| 1528. | Cabeza do Vaca explores southern United States. |
| 1533. | Pizarro conquers Peru. |
| 1534. | Cartier sails to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. |
| 1541. | Do Soto discovers the Mississippi River. |
| 1565. | Founding of St. Augustine. |
| 1576. | Frobisher discovers northwest passage, Frobisher Strait. |
| 1579. | Drake explores coast of California. |
| 1584. | Raleigh sends first expedition to America. |
| 1588. | Defeat of the Spanish Armada. |
| 1604. | Acadia settled by the French. |
| 1607. | May 12. Founding of Jamestown, Virginia. |
| 1608. | Founding of Quebec by Champlain. |
| 1609. | Hudson discovers the Hudson River. |
| 1619. | First assembly meets at Jamestown. Slaves first sold in Virginia. |
| 1620. | Coming of the Pilgrims in the Mayflower. |
| 1623. | Settlements at New Amsterdam. First settlements in New Hampshire. |
| 1630. | The great emigration to Massachusetts. The founding of Boston. |
| 1634. | Maryland first settled by Calvert. |
| 1635. | Connecticut settled by emigrants from Massachusetts. |
| 1636. | Founding of Providence by Roger Williams. Harvard College founded. |
| 1637. | War with Pequot Indians. First negro slaves in New England. |
| 1638. | Swedes first settle in Delaware. |
| 1639. | First constitution in America adopted by Connecticut. |
| 1643. | May 30. New England Confederation formed. |
| 1649. | Toleration Act in Maryland. |
| 1655. | Stuyvesant conquers the Swedes in Delaware. |
| 1656. | Quakers expelled from Massachusetts. |
| 1662. | Connecticut charter granted. |
| 1663. | Charter granted to Rhode Island. Charter for the Carolinas granted. |
| 1664. | Sept. 8. The English conquer New Amsterdam. New Jersey given by King Charles II to his brother, the Duke of York. |
| 1667. | Fundamental Constitutions drawn up for the Carolinas. |
| 1673. | Marquette explores the Mississippi. |
| 1676. | Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia. King Philip's War in New England. |
| 1681. | Penn receives charter for Pennsylvania. |
| 1682. | Penn founds Philadelphia and makes treaty with the Indians. La Salle explores Louisiana and takes possession for France. |
| 1686. | Edmund Andros made governor of all New England. |
| 1689. | Rebellion against Andros; his fall and arrest. |
| 1692. | Salem witchcraft delusion. |
| 1700. | Iberville plants colony in Louisiana. |
| 1713. | Treaty of Utrecht, ending Queen Anne's War, which began in 1702. |
| 1733. | Georgia settled by Oglethorpe. |
| 1748. | Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, ending King George's War, which began in 1744. |
| 1754. | Colonial Congress at Albany; Franklin's plan of union. |
| 1755. | Braddock's defeat. |
| 1756. | French and Indian War formally begun. |
| 1759. | Wolfe captures Quebec. |
| 1763. | Treaty of Paris; end of the war. Conspiracy of Pontiac. |
| 1765. | Stamp Act. Colonial Congress in New York. |
| 1770. | "Boston Massacre." |
| 1773. | Destruction of tea in Boston Harbor. |
| 1774. | Sept. 5. Continental Congress meets in PhiladAphia. Boston Port Bill. |
| 1775. | April 19. Fight at Lexington and Concord. May 10.Capture of Ticonderoga. Meeting of Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia. |
| 1775. | June 17.Battle of Bunker Hill. December. Daniel Boone settles in Kentucky. |
| 1776. | July 4.Declaration of Independence. Aug.27. Battle of Long Island. Dec.26. Washington captures Hessians at Trenton. |
| 1777. | June 14. Flag of stars and stripes adopted by Congress. Sept.11. Battle of Brandywine. Oct.17.Surrender of Burgoyne. Washington encamps at Valley Forge and Howe occupies Philadelphia. |
| 1778. | French-American alliance. June 28.Battle of Monmouth. Dec.29. British take Savannah. |
| 1779. | Sept.23. Naval victory of John Paul Jones. |
| 1780. | May 12. Charleston taken by British. Aug.16. Battle of Camden. Oct. 7. Battle of King's Mountain. |
| 1781. | Adoption of the Articles of Confederation. Oct.19. Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. |
| 1782. | Nov.30. Preliminary treaty of peace. |
| 1783. | Sept. 3. Final treaty of peace signed. Nov.25. British army evacuates New York. Dec. 4. Washington's farewell to his officers. |
| 1786. | Shays's rebellion in Massachusetts. |
| 1787. | Ordinance of 1787 adopted. May 14. Constitutional Convention meets at Philadelphia. Sept 17. Constitution finished and signed by the delegates. |
| 1788. | Rufus Putnam plants first settlement in Ohio. June 21. New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, securing its adoption. |
| 1789. | March 4. New government goes into operation. April 30. Washington inaugurated first President. |
| 1790. | First census. Population 3,929,214. |
| 1791. | Vermont admitted to the Union. St. Clair defeated by the Indians |
| 1792. | Kentucky admitted to the Union. |
| 1793. | Jefferson founds Republican (Democratic) party. |
| 1794. | Wayne defeats the Indians in Battle of Fallen Timbers. |
| 1795. | Jay's treaty ratified. |
| 1796. | Tennessee admitted to the Union. |
| 1797. | John Adams inaugurated President. |
| 1798. | Alien and sedition laws enacted. Navy department established. |
| 1798-1799. | Kentucky and Virginia resolutions. |
| 1798-1800. | Serious trouble with France. |
| 1799. | Dec.14. Washington dies at Mt. Vernon. |
| 1800. | Overthrow of the Federal party. Capital removed to Washington, D.C. |
| 1801. | Jefferson becomes President. |
| 1802. | Ohio joins the Union. |
| 1801-1805. | War with the Barbary States, North Africa. |
| 1803. | Purchase of Lonisiana. |
| 1804. | Burr kills Hamilton in a duel. |
| 1805-1807. | Lewis and Clarke expedition. |
| 1806-1807. | Burr's conspiracy, trial, and acquittal. |
| 1807. | Fulton succeeds with the steamboat. June 22. The Leopard fires on the Chesapeake. December. Jefferson's embargo enacted. |
| 1808. | Prohibition of the foreign slave trade. |
| 1809. | James Madison inaugurated President. |
| 1811. | Nov. 7. Battle of Tippecanoe. |
| 1812. | June 18. War declared against England. Aug.16. Hull surrenders Detroit. Aug.19. The Constitution defeats the Guerriere. Oct.13. Battle of Queenstown Heights. |
| 1813. | Sept.10. Perry's victory on Lake Erie. Oct. 5. Battle of the Thames. Nov. 9. Battle of Talladega. |
| 1814. | July 25. Battle of Lundy's Lane. Aug.25. The British capture Washington. Sept.11. Battle at Plattsburg and defeat of the British on Lake Champlain. December. Hartford Convention. Dec. 24. Treaty of Ghent. |
| 1815. | Jan. 8. Battle of New Orleans. America secures indemnity and treaties from Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. |
| 1816. | Indiana admitted to the Union. Admission of Mississippi, 1817; of Illinois, 1818; of Alabama, 1819; of Maine, 1820; of Missouri, 1821. |
| 1817. | James Monroe becomes President. |
| 1818. | War with the Seminole Indians. |
| 1819. | Purchase of Florida from Spain. First steamship, the Savannah, crosses the Atlantic. |
| 1820. | The Missouri Compromise. |
| 1823. | Dec. 2. Monroe Doctrine promulgated. |
| 1825. | Inauguration of John Quincy Adams. Opening of the Erie Canal. June 17. Lafayette lays corner stone of Bunker Hill Monument. |
| 1826. | July 4. Death of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Panama Congress. |
| 1828. | Building of the first passenger railway begun at Baltimore. |
| 1829. | Andrew Jackson becomes President. |
| 1830. | Fifth census. Population 12,566,020. |
| 1832. | Nov.19. Nullification by South Carolina. Jackson vetoes bank charter. Black Hawk War. |
| 1833. | Jackson removes bank deposits. Compromise tariff adopted. |
| 1836. | April 21. Battle of San Jacinto. Wilkes's Antarctic expedition. Admission of Arkansas. |
| 1837. | Inauguration of Van Buren. Patent of the telegraph by Morse. Great panic. Admission of Michigan. Burning of the Caroline. |
| 1841. | March 4. William Henry Harrison inaugurated President; dies April 4, and John Tyler becomes President. Howe invents the sewing machine. |
| 1844. | First telegraph line in America, between Baltimore and Washington. |
| 1845. | James K. Polk becomes President. Florida and Texas admitted into the Union. Death of Andrew Jackson.
1846.Beginning of the Mexican War. Fight at Palo Alto. Admission of Iowa. Walker tariff enacted. Wilmot Proviso introduced in Congress. |
| 1847. | Feb.23.Battle of Buena Vista. March 29. Capture of Vera Cruz by General Scott. Conquest of California. September. Fall of the City of Mexico. |
| 1848. | February. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Discovery of gold in California. Wisconsin enters the Union. |
| 1849. | Zachary Taylor inaugurated President.
1850.Admission of California. Death of Calhoun. July 9. Death of President Taylor. Millard Fillmore President. Clay Compromise enacted. Census shows population of 23,191,876. |
| 1852. | Death of Clay and Webster. |
| 1853. | Inauguration of Franklin Pierce. |
| 1854. | May. Kansas-Nebraska bill enacted. |
| 1854. | Commercial treaty with Japan. |
| 1857. | Inauguration of Buchanmi. March 6. Dred Scott decision. |
| 1858. | Admission of Minnesota. First Atlantic cable laid. Lincoln-Douglas debates. Sept.18. Mountain Meadow Massacre, Utah. |
| 1859. | Admission of Oregon. John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. |
| 1860. | Population 31,443,321. |
| Dec.20. Secession of South Carolina. | |
| 1861. | Secession of Mississippi on Jan. 9; of Florida, Jan.10 Alabama, Jan.11; Georgia, Jan.19; Louisiana, Jan.26; Texas, Feb. 1; Virginia, April 17; Arkansas, May 6; North Carolina, May 20; Tennessee, June 8. Feb. 4. Confederate government organized. March 4. Lincoln inaugurated President of the United States. April 14. Fall of Fort Sumter. July 21. Battle of Bull Run. Nov. 8. Capture of Mason and Slidell. Admission of Kansas. |
| 1862. | Feb.16. Surrender of Fort Donelson. March 9. Duel between the Monitor and the Merrimac. April 6-7. Battle of Shiloh. April 16. Slavery abolished in District of Columbia. April 25. Farragut captures New Orleans. July 1. Battle of Malvern Hill; last of the seven days' battle before Richmond. Aug.30. Second Battle of Bull Run. Sept. 17. Battle of Antietam. Dec.13. Battle of Fredericksburg. |
| 1863. | Jan. 1. Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation. Jan. 2. Battle of Murfreesboro. Admission of West Virginia. May 2. Battle of Chancellorsville. July 14. Battle of Gettysburg. July 4. Surrender of Vicksburg. Sept. 19-20. Battle of Chickamauga. Nov.19. Lincoln's address at Gettysburg. Nov. 24-25. Battle of Chattanooga. |
| 1864. | May 6. Battle of the Wilderness. May 11. Battle of Spottsylvania. June 19. The Kearsarge sinks the Alabama. Aug. 5. Battle of Mobile Bay. Sept. 2. Sherman captures Atlanta. Oct.19. Battle of Cedar Creek. Nov.15. Sherman begins his march to the sea. Dec. 15-16. Battle of Nashville. Admission of Nevada. |
| 1865. | April 1. Battle of Five Forks. April 3. Evacuation of Richmond. April 9. Surrender of Lee at Appomattox. April 14. Assassination of Lincoln; Andrew Johnson President. April 26. Surrender of Johnston's army. Dec. 18. Thirteenth Amendment ratified. |
| 1866. | July 27. Second Atlantic cable completed. |
| 1867. | May 2. Reconstruction bill passed over veto. Purchase of Alaska. Admission of Nebraska |
| 1868. | Feb.24. President Johnson impeached by the House. Trial in the Senate fails. July 21. Fourteenth Amendment adopted. |
| 1869. | Inauguration of U. S. Grant. May 10. Pacific Railroad completed. |
| 1870. | Population 38,558,371. March 30. Fifteenth Amendment ratified. |
| 1871. | November. Great fire in Chicago. |
| 1873. | February. Congress demonetizes silver. Financial panic. |
| 1876. | Centennial Exposition at Philadeiphia Admission of Colorado. Invention of the telephone. Custer's army destroyed by the Indians. |
| 1877. | Inauguration of R. B. Hayes. Great railroad strike. |
| 1878. | Electric light perfected. February. Bland-Allison silver bill passed. |
| 1879. | Jan. 1. Resumption of specie payments |
| 1880. | Population 50,155,783. |
| 1881. | James A. Garfield inaugurated President. July 2. Assassination of Garfield. Dies September 19. Chester A. Arthur becomes President. |
| 1883. | Letter postage reduced to two cents. |
| 1885. | Grover Cleveland becomes President. |
| 1886. | Oct. 6. Statue of Liberty unveiled, New York. |
| 1886. | Presidential Succession Law enacted. |
| 1889. | Benjamin Harrison becomes President. April 22. Oklahoma opened to settlers. North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington admitted into the Union. |
| 1890. | Population 62,622,250. Idaho and Wyoming admitted. McKinley tariff enacted. Sherman silver law passed. |
| 1891. | Chilians assault American sailors at Valparsiso. |
| 1893. | World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago. |
| 1894. | Wilson tariff law enacted. |
| 1895. | Dec. 17. Cleveland issues his Venezuelan message. |
| 1897. | William McKinley becomes President. July 24. Dingley tariff becomes law. |
| 1898. | Feb.15. Destruction of the Maine at Havana. April 25. Congress declares war against Spain (existing from April 21). May 1. Battle of Manila. July 1-3. Battle of San Juan. July 3. Battle of Santiago. July 7. Annexation of Hawaii. Aug.12. Peace protocol signed. Dec.10. Treaty with Spain signed at Paris. |
| 1899. | May 18. Peace Conference meets at The Hague. Samoan treaty made by the United States, Great Britain, and Germany. |
| 1900. | Allied Powers enter China to quell Boxer disturbances. Civil Government established in Alaska. Sept. 9. Great disaster at Galveston, Texas. |
| 1901. | Jan. 1. The Hague Arbitration Court organized. May 3. Civil Government established in the Philippines. Sept. 6. President McKinley shot by an assassin. Dies on Sept. 14. Theodore Roosevelt becomes President. Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo. |
| 1902. | Cuban Repub;ic established. May 12. Great Anthracite strike in Pennsylvania begins. 1903.Feb.14. Cabinet Department of Commerce and Labor created. March 17. Panama Canal Treaty with Colombia ratified by the United States Senate. Rejected Aug.17 by Colombian Senate. July 4. Pacific Cable completed. Oct.17. Alaskan Boundary Tribunal in London decides in favor of the United States. Nov. 6. The United States recognizes the new Republic of Panama. Nov.18. Canal Treaty with Panama signed by Secretary Hay. Ratified by Panama Dec. 2 by the United States Senate, Feb.23, 1904. |
Timeline
Created September 15, 2000
Copyright 2000
Web design and graphics by Kathy Leigh