600 The Hopewell culture of North America ceases to be the dominant culture.
986 Explorer jarni Herj
1000 Leif Ericson lands in North America, calling it Vinland.
1010 Viking explorer Thorfinn Karlsefni attempts to found a settlement in North America (approximate date).
1170 According to folklore, the Welsh prince Madoc sailed to North America and founded a colony.
1196 According to a popular legend, Prince Madog of Gwynedd reached North America in what is present-day Alabama.
1497 John Cabot lands in North America, either an island or the mainland.
1535 French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail for his second voyage to North America with 3 ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona's 2 sons (who Cartier kidnapped during his first voyage).
1539 In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal to find gold. He also introduced pigs into North America
1544 First occurrence of rats in North America
1578 Martin Frobisher held the first celebration of Thanksgiving by Europeans in North America at Newfoundland by the Frobisher Expedition.
1604 France begins settling Acadia, first successful French North American colony.
1607 Jamestown, Virginia, is settled as what would become the first permanent English colony in North America.
1639 The first printing press in North America is started in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1640 First book printed in North America, the Bay Psalm Book.
1648 Discovery of strait (Bering Strait) between Asia and North America by Semyon Dezhnev
1652 Rhode Island passes the first law in North America making slavery illegal.
1666 Jean Talon completes a census of New France, the first census in North America.
1690 The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in America.
1727 First Amish move to America.
1755 General Braddock lands in Virginia to take command of the English forces against the French in North America
1764 The English-language ''Quebec Gazette'' is established in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. As of 2005, it is the oldest surviving newspaper in North America.
1765 The British Parliament enacts the Stamp Act on the 13 colonies in order to help pay for British military operations in North America.
1773 The British Parliament passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
1774 The British pass the Quebec Act setting out rules of governance for the colony of Quebec in British North America.
1800 First smallpox vaccination in North America, at Trinity, Newfoundland.
1844 Influential North American fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon is founded at Yale University.
1851 The first YMCA in North America is established in Montreal, Quebec.
1873 Royal Montreal Club in Montreal, Quebec is founded, becoming the first permanent golf club in North America.
1879 At New York City's Madison Square Garden the first artificial ice rink in North America opens.
1880 terrible winter storm in North America, the "Blizzard of 1880".
1897 The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground metro in North America.
1919 XWA (now CFCF), in Montreal, Quebec, is the first public radio station in North America to go on the air.
1945 Saskatchewan Government Insurance, the first state-owned automobile insurance company in North America, is created.
1945 Russian code clerk Igor Gouzenko defects to Canada. He helps the West gain an understanding of Soviet spy rings in North America.
1994 An annular eclipse of the sun is visible across much of North America.
1998 The fourth generation of VW's Passat automobile goes on sale in North America.
2004 The final episode of ''Friends'' airs on NBC, drawing an estimated 52 million viewers in North America.
2005 Microsoft releases the Xbox 360 gaming console in North America.