United States

1513   Juan Ponce de Leon becomes the first European definitely known to sight what is now the territory of the United States (specifically Florida) mistaking it for another island.

1565   St. Augustine, Florida (named after St. Augustine), established. It is the oldest remaining European settlement in the United States.

1607   English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia, later moving up the James River to found Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the United States.

1688   The Nine Years War begins in Europe and America.

1758   James Abercrombie replaces the Earl of Loudoun as supreme commander in the American colonies. He is replaced himself after failing to take the fort at Ticonderoga.

1763   The Treaty of Paris signed by Great Britain, France and Spain brings an end to the Seven Years' War (also called the French and Indian War in the United States and the War of the Conquest in Quebec)

1775   American Revolutionary War: Battle of Montreal - Patriot revolutionary forces under Col. Ethan Allen capture Montreal from British General Guy Carleton.

1776   American Revolutionary War: Battle of Trois-Rivières: American invaders are driven back at Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

1776   American Revolutionary War: United States Declaration of Independence. United States declares independence from the British Empire.

1776   American Revolutionary War: Battle of Valcour Island: On Lake Champlain near Valcour Island, a British fleet led by Sir Guy Carleton defeats 15 American gunboats commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. Although nearly all of Arnold's ships are destroyed, the two day-long battle will give Patriot forces enough time to prepare defenses of New York City.

1776   American Revolutionary War: Battle of White Plains: British forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Americans.

1776   American Revolutionary War: Hessian mercenaries under Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen capture Fort Washington from the American Continentals.

1777   American Revolutionary War: American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.

1777   Vermont declares its independence from New York becoming an independent country, a status it retained until it joined the United States as the 14th state in 1791.

1777   American Revolutionary War: Battle of Bennington - British forces are defeated by American troops.

1777   American Revolutionary War: Battle of Saratoga - American troops defeat the British.

1777   American Revolutionary War: After 16 months of debate, the Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation in the temporary American capital at York, Pennsylvania.

1778   Phillips Academy, the most prestigious secondary boarding school in the United States, was founded by Samuel Phillips Jr.

1778   The term thoroughbred was first used in the United States in an advertisement in a Kentucky gazette to describe a New Jersey stallion called Pilgarlick.

1778   American Revolutionary War: In Paris the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce are signed by the United States and France signaling official recognition of the new republi

1778   Treaty of Fort Pitt signed, the first formal treaty between the United States and a Native American tribe (the Lenape or Delaware).

1778   The Continental Congress passes the first budget of the United States.

1779   American Revolutionary War: United States forces led by General Anthony Wayne capture Stony Point, New York from British troops.

1780   American Revolutionary War: British spy John André is hanged by American forces.

1781   American Continental Congress implements the Articles of Confederation.

1782   The first American commercial bank opens (Bank of North America).

1782   In Switzerland, Anna Goldi in sentenced to death for witchcraft - the last legal witchcraft senten July 1 - American privateers attack Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

1782   American Revolutionary War: In Paris, representatives from the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain sign preliminary peace articles (later formalized in the Treaty of Paris).=

1783   United Empire Loyalists flee to Canada from the new United States.

1783   American Revolutionary War: Spain recognizes United States independen

1783   American Revolutionary War: Great Britain formally declares that it will cease hostilities with the United States of America.

1783   American Revolutionary War ends: Treaty of Paris - A treaty between the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain is signed in Paris, ending the war.

1784   Britain receives its first bales of imported American cotton

1785   Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England to Calais, France in a hydrogen gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air.

1785   The dollar is unanimously chosen as the money unit for the United States. This is the first time a nation has adopted a decimal coinage system.

1786   The oldest musical organization in the United States was founded as the Stoughton Musical Society.

1787   In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates begin to meet to write a new Constitution for the United States.

1787   In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates begin to convene a Constitutional Convention intended to amend the Articles of Confederation. However, a new Constitution for the United States was eventually produced. George Washington presided over the Convention.

1789   Thomas Jefferson brings the first ''macaroni'' machine to the United States

1789   First nationwide United States election

1789   Georgetown University becomes the first Catholic college in the United States (Washington, DC).

1789   Pope Pius VI appoints Father John Carroll (priest) the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States.

1790   U.S. Funding Bill introduced by Alexander Hamilton.

1790   Georgetown, Maryland becomes federal capital of the U.S..

1790   United States Patent system established.

1790   The signing of the Residence Bill establishes a site along the Potomac River as the District of Columbia (seat of government) of the United States (see Washington, DC).

1791   First American ship reaches Japan.

1791   John Fitch is granted a patent for the steamboat in the United States.

1792   George Washington is re-elected as president of the United States.

1792   United States President George Washington vetos a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. states. This is the first time the presidential veto has been used in the United States.

1792   First celebration of Columbus Day in the USA held in New York; 300 years after.

1792   Foundation of Washington, DC.  The cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion, known as the White House since 1818, is laid.

1793   Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first to fly in a with blairy balloon in the United States.

1793   The cornerstone of Old East, the oldest state university building in the United States, is laid in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on the campus of the University of North Carolina. The 12th of October is now celebrated at the University as University Day.

1794   Battle of Fallen Timbers - American troops force a confederacy of Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, Wyandot, Miami, Ottawa, Chippewa and Potawatomi warriors into a disorganized retreat.

1794   The United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain sign Jay's Treaty, which attempts to clear up some of the lingering problems left over from the American Revolutionary War.

1795   The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Madrid, which established the boundaries between Spanish colonies and the U.S.

1796   The U.S. takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty.

1796   The Treaty of Tripoli (between the United States and Tripoli) is signed at Tripoli (see also 1797).

1797   The Treaty of Tripoli (a peace treaty between the United States and Tripoli) is signed at Algiers.

1801   The pascha of Tripoli declares war on United States by having the flagpole on the consulate chopped down.

1802   War ends between Sweden and Tripoli. The United States also negotiates peace, but war continues over the size of compensation.

1803   Louisiana Purchase made by the United States from France.

1803   At the Cabildo building in New Orleans, Spanish representatives Governor Manuel de Salcedo and the Marqués de Casa Calvo, officially transfer Louisiana Territory to French representative Prefect Pierre Clément de Laussat (just 20 days later, France had transferred the same land to the United States as the Louisiana Purchase).

1804   Louisiana Purchase: In St. Louis, a formal ceremony is conducted to transfer ownership of Louisiana Territory from France to the United States.

1806   Construction authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway.

1807   The U.S. Congress passes an act to "prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States ... from any foreign kingdom, place, or country."

1807   The ''Clermont'', Robert Fulton's first American steamboat, leaves New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

1807   Former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr is acquitted of treason. He had been accused of plotting to annex parts of Louisiana and Mexico to become part of an independent republi

1808   Importation of slaves into the United States is banned; this is also the earliest day under the United States Constitution that an amendment could be made restricting slavery.

1812   The War of 1812 begins between the United States and the United Kingdom.

1812   Americans invade Canada at Windsor, Ontario.

1812   War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.

1812   War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships; ''HMS Detroit'' and ''HMS Caledonia''.

1812   War of 1812: Battle of Queenston Heights - As part of the Niagara campaign in Ontario, Canada, United States forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaer are repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops led by Sir Isaac Brock (although he dies during the battle).

1812   The Capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States was permanently moved from Lancaster to Harrisburg.

1813   War of 1812: Battle of York - United States troops raid, destroy, but do not hold the capital of Ontario, York (present day Toronto, Ontario).

1813   War of 1812: In Canada, United States forces capture Fort George.

1813   War of 1812: Battle of Stoney Creek - A British force of 700 under John Vincent defeat an American force three times its size under William Winder and John Chandler.

1814   War of 1812: In northern Alabama, United States forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

1814   War of 1812: Battle of Chippewa - American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippewa, Ontario.

1814   War of 1812: General Phineas Riall advances toward Niagara Falls, Ontario to halt Jacob Brown's American invaders.

1814   War of 1812: Battle of Lundy's Lane - Reinforcements arrive near Niagara Falls, Ontario for General Riall's British and Canadian force, and bloody, all-night battle with Jacob Brown's Americans commences at 18.00; Americans retreat to Fort Erie.

1814   peace treaty of Ghent ends War of 1812 between United States and Britain.

1818   A convention between the U.S. and the United Kingdom establishes the northern boundary as the forty-ninth parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, also creating the Northwest Angle.

1819   Panic of 1819 - first major financial crisis in the United States

1819   Spain cedes Florida to the United States. (see Adams-Onís Treaty)

1819   U.S. naval vessel USS Columbus is launched in Washington, DC.

1820   Slavery in the United States: The Missouri Compromise becomes law.

1821   The United States takes possession of its newly-bought territory of Florida from Spain.

1821   the first American pharmacy college holds classes in Philadelphia.

1824   Frontier treaty between United States and Russia is signed.

1825   The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government, and migrate west.

1829   In the United States, William Burt obtains the first patent for a writing mechanism. (See typewriter)

1836   First printed literature in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is produced by Justin Perkins, an American Presbyterian missionary.

1836   Samuel Colt receives an American patent for the Colt revolver.

1840   Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what became known as Wilkes Land for the United States.

1841   The city of Dallas, Texas is founded by John Neely Bryan. The original town of few inhabitants and mud huts would later become a major city in the South, as well as the United States.

1844   First ever international cricket match is played in New York City between Canada and the United States.

1845   President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.

1845   Manifest Destiny: US President James Polk announces to Congress that the Monroe Doctrine should be strictly enforced and that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.

1846   ''The Oregon Spectator'' becomes the first newspaper on the Pacific coast of the United States.

1846   Mexican-American War: The United States declares war on Mexico.

1846   Bear Flag Revolt begins - American settlers in Sonoma, California start a rebellion against Mexico and proclaim the California Republic.

1846   The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

1846   Acting on instructions from Washington, DC, Commodore John Drake Sloat orders his troops to occupy Monterey and Yerba Buena thus beginning the United States annexation of California.

1847   Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government.

1847   Mexican-American War: The Battle of Buena Vista - 5,000 American troops under General Zachary Taylor use their superiority in artillery to drive off 15,000 Mexican troops under Antonio López de Santa Anna defeating the Mexicans the next day.

1847   Mexican-American War: United States forces under General Winfield Scott invade Mexico near Veracruz.

1847   Mexican-American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege. April 15 - The beginning of The Lawrence school Sanawar,

1847   The United States issues its first postage stamps.

1848   California Gold Rush: The ''New York Herald'' breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States, that there is a gold rush in California (although the rush started in January).

1849   Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her MD by the Medical Institute of Geneva, New York, thus becoming the United States' first woman doctor.

1849   Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS ''California'' in San Francisco Bay. The ''California'' left New York Harbor on October 6, 1848, rounded Cape Horn at the tip of South America, and arrived at San Francisco, California after the 4 month 21 day journey.

1853   Gadsden Purchase: The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest

1854   Texas is linked by telegraph with the rest of the United States, when a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas is completed.

1854   Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. Navy, signs the Treaty/Convention of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, to be precise, Tokugawa Shogunate, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade. (See History of Japan)

1857   Speculation in U.S. railway shares causes financial crisis in Europe.

1857   William Daniel, American politician proposes Local Option for prohibition.

1858   United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.

1859   US congressman Daniel Sickles shoots Philip Barton Key for having an affair with his wife

1859   Edwin Drake drills the first oil well in the United States, near Titusville, Pennsylvania

1859   Joshua A. Norton proclaims himself "Emperor of These United States"

1860   Augustana College is founded in Rock Island, Illinois, United States by Swedish immigrants.

1861   American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the Union

1861   Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union, preceding the American Civil War.

1861   American Civil War: Florida secedes from the Union

1861   American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the Union

1861   American Civil War: Georgia secedes from the Union

1861   American Civil War: Louisiana secedes from the Union.

1861   American Civil War: Texas secedes from the Union.

1861   American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in the United States.

1861   American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.

1861   American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.

1861   American Civil War: Kentucky proclaims its neutrality which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state. North Carolina secedes from the Union

1861   American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.

1861   American Civil War: The Crittenden-Johnson Resolution is passed by the U.S. Congress stating that the war is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.

1861   American Civil War: George McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.

1861   American Civil War: Confederate General Leonidas Polk invades neutral Kentucky, prompting the state legislature to ask for Union assistan

1861   American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, which gives the Union control the mouth of the Tennessee River.

1861   American Civil War: Battle of Ball's Bluff - Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war. Baker, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, is killed in the fighting.

1861   American Civil War: Citing failing health, Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army.

1861   American Civil War: Western Department Union General John C. Fremont is relieved of command and replaced by David Hunter.

1861   American Civil War: Battle of Belmont - In Belmont, Missouri, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant overrun a Confederate camp but are forced to retreat when Confederate reinforcements arrive.

1862   The United States passes the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act

1862   American Civil War: Ulysses S. Grant gives the United States its first victory of the war, by capturing Fort Henry, Tennessee, known as the Battle of Fort Henry.

1862   American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh - Union Army under General Ulysses S. Grant defeats the Confederates near Shiloh, Tennessee.

1862   American Civil War: Andrew's Raid - Union The Great Locamotive Chase

1862   American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuate Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.

1862   American Civil War: Battle of Memphis - Union forces capture Memphis, Tennessee from the Confederates

1862   American Civil War: Battle of Cross Keys - Confederate forces under General Stonewall Jackson save the Army of Northern Virginia from a Union assault on the James Peninsula led by General George McClellan.

1862   United States president Abraham Lincoln signs into law the Pacific Railway Acts authorizing construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

1862   American Civil War: Henry W. Halleck takes command of the Union Army.

1862   American Civil War: Skirmish at Taberville, MO -Union forces force Confederate troops to march south, near Taberville, Missouri

1862   American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge - Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops drive Union forces back into the city.

1862   American Civil War: Battle of Cedar Mountain - At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson narrowly defeats Union forces under General John Pope.

1862   American Civil War: Battle of Chantilly - Confederate General Robert E. Lee leads his forces in an attack on retreating Union troops in Chantilly, Virginia, driving them away.

1862   American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln reluctantly restores Union General George McClellan to full command after General John Pope's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Second Bull Run.

1862   American Civil War: Battle of Perryville - Union forces under General Don Carlos Buell halt the Confederate invasion of Kentucky by defeating troops led by General Braxton Bragg at Perryville, Kentucky.

1862   American Civil War: Union President Abraham Lincoln approves General Ambrose Burnside's plan to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia (this led to a dramatic Union defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13).

1863   Ground is broken in Sacramento, CA on the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States.

1863   US National Conscription Act is signed - leads a week-long New York Draft Riots

1863   American Civil War: Second Battle of Winchester: A Union garrison is defeated by the Army of Northern Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley town of Winchester, Virginia.

1863   American Civil War (New York Draft Riots): In New York City, opponents of conscription begin three days of violent rioting, which would later be regarded as the worst in the history of the United States.

1863   The Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road starts operations in Brooklyn, New York; this is now the oldest right-of-way on the New York City Subway, the largest rapid transit system in the United States and one of the largest in the world.

1864   American Civil War: Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta, Georgia.

1865   The steamboat ''Sultana'', carrying 2,300 passengers, explodes and sinks in the Mississippi River, killing 1,700, most of whom were Union survivors of the Andersonville Prison.

1865   American Civil War: The Second Battle of Fort Fisher begins when United States forces launch a major amphibious assault against the Confederate stronghold of Fort Fisher.

1865   American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina burns as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.

1865   American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is captured by Union troops near Irwinville, Georgia.

1866   Reconstruction: Tennessee becomes the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War.

1866   The Metric Act of 1866 becomes law and legalizes the standardization of weights and measures in the United States.

1867   In Boston, Massachusetts, the Harvard School of Dental Medicine is established as the first dental school in the United States.

1867   The United States takes control of Midway Island.

1867   In a New York City theater, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.

1868   Memorial Day is observed in the United States for the first time (it was proclaimed on May 5 by General John Logan).

1868   The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is adopted guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.

1870   Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the United States

1870   Reconstruction: Georgia becomes the last former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union, and the CSA is dissoluted.

1870   In the United States, the newly-created Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) makes its first official meteorological forecast: "High winds at Chicago and Milwaukee... and along the Lakes".

1871   Four major fires break out on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois, Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Holland, Michigan, and Manistee, Michigan. The Great Chicago Fire is the most famous of these, having left nearly 100,000 people homeless, although the Peshtigo Fire killed as many as 2,500 people making it the deadliest fire in United States history.

1872   The crewless American ship ''Mary Celeste'' is found by the British brig ''Dei Gratia'' (the ship was abandoned for 9 days but was only slightly damaged).

1873   At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James-Younger gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American West (US$3,000 from the Rock Island Express).

1874   Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights.

1875   Indian Wars: In Washington, D.C., Indian Inspector E.C. Watkins issues a report stating that hundreds of Sioux and Cheyenne associated with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse are hostile to the United States (the Battle of the Little Bighorn was fought in Montana the next year).

1876   United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.

1876   The United States celebrates its centennial.

1876   Indian Wars: In retaliation for the dramatic American defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, United States Army troops under General Ranald S. Mackenzie sack Chief Dull Knife's sleeping Cheyenne village at the headwaters of the Powder River (the soldiers destroyed all of the villager's winter food and clothing and then slashed their ponies' throats).

1877   Realizing that his people were weakened by cold and hunger, Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Sioux surrenders to United States troops in Nebraska.

1877   Indian Wars: Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse is bayoneted by a United States soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson in Nebraska.

1878   ''The Yale News'' becomes the first daily, college newspaper in the United States.

1881   Indian Wars: Sioux chief Sitting Bull leads the last of his fugitive people in surrender to United States troops at Fort Buford in Montana.

1881   Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona, USA.

1882   The first United States Labor Day parade is held in New York City.

1883   The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil service, is passed

1883   US and Canadian railroads institute five standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.

1884   the first proclamation of eight-hour workday by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in the United States. May 1st, called ''May Day'' or ''Labour Day'', is now a holiday recognized in almost every industrialized country.

1885   US president Chester A. Arthur dedicates the Washington Monument

1886   the start of the general strike in the United States which escalated into Haymarket Riot and eventually won the eight-hour workday in the U.S.

1887   Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.

1888   The "Great Blizzard of '88" begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.

1889   In March of 1889, a German naval force shelled a village in Samoa, and by doing so destroyed some American property. Three American warships then entered the Samoan harbor and were prepared to fire on the three German warships found there. Before guns were fired, a hurricane blew up and sank all the ships, American and German. A compulsory armistice was called because of the lack of warships.

1889   Grover Cleveland, 24th President of the United States (1885 - 1889) is succeeded by Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893).

1890   The United States Seventh Cavalry massacres over 400 men, women and children at Wounded Knee, South Dakota (see Wounded Knee Massacre).

1892   Ellis Island begins accepting immigrants to the United States.

1892   Former President Abraham Lincoln's birthday is declared a national holiday in the United States.

1893   The 1893 World's Fair, also known as the World's Columbian Exposition, opens to the public in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The first United States commemorative postage stamps were issued for the Exposition.

1893   First public mention of the Bahá'í Faith in the United States at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago.

1897   First ascent of Mount Saint Elias, second highest peak in the United States and Canada.

1898   Spanish-American War: The USS ''Maine'' explodes and sinks in Havana Harbor, Cuba for then unknown reasons killing more than 260. This event helped lead the United States to declare war on Spain.

1898   Spanish-American War: The United States declares war on Spain; the U.S. Congress announces that a state of war has existed since April 21 (later backdating one more day to April 20).

1898   The United States annexes the Hawaiian Islands.

1898   Spanish-American War: Battle of Santiago Bay - Troops under United States General William R. Shafter take the city of Santiago de Cuba from the Spanish.

1898   Spanish-American War: The United States invasion of Puerto Rico begins with a landing at Guánica Bay.

1899   United States takes possession of Wake Island.

1899   Spanish-American War: A peace treaty between the United States and Spain is ratified by the United States Senate.

1900   Hawaii officially becomes a territory of the United States.

1900   Two U.S. cruisers are sent to Central America to protect US interests in a dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica

1900   Prime Minister Lord Salisbury of the United Kingdom rejects U.S. President McKinley's offer to mediate in the Boer War

1900   Hawaii officially becomes a U.S. territory.

1900   the first automobile show in the United States opened at New York's Madison Square Garden under the auspices of the Automobile Club of Ameri

1902   "Electric Theatre", the first movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California.

1902   Cuba gains independence from the United States

1902   In the United States, a five month strike by United Mine Workers ends.

1903   Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity"

1903   The Hay-Herran Treaty, granting the United States the right to build the Panama Canal, is ratified by the United States Senate. The Colombian Senate would later reject the treaty.

1903   With the encouragement of the United States, Panama proclaims itself independent from Colombia.

1903   The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama, giving the Americans exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.

1904   For $10 million the United States gains control of the Panama Canal Zone.

1904   The first underground line of the New York City Subway opens (IRT); the system is now the largest in the United States, and one of the largest in the world.

1906   San Francisco public school board sparks United States diplomatic crisis with Japan by ordering Japanese students to be taught in racially segregated schools.

1906   US President Theodore Roosevelt leaves for a trip to Panama to inspect the construction progress of the Panama Canal (this was the first time a sitting President of the United States made an official trip outside of the United States).

1907   A major American financial crisis was averted when J. P. Morgan, E. H. Harriman, James Stillman, Henry Clay Frick, and other Wall Street financiers created a $25,000,000 pool to invest in the shares on the plunging New York Stock Exchange leading to the bank panic of 1907.

1909   William Dickson Boyce, a United States businessman visiting London, England is introduced to members of the Scouting movement. The following year Boyce becomes founder of the Boy Scouts of America.

1909   United States troops leave Cuba after being there since the Spanish-American War.

1909   Construction begins on the Cape Cod Canal, which would separate Cape Cod from mainland Massachusetts, United States.

1909   Launching of The Rosicrucian Fellowship at Seattle, Washington. Later, in October 28 1911, its international headquarters, till today, were physically launched at Mount Ecclesia, Oceanside, California (United States) and the Healing Temple, "The Ecclesia", was launched in December 25 1920.

1909   Two United States warships are sent to Nicaragua after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) are executed by order of dictator Jos? Santos Zelaya.

1910   African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer James J. Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match sparking race riots across the United States.

1911   Mexican revolution - Rebels take Aqua Prieta besides US border. Government troops take the town back April 17 when the rebel leader "Red" Lopez is drunk

1913   First edition of the Christian Esoteric magazine Rays from the Rose Cross in the United States; still issued bimonthly till today.

1914   German troops invade neutral Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany after the latter fails to respect Belgian neutrality. The United States declares neutrality.

1914   A year after being created by passage of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States officially opens for business.

1915   U.S. recognizes government of President Venustiano Carranza of Mexico.

1915   US submarine F-4 sinks off Hawaii - 21 dead

1916   Woman's International Bowling Congress established in the US.

1916   Robert Baden-Powell founds Wolf Scouts in Britain, changed to Cub Scouts in the USA.

1916   President Woodrow Wilson sends 12,000 United States troops over the U.S.-Mexico border border to pursue Pancho Villa; 13th Cavalry regiment enters Mexican territory.

1916   First United States air combat mission in history as eight US planes take off in pursuit of Pancho Villa

1917   World War I: Conscription begins in the United States as "Army registration day."

1917   The United States enacts the Espionage Act.

1917   United States president Woodrow Wilson uses the Federal Possession and Control Act to take control of nearly all American railroads under the United States Railroad Administration so they can be more efficiently used to transport troops and materials for the war effort.

1919   January 16 — The 18th Amendment, authorizing Prohibition, goes into effect in the United States

1920   In the United States, KDKA AM of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (owned by Westinghouse) starts broadcasting as a commercial radio station. The first broadcast was the results of the U.S. presidential election, 1920.

1920   Foundation of The Rosicrucian Fellowship's Spiritual Healing Temple "The Ecclesia" at Mount Ecclesia, Oceanside, California (United States).

1921   The United States formally ends World War I, declaring a peace with Germany

1921   In the Four Power Treaty on Insular Possessions Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, and France agree to recognize the status quo in the Pacifi

1922   Five Power Naval Disarmament Treaty signed between United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy

1924   Death penalty: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.

1924   U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.

1924   Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming elected as the first woman governor in the United States.

1925   Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes the first female governor in the United States.

1929   Canada and the United States agree on a plan to preserve Niagara Falls.

1930   The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.

1931   The Castellemmarese War ends with the assassination of Joe "The Boss" Masseria, briefly leaving Salvatore Maranzano as ''capo di tutti i capi'', "boss of all bosses" and undisputed ruler of the American mafia. Maranzano is himself assassinated less than 6 months later, leading to the establishment of the Five Families

1931   The Star-Spangled Banner is adopted as the United States National anthem.

1932   The Revenue Act of 1932 is enacted, creating the first gas tax in the United States at 1 cent per US gallon (0.26 ¢/L) sold.

1933   Failed coup against Franklin Delano Roosevelt in United States (see Smedley Butler)

1933   The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.

1933   Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a "bank holiday", closing all United States banks and freezing all financial transactions (the 'holiday' ended on March 13).

1933   The U.S. Congress abrogates the United States' use of the gold standard by enacting a joint resolution (48 Stat. 112) nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold.

1933   Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

1933   The United States and the Soviet Union establish formal diplomatic relations.

1936   The Santa Fe railroad in the United States inaugurates the all-Pullman ''Super Chief'' passenger train between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California.

1936   A major heat wave strikes the Midwestern United States and Central Canada, hundreds of high temperature records are set and thousands die.

1937   Pennsylvania becomes the first (and only) of the United States to celebrate Flag Day officially as a state holiday.

1938   The Civil Aeronautics Act is signed into law, forming the Civil Aeronautics Authority in the United States.

1938   The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting the United States with Canada, is dedicated by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1938   Minimum wage established by law in the United States

1938   Orson Welles's radio adaptation of ''The War of the Worlds'' is broadcast, causing mass panic in various parts of the United States.

1939   World War II: The United States declares its neutrality in the war.

1939   Manhattan Project: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt is presented with a letter signed by Albert Einstein urging the United States to rapidly develop the atomic bomb.

1940   Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.

1940   World War II: Agreement between United States and Great Britain announced. Fifty U.S. destroyers needed for escort work transferred to Britain. In return, the United States gains 99-year leases on British bases in the North Atlantic, West Indies and Bermuda.

1940   World War II: Agreement between United States and Great Britain announced. Fifty U.S. destroyers needed for escort work transferred to Britain. In return, the United States gains 99-year leases on British bases in the North Atlantic, West Indies and Bermuda.

1940   World War II: The USS ''Greer'' becomes the first United States ship fired upon by a German submarine in the war, even though the United States is a neutral power. Tension heightens between the two nations as a result.

1940   World War II: The USS ''Greer'' becomes the first United States ship fired upon by a German submarine in the war, even though the United States is a neutral power. Tension heightens between the two nations as a result.

1940   World War II: Draft registration of approximately 16 million men begins in the United States.

1940   U.S. presidential election, 1940: Democrat incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Republican challenger Wendell Willkie and becomes the United States' first third-term president.

1940   Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a fireside chat to the nation, declares that the United States must become, "...the great arsenal of democracy."

1941   December 7, December 8 (in Japan standard time) - Japanese Navy launches a surprise attack consisting of two full regiments on the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor, thus drawing the United States into World War II.

1941   December 7, December 8 (in Japan standard time) - Japanese Navy launches a surprise attack consisting of two full regiments on the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor, thus drawing the United States into World War II.

1941   Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.

1941   World War II: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.

1941   World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa arrives in Honolulu, Hawaii and begins to study the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor.

1941   The first Defense Bonds and Defense Savings Stamps go on sale in the United States to help fund the greatly increased production of military equipment.

1941   World War II: 950 miles off the coast of Brazil, the freighter SS ''Robin Moor'' becomes the first United States ship sunk by a German U-boat. in May 1941]]

1941   All German and Italian assets in the United States are frozen.

1941   All German and Italian consulates in the United States are ordered closed and their staffs to leave the country by July 10th.

1941   World War II: American forces take over the defence of Iceland from the British

1941   World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indo-China, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the seizure of all Japanese assets in the United States.

1941   World War II: The USS ''Greer'' becomes the first United States ship fired upon by a German submarine in the war, even though the United States is a neutral power. Tension heightens between the two nations as a result.

1941   Charles Lindbergh, at an America First Committee rally in Des Moines, Iowa, accuses "the British, the Jewish, and the Roosevelt administration" of leading the United States toward war. Widespread condemnation of Lindbergh follows.

1941   World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - Joseph Grew, the United States ambassador to Japan, cables the State Department that Japan had plans to launch an attack against Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (his cable was ignored).

1941   World War II: The United States grants Lend-Lease to the Free French.

1941   US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States (this partly reversed a 1939 action by Roosevelt that changed the celebration of Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of November).

1941   World War II: The United States officially declares war on Japan.

1941   World War II: Germany declares war on the United States.

1941   Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan. United States seizes French ship Normandie.

1941   Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan. United States seizes French ship Normandie.

1942   World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom

1942   World War II: Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.

1942   World War II: the USS ''Langley'', the first United States aircraft carrier, is sunk by Japanese warplanes off Java.

1942   World War II: Japanese forces begin an all-out assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula. Bataan fell on April 9 and the Bataan Death March began.

1942   World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.

1942   World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.

1942   The United States opens its Office of War Information, a center for production of propaganda.

1942   World War II: Battle of the Atlantic - German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz orders the last U-boats to withdraw from their United States Atlantic coast positions in response to an effective American convoy system.

1942   World War II: Operation Torch - United States and United Kingdom forces land in French North Africa.

1942   World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal begins - A naval battle near Guadalcanal starts between Japanese and American forces.

1943   The United States and United Kingdom give up territorial rights in China.

1943   World War II: In the United States, it is announced that shoe rationing will go into effect in two days.

1943   World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal - United States forces defeat Japanese troops.

1943   World War II: Battle of the Kasserine Pass - German General Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps launch an offensive against Allied defenses in Tunisia; it is the United States' first major battle defeat of the war.

1943   The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, United States explodes, killing 74 men.

1943   World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea - United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.

1943   World War II: On Bougainville, Japanese troops end their assault on American forces at Hill 700.

1943   World War II: American troops invade Attu in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.

1943   World War II: Americans and Japanese fight the Battle of Kula Gulf off Kolombangara.

1943   World War II: Operation Gomorrah begins: British and Canadian aeroplanes bomb Hamburg by night, those of the Americans by day. By the end of the operation in November, 9,000 tons of explosives will have killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings.

1943   World War II: Americans and Japanese fight the Battle of Vella Gulf off Kolombangara.

1943   World War II: The 503rd Parachute Regiment under American General Douglas MacArthur lands and occupies Nadzab, just east of the port city of Lae in northeastern Papua New Guinea.

1943   World War II: United States General Dwight D. Eisenhower publicly announces the surrender of Italy to the Allies and the USAAF bombed the German General Headquarter for the Mediterranean zone Frascati bombing raid September 8, 1943.

1943   World War II: Americans and Japanese fight the naval Battle of Vella Lavella.

1943   World War II: In the early morning hours, American and Japanese ships fight the inconclusive Battle of Empress Augusta Bay off Bougainville.

1943   World War II: After flying from Britain, 160 American bombers strike a hydro-electric power facility and heavy water factory in German-controlled Vemork, Norway.

1943   World War II: Americans and Japanese fight the naval Battle of Cape St. George between Buka and New Ireland.

1943   Great Depression ends in the United States: With unemployment figures falling fast due to World War II-related employment, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt closes the Works Progress Administration.

1944   United States troops invade Majuro, Marshall Islands.

1944   United States troops land in the Marshall Islands.

1944   United States troops capture the Marshall Islands.

1944   The United States takes Eniwetok Island.

1944   Battle of Saipan: The United States invades Saipan.

1944   Battle of Guam - American troops land on Guam starting the battle (ends on August 10).

1945   High-altitude, west-to-east winds across the Pacific Ocean — discovered by the Japanese in 1942 and by Americans in 1944 — are dubbed the ''jet stream''.

1945   World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by American forces.

1945   World War II: United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war. The Battle of Okinawa starts.

1945   World War II: Elbe Day, United States and Soviet troops link up at the Elbe River, cutting Germany in two

1945   World War II: the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The United States detonates an atomic bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan at 8:16 AM (local time).

1945   The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States, and that nation becomes the third to join the new international organization. Soviets declare war on Japan.

1945   World War II: The United States detonates an atomic bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" over the city of Nagasaki, Japan at 11:02 AM (local time).

1945   Cold War: The United States controversially imports 88 German scientists to help in the production of rocket technology.

1945   By a vote of 65 to 7, the United States Senate approves the entry of the United States into the United Nations.

1946   Nuclear testing: In the first underwater test of the atomic bomb, the surplus USS ''Saratoga'' is sunk near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean when the United States detonates the "Baker Day" devi

1946   Senate and House elections in the United States both give majorities to the Republicans.

1946   Cold War: Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appeals to the United States and the Soviet Union to end nuclear testing and to start nuclear disarmament, stating that such an action would "save humanity from the ultimate disaster."

1947   Secretary of State Gen George Marshall outlines the Marshall Plan for U.S. aid to Europe.

1948   Cold War: President Harry S. Truman issues the second peacetime military draft in the United States amid increasing tensions with the Soviet Union (the first peacetime draft occurred in 1940 under President Roosevelt).

1949   The first Volkswagen Beetle to arrive in the United States, a 1948 model, is brought over to New York by Dutch businessman Ben Pon. Unable to interest dealers or importers in the Volkswagen, Pon sells the sample car to pay his travel expenses. Only two 1949 models will be sold in Ameri that year, convincing Volkswagen chairman Heinrich Nordhoff that the car has no future in the U.S. (The VW Beetle goes on to become the greatest automobile phenomenon in American history.)

1950   President Harry Truman sends United States military personnel to Vietnam to aid French forces.

1950   Phenomenal winter storm ravages the Northeast United States, brings 30 to 50 inches of snow, temperatures below zero, and kills 323 people.

1950   Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China move into North Korea and launch a massive counterattack against South Korean and American forces, ending any thought of a quick end to the conflict.

1950   Paula Ackerman becomes the first woman in the United States to serve a congregation as a Rabbi, a few weeks after the death of her husband.

1951   The United States, Australia and New Zealand all sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty (for "Australia, New Zealand, United States").

1951   Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.

1952   In the United States, a mechanical heart is used for the first time in a human patient.

1952   Puerto Rico becomes a self-governing commonwealth of the United States.

1952   Nuclear testing: Operation Ivy - The United States successfully detonates the first hydrogen bomb, codenamed "Mike", at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, with a yield of 10.4 megatons.

1953   President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb.

1953   Censorship: Georgia approves the first literature censorship board in the United States

1953   Nuclear testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.

1953   Korean War ends: The United States, People's Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea sign an armistice agreement.

1953   Cold War: US President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves the top secret document National Security Council Paper No. 162/2, which states that the United States' arsenal of nuclear weapons must be maintained and expanded to counter the communist threat.

1954   The TV Dinner is introduced by American, Gerry Thomas.

1954   The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union meet at the Berlin Conference.

1954   President Dwight Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam

1954   On United States Flag Day, the words "under God" added to the Pledge of Allegiance

1955   WBBJ signs on the air in the United States as WDXI

1955   KXTV signs on the air in the United States

1955   Hurricane Diane hits the northeast United States, killing 200 and causing over $1 billion in damage.

1956   Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Huaorani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.

1956   Elvis Presley enters the United States music charts for the first time, with "Heartbreak Hotel."

1957   Cold War: In the United States, the Gaither Report calls for more American missiles and fallout shelters.

1957   First U.S. attempt to launch a satellite fails, the rocket blowing up on the launch pad.

1958   The United States conducts Operation Argus during August and September

1958   Based on birth rates (per 1,000 population), the post-war baby boom ended in the United States as an eleven-year decline in the birth rate began - the longest on record in that country

1958   The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite

1958   A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada

1959   The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.

1959   Frank Lloyd Wright, arguably the most influential American architect of the 20th century dies from an abdominal obstruction.

1959   Explorer program: The United States launches Explorer 6 from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1959   Lee Harvey Oswald announces in Moscow he won't ever return to U.S.

1959   Cold War: Antarctic Treaty signed - 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign a landmark treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on that continent (this was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War).

1960   March 6 — Vietnam War: The United States announces that 3,500 American soldiers are going to be sent to Vietnam.

1960   April 1 — The United States launches the first weather satellite, TIROS-1.

1960   May 20 — In Japan, police carry away Socialist members of the Diet; Parliament then approves a security treaty with the United States.

1960   August 6 — Cuban Revolution: In response to a United States embargo, Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.

1960   December 2 — U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the use of $1M for the relief and resettlement of Cuban refugees in Florida. Cuban refugees have been arriving in Florida at the rate of 1,000 a week.

1960   December 16 — U.S. Secretary of State Christian Herter announces that the United States will commit 5 atomic submarines and 80 Polaris missiles to NATO by the end of 1963.

1960   December 19 — Fire sweeps through the ''USS Constellation'', the U.S.'s largest aircraft carrier, while it is under construction at a Brooklyn Navy Yard pier, injuring 150 and killing 50.

1961   President Dwight Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba.

1961   Ham, a 37 pound male chimpanzee, is rocketed into space aboard Mercury-Redstone 2, in a test of the Project Mercury capsule, designed to carry U.S. astronauts into spa on trial for crimes against humanity in a court in Jerusalem, Israel.]]

1961   A Sabena Boeing 707 crashes near Brussels, Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team and several coaches.

1961   Mercury program: Gus Grissom, piloting the Mercury-Redstone 4 capsule ''Liberty Bell 7'', becomes the second American to go into space (sub-orbital).

1961   A standoff between Soviet and American tanks in Berlin, Germany heightens Cold War tensions.

1962   Leonardo da Vinci's ''Mona Lisa'' is exhibited in the United States for the first time (National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC).

1962   The United States Government bans all U.S.-related Cuban imports and exports.

1962   The Canadian Alouette 1, the first satellite built outside the United States and the Soviet Union, is launched from Vandenberg AFB in California.

1962   Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U-2 flight over Cuba takes photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed. A stand-off then ensues the next day between the United States and the Soviet Union, putting the entire world under threat of a nuclear war.

1963   End of the Mercury program of United States manned spaceflight.

1963   The Whisky a Go Go night club in Los Angeles, the first disco in the USA, is opened.

1963   Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy Administration.

1963   The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.

1963   Vietnam War: New U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson confirms that the United States intends to continue supporting South Vietnam militarily and economically.

1964   A British firm, the Leyland Motor Corp., announces the sale of 450 buses to the Cuban government, challenging the United States blockade of Cuba.

1964   ''Meet the Beatles'', the first Beatles album in the United States, is released.

1964   In the United States, the Ford Mustang is officially unveiled to the publi

1964   The Warren Commission Report, the first official investigation of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy, is published.

1965   NASA launches ''Gemini 3'', with the United States' first 2-person crew, into Earth orbit (Gus Grissom and John Young).

1965   Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.

1965   Fidel Castro announces that anyone who wants to can immigrate to the United States.

1965   Vietnam War: The anti-war, student-run National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam stages the first public burning of a draft card in the United States.

1965   Freedom Flights begin: Cuba and the United States formally agree to start an airlift for Cubans who want to go to the United States (by 1971 250,000 Cubans take advantage of this program).

1965   Vietnam War: Battle of the Ia Drang begins - In the Ia Drang Valley of the Central Highlands in Vietnam, the first major engagement of the war between regular American and North Vietnamese forces begins.

1965   Vietnam War: The Pentagon tells U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson that if planned major sweep operations to neutralize Viet Cong forces during the next year are to succeed, the number of American troops in Vietnam will have to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000.

1965   The British government begins an oil embargo against Rhodesia; the United States joins the effort.

1966   Lyndon Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.

1966   The Beatles: In an interview published in The London ''Evening Standard'', John Lennon comments, "We're more popular than Jesus now," eventually sparking a controversy in the United States.

1966   Demonstrations are held across the United States against the Vietnam War.

1966   The Beatles release ''Revolver (album)'' in the United States.

1966   An East German court sentences Günter Laudahn to life imprisonment for espionage for the United States.

1966   The Cuban Adjustment Act comes into force, allowing 123,000 Cubans the opportunity to apply for permanent residence in the United States.

1967   LSD declared a Schedule I drug by the United States government.

1967   The USA, Soviet Union and UK sign the Outer Space Treaty.

1967   Joseph Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva, defects to the USA via the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi.

1967   The Soviet Union ratifies a treaty with the United States and the United Kingdom, banning nuclear weapons from outer spa

1967   The town of Winneconne, Wisconsin, announces secession from the United States because it is not included in the official maps and declares war. Secession is repealed the next day.

1967   Race riots in the United States spread to Washington, D.C..

1967   The People's Republic of China announces that it has shot down American planes violating its airspa

1967   Vietnam War: Operation Swift begins - The United States Marines launch a search and destroy mission in Quang Nam and Quang Tin Provinces. The ensuing 4-day battle in Que Son Valley kills 114 Americans and 376 North Vietnamese.

1967   Vietnam War: Battle of Dak To begins - Around Dak To (located about 280 miles north of Saigon near the Cambodian border) heavy casualties are suffered on both sides (the Americans narrowly win the battle on November 22).

1967   Vietnam War: In a propaganda ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 3 American prisoners of war are released by the Viet Cong and turned over to "New Left" antiwar activist Tom Hayden.

1967   Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland tells news reporters: "I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing."

1967   Vietnam War: US and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta (235 of the 300-strong Viet Cong battalion are killed).

1968   Viet Cong soldiers attack the United States Embassy in Saigon.

1968   Vietnam War: Operation Sealords - United States and South Vietnamese forces launch a new operation in the Mekong Delta.

1969   After 147 years, the last issue of the ''Saturday Evening Post'' (a US Magazine) is published.

1969   Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This starts the "Vietnamization" of the war.

1969   Vietnam War: Hundreds of thousands of people take part in National Moratorium antiwar demonstrations across the United States.

1969   Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States meet in Helsinki, to begin the SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.

1969   Vietnam War: The first draft lottery in the United States is held since World War II (on January 4, 1970, the ''New York Times'' will run a long article, "Statisticians Charge Draft Lottery Was Not Random").

1970   President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, banning cigarette television advertisements in the United States, starting on January 1, 1971.

1970   Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will withdraw 40,000 more troops before Christmas.

1970   Vietnam War: Vietnamization - The United States turns control of the air base in the Mekong Delta to South Vietnam.

1970   Vietnam War: The United States Military Assistance Command in Vietnam reports the lowest weekly American soldier death toll in five years (24 soldiers died that week, which was the fifth consecutive week the death toll was below 50; 431 were reported wounded that week, however).

1970   Vietnam War: Vietnamization - For the first time in five years, an entire week ends with no reports of United States combat fatalities in Southeast Asia.

1971   Johnny Cash, the American country and western singer, writes a song titled ''The Man in Black''.

1971   A ban on television cigarette advertisements goes into effect in the United States.

1971   Amtrak begins operation of inter-city rail passenger service in the United States.

1971   Representatives of Japan and the United States sign the Okinawa Reversion Agreement, whereby the U.S. would return control of Okinawa.

1971   Right to vote: The voting age in the United States is reduced from 21 to 18 (provision of the 26th Amendment formally certified by President Richard Nixon on this day).

1971   President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system.

1971   Vietnam War: Vietnamization - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon sets February 1, 1972 as the deadline for the removal of another 45,000 American troops from Vietnam.

1972   Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue offensive - Prompted by the North Vietnamese offensive, the United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong.

1972   The United States returns Okinawa to Japan.

1972   The United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.

1972   US President Richard Nixon approves legislation to increase Social Security spending by US$5.3 billion.

1972   Vietnam War: The United States loses its first B-52 Stratofortress of the war.

1972   Vietnam War: White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler tells the press that there will be no more public announcements concerning American troop withdrawals from Vietnam due to the fact that troop levels are now down to 27,000.

1973   Sino-American relations: Following President Richard Nixon's visit to mainland China, the United States and the People's Republic of China agree to establish liaison offices.

1973   The last United States soldiers leave Vietnam.

1973   ''Skylab'', the United States' first space station, is launched.

1973   Spiro T. Agnew resigns as Vice President of the United States and then, in federal court in Baltimore, pleads no contest to charges of income tax evasion on $29,500 he received in 1967, while he was governor of Maryland. He is fined $10,000 and put on three years' probation.

1973   Egypt and Israel sign a United States-sponsored cease-fire accord.

1974   In response to the energy crisis, Daylight Saving Time commences nearly four months early in the United States.

1974   Oil embargo crisis: Most OPEC nations end a 5-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.

1974   Restrictions on holding private gold within the United States, implemented by Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, are removed.

1975   Ella Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, becoming the first woman to serve as a Governor in the United States who did not succeed her husband.

1975   In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly two months early in the United States.

1975   Mayaguez incident: Khmer Rouge forces in Cambodia seize the American merchant ship SS ''Mayaguez'' in international waters.

1975   An independent audit of Mattel, one of the United States' largest toy manufacturers, reveals that company officials fabricated press releases and financial information to "maintain the appearance of continued corporate growth."

1976   In North Korea at Panmunjom, two US soldiers are killed while trying to chop down part of a tree in the Demilitarized Zone which had obscured their view.

1976   Cold War: Soviet air force pilot Lt. Viktor Belenko lands a MiG-25 jet fighter at Hakodate, on the island of Hokkaido in Japan, and requests political asylum from the United States.

1977   Snow falls in Miami, Florida (despite its ordinarily tropical climate) for the only time in its history. Snowfall has occurred farther south in the United States only on the high mountains of the state of Hawaii.

1977   American Roy Sullivan is struck by lightning for the 7th time.

1977   Voyager program: The United States launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

1977   Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The U.S. agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century.

1977   A nuclear non-proliferation pact is signed by 15 countries, including the United States and the USSR.

1977   ''Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols'' is released in the U.S..

1978   The Hungarian Holy Crown (also known as Stephen of Hungary Crown) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held since World War II.

1978   In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International, the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opens.

1979   The United States and the People's Republic of China establish full diplomatic relations.

1979   The Music for UNICEF Concert is held at the United Nations General Assembly to raise money for UNICEF and promote the Year of the Child. It is broadcast the following day in the United States and around the world.

1979   The Chrysler Corporation asks the United States government for $1 billion to avoid bankruptcy.

1979   A major gay rights march in the United States takes place in Washington, DC, involving many tens of thousands of people.

1979   Iran hostage crisis: Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urges his people to demonstrate on November 4 and to expand attacks on United States and Israeli interests.

1979   Iran hostage crisis begins: 3000 Iranian radicals, mostly students, invade the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and take 90 hostages (53 of whom are American). They demand that the United States send the former Shah back to Iran to stand trial.

1979   Iran hostage crisis: In response to the hostage situation in Tehran, U.S. President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all oil imports into the United States from Iran.

1979   Iran hostage crisis: U.S. President Jimmy Carter issues Executive Order 12170, freezing all Iranian assets in the United States and U.S. banks in response to the hostage crisis.

1979   Iran hostage crisis: Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini orders the release of 13 female and black American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

1979   After false radio reports from the Ayatollah Khomeini that the Americans had occupied the Great Mosque in Mecca, the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan is attacked by a mob and set afire, killing 4. (see: Foreign relations of Pakistan)

1980   Six American diplomats, posing as Canadians, manage to escape from Tehran, Iran as they board a flight to Zurich, Switzerland and thereby end the Canadian caper operation.

1980   The United States Olympic Hockey Team defeats the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the Winter Olympics, in the ''Miracle on Ice''.

1980   U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

1980   The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes economic sanctions, following the taking of American hostages on Sunday, November 4, 1979.

1980   The Staggers Rail Act is enacted, deregulating American railroads.

1981   United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.

1981   Gulf of Sidra incident (1981). Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi sends two Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets to intercept two US fighters over the Gulf of Sidra. The American jets destroy the Libyan fighters.

1982   The United States places an embargo on Libyan oil imports, alleging Libyan support of terrorist groups.

1983   U.S. playwright Tennessee Williams is found dead in his hotel room.

1983   Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

1983   ''Return of the Jedi'' opens in the United States.

1983   United States troops invade Grenada at the behest of Eugenia Charles of Dominica, a member of the Organization of American States.

1983   The first US cruise missiles arrive at Greenham Common Airbase in England amid protests from peace campaigners.

1984   The United States and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations.

1984   United States Marines pull out of Beirut, Lebanon.

1984   In Jackson, Michigan, a factory robot crushes a worker against a safety bar in what is apparently the first robot-related death in the United States.

1984   Capital punishment: Velma Barfield becomes the first woman executed in the United States since 1962, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

1984   Four African-American youths (Barry Allen, Troy Canty, James Ramseur, and Darrell Cabey) board an express train in The Bronx borough of New York City. They attempt to rob Bernhard Hugo Goetz, who shoots them. The event starts a national debate about urban crime, which is a plague in 1980s America.

1985   Arrow Air Flight 1285, a DC-8, crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland, killing 256, 248 of whom were U.S. servicemen returning to Fort Campbell, Kentucky from overseeing a peacekeeping force in Sinai.

1986   April 5 La Belle discotheque bombing: The West Berlin discotheque, a known hangout for U.S. soldiers, is bombed, killing 3 and injuring 230; Libya is held responsible.

1986   At least 15 people die after USA planes bomb targets in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the Benghazi region as part of Operation El Dorado Canyon.

1986   Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.

1986   United States District Court Judge Harry E. Claiborne becomes the fifth federal official to be removed from office through impeachment.

1986   Iran-Contra Affair: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the United States has been selling weapons to Iran in secret in order to secure the release of 7 American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.

1987   Varroa destructor, an invasive parasite, is found in the U.S.

1987   The US military detonates an atomic weapon at the Nevada Test Site.

1987   Delaware, the first state admitted to the Union, celebrates its bicentennial.

1988   The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is established, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.

1988   Iran-Contra Affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

1988   With US$2 billion in federal aid, the Robert M. Bass Group agrees to buy the United States's largest thrift, American Savings and Loan Association.

1989   Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first African American to lead a major American political party.

1989   The Berne Convention, an international treaty on copyrights, is ratified by the United States.

1989   Gun control: U.S. President George H. W. Bush bans the importation of certain guns deemed assault weapons into the United States.

1989   NATO debates modernising short range missiles; although the U.S. and UK are in favour, West German chancellor Helmut Kohl obtains a concession deferring a decision.

1989   Douglas Wilder wins the governor's seat in Virginia, becoming the first elected African American governor in the United States.

1990   The former leader of Panama, Manuel Noriega, surrenders to American forces.

1990   Twelve paintings, collectively worth from $100 to $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts by 2 thieves posing as police officers. This is the largest art theft in US history, and the paintings (as of 2006) have not been recovered.

1990   Propaganda: The United States begins broadcasting TV Martí to Cuba.

1991   US serial killer Aileen Wuornos confesses to the murders of 6 men.

1991   Gulf War: Two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy an underground bunker in Baghdad, killing hundreds of Iraqis. Iraqi officials claim that the bunker was a bomb shelter, but United States military intelligence identified it as a military facility.

1991   In Iraq, Saddam Hussein releases 6 U.S., 3 British and 1 Italian prisoner of war.

1991   Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.

1992   Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.

1992   The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal Court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal Disaster case, and orders the Indian government to press for an extradition from United States.

1992   A 'Joint Understanding' agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this is later codified in START II).

1992   Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison, fearing extradition to the United States.

1992   The Food and Drug Administration approves Depo Provera for use as a contraceptive in the United States.

1992   UN Security Council Resolution 794 is unanimously passed, approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, tasked with ensuring humanitarian aid gets distributed and establishing peace in Somalia.

1993   The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers flood large portions of the American Midwest.

1993   IBM announces a $4.97 billion loss for 1992 (the largest single-year corporate loss in United States history).

1993   Internal Revenue Service of the United States granted full religious recognition and tax exemption to all Church of Scientology missions and social betterment groups..

1994   US F-16 pilots shoot down four Serbian fighter aircraft over Bosnia for violation of the Operation Deny Flight and its no-fly zone.

1994   A planned exchange rate correction of the Mexican Peso to the US Dollar, becomes a massive financial meltdown in Mexico, unleashing the 'Tequila' effect on global financial markets. This will prompt a US$ 50 billion 'bailout' by the Clinton administration.

1995   Midwestern United States heat wave: An unprecedented heat wave strikes the Midwestern United States for most of the month. Temperatures exceed 104°F (40°C) in the afternoon in numerous cities for 5 straight days. At least 3000 people die, 750 in Chicago, Illinois alone.

1995   Midwestern United States heat wave: An unprecedented heat wave strikes the Midwestern United States for most of the month. Temperatures exceed 104°F (40°C) in the afternoon in numerous cities for 5 straight days. At least 3000 people die, 750 in Chicago, Illinois alone.

1995   United States President Bill Clinton invokes emergency powers to extend a $20 billion loan to help Mexico avert financial collapse.

1995   Hacking: Kevin Mitnick is arrested by the FBI and charged with breaking into some of the United States' most "secure" computers systems.

1995   In Denver, Colorado, the old Stapleton Airport closes; it is replaced by a new Denver International Airport, the largest airport in the United States.

1995   The Weekly Standard, an influential American conservative magazine, makes its debut.

1996   A plane carrying US Commerce Secretary Ron Brown crashes near Dubrovnik, Croatia.

1996   ''Doctor Who'' makes its return to British television for the first time since 1989. Paul McGann starred in the US-made movie which pitted the Doctor against Eric Roberts' Master.

1996   The 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, is opened by U.S. President Bill Clinton.

1997   In Ottawa, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign a treaty prohibiting the manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines. The United States, the People's Republic of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty, however.

1998   Karla Faye Tucker is executed in Texas, becoming the first woman executed in the United States since 1984 and the first to be executed in Texas since the American Civil War.

1998   The presidential line-item veto is declared unconstitutional by a United States federal judge.

1998   United States authorities announce that Eric Rudolph is a suspect in an Alabama abortion clinic bombing.

1998   Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein negotiates a deal with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, allowing weapons inspectors to return to Baghdad, preventing military action by the U.S. and Britain.

1998   American troops stationed in the Persian Gulf begin to receive the first vaccinations against anthrax.

1998   The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for male impotence, the first pill to be approved to treat this condition in the United States.

1998   India carries out two more nuclear tests at Pokhran. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.

1998   Nuclear testing: In response to a series of Indian nuclear tests, Pakistan explodes 5 nuclear devices of its own in the Chaghai hills of Baluchistan, prompting the United States, Japan and other nations to impose economic sanctions.

1998   Japan launches a probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space-exploring nation.

1998   1998 United States embassy bombings: The bombings of the United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya kill 224 people and injure over 4,500; they are linked to Osama Bin Laden.

1998   1998 U.S. embassy bombings: The United States military launches cruise missile attacks against alleged Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum is destroyed in the attack.

1998   Iraq disarmament crisis: The U.S. Congress passes the "Iraq Liberation Act", which states that the United States wants to remove Saddam Hussein from power and replace the government with a democratic institution.

1998   STS-95: The Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' blasts-off with 77-year old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into spa He became the first American to orbit the Earth on Tuesday, February 20, 1962.

1998   In the largest civil settlement in United States history, a federal judge approves a US$1.03 billion settlement requiring dozens of brokerage houses (including Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Salomon Smith Barney) to pay investors who claim they were cheated in a wide-spread price-fixing scheme on the NASDAQ.

1998   Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq announces its intention to fire upon US and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern "no-fly zones".

1999   Monica Lewinsky's book detailing her affair with Bill Clinton goes on sale in the United States.

2000   ''United States v. Microsoft'': Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust laws by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors.

2001   The United States executes Timothy James McVeigh for the Oklahoma City Bombing.

2001   The United States invades Afghanistan, with participation from the United Kingdom.

2001   War on Terrorism: In the first such act since World War II, U.S. President George W. Bush signs an executive order allowing military tribunals against any foreigners suspected of having connections to terrorist acts or planned acts against the United States.

2001   Lisa Beamer, wife of Todd Beamer, through the Todd M. Beamer Foundation, registers the trademark "Let's Roll" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office less than three months after his death in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

2001   The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade status with the United States.

2002   U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announces that American Taliban member John Walker Lindh will be tried in the United States.

2002   Nuclear waste: The U.S. Secretary of Energy makes the decision that Yucca Mountain is suitable to be the United States' nuclear repository.

2002   Four Canadian infantrymen are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from 2 U.S. F-16s.

2002   Telecommunications giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (the largest such filing in United States history).

2002   Iran bans the advertising of U.S. products.

2002   A Campaign against Climate Change march takes place in London from Lincoln's Inn Fields, past Esso offices to the United States Embassy.

2003   Iraq disarmament crisis: The leaders of Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Denmark, and the Czech Republic release a statement, The Letter of the Eight, demonstrating support for the United States' plans to invade Iraq. , during world-wide protests against war in Iraq.]] '' cover]].

2003   The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island claims the lives of 100 people, the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in United States history.

2003   Iraq disarmament crisis: The leaders of the United States, Britain, Portugal, and Spain meet at a summit in the Azores Islands. U.S. President Bush calls March 17th the "moment of truth", meaning that the "coalition of the willing" will make its final effort to extract a resolution from the U.N. Security Council, giving Iraq an ultimatum to disarm immediately or be disarmed by for

2003   Facing an investigation surrounding allegations of illegal drug use, American right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh publicly admits that he is addicted to prescription pain killers, and will seek treatment.

2003   A BSE (mad cow disease) outbreak in Washington State is announced. Several countries including Brazil, Australia and Taiwan ban the import of beef from the United States of America.

2004   The G8 Summit takes place over the next 2 days on Sea Island, in Georgia, USA.

2004   A videotape of Osama Bin Laden speaking airs on Arabic TV, in which he threatens terrorist attacks on the United States, and taunts the president, George W. Bush, over the September 11 Terrorist attacks.

2004   David Bieber, a 38-year-old former American marine, is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a Leeds policeman and the attempted murder of two others following an incident on 26 December 2003. The trial judge reccomends that he should never be released from prison.

2004   The Colombian government extradites Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, one of the most powerful drug dealers in the world, arrested in 1995 and 2003, to the United States.

2004   Simón Trinidad, high-profiled FARC leader, is extradited to the United States, following the second extradition of a high drug dealer in a month and in 2004.

2005   North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.

2005   The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.

2005   A Volna booster rocket carrying the first light sail spacecraft (a joint Russian-United States project) fails 83 seconds after its launch, destroying the spacecraft.

2005   U.S. helicopters and warplanes bomb 2 villages near Ramadi in western Iraq, killing about 70 people.

2005   A U.S. Federal Air Marshal fatally shoots Rigoberto Alpizar on a jetway at Miami International Airport in Florida.