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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.
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