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1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano is the first European to sight the island of Manhattan
, the future New York City.
1626 The Dutch settle Manhattan
, founding the town of New Amsterdam
. The town would transform into a piece of what is now New York City.
1653 New Amsterdam
(later renamed New York City) is incorporated.
1654 Twenty-three Jew
ish refugees from Brazil
settle in New Amsterdam
, forming the nucleus of what would be the largest urban Jewish community in history, the Jewish community of New York City.
1657 Jew
s of New Amsterdam
(later New York City) granted freedom of religion
.
1665 England
installs a municipal government in New York City. This was the former Dutch
settlement of New Amsterdam
.
1686 New York City and Albany, New York
are granted city charters by the colonial governor.
1688 Peter Delanoy succeeds Stephanus Van Cortlandt
as mayor of New York City.
1709 Trinity School is founded as the Charity School of Trinity Church in New York City.
1756 St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern).
1776 American Revolutionary War: An angry mob in New York City topples the equestrian statue of George III in Bowling Green.
1776 American Revolutionary War: Nathan Hale executed in New York City for espionage.
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.
1781 Graves gives up trying to break through the now-reinforced French fleet and returns to New York
, leaving Cornwallis to his fate.
1783 American Revolutionary War
: The last British
troops leave New York City three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris
.
1783 At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, US General George Washington
formally bids his officers farewell.
1789 At Federal Hall
in New York City, the first U.S. Congress meets and declares the new Constitution of the United States to be in effect.
1789 At Federal Hall
in New York City, the United States House of Representatives
holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg
of Pennsylvania
as its first House Speaker.
1789 George Washington
is inaugurated at Federal Hall
in New York City, beginning his term as the 1st President of the United States
1790 In New York City the Supreme Court of the United States
convenes for the first time.
1793 New York City's first daily newspaper, the American Minerva, is established by Noah Webster
.
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.
1817 The General Convention of the Episcopal Church
founded General Theological Seminary while meeting in New York City.
1820 86 free African American
colonists sail from New York City to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
1827 Freedom's Journal, the first African-American owned and published newspaper in the United States, is founded in New York City by John Russwurm.
1831 Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City.
1836 New Board brokerage group founded in New York City.
1843 The Virginia Minstrels perform the first minstrel show (Bowery Amphitheatre, New York City).
1843 In New York City, Henry Jones and 11 others found B'nai B'rith (the oldest Jew
ish service organization in the world).
1844 First ever international cricket
match is played in New York City between Canada
and the United States
.
1849 In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first President of the United States
to have his photograph
taken.
1854 Election of New York City mayor Fernando Wood begins the ascendancy of Tammany Hall
.
1857 Elisha Otis' first elevator is installed (at 488 Broadway, New York City)
1863 The world-famous midgets General Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren get married in New York City. P. T. Barnum
takes an entrance fee
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
.
1867 In a New York City theater, British author Charles Dickens
gives his first public reading in the United States
.
1868 In New York City the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE).
1872 In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art
closes for "urban renovation".
1873 Central Park
is officially completed in New York City, New York
.
1874 New York City annexes The Bronx
1875 Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed
escapes from prison and flees to Cuba
, then to Spain
.
1876 An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco, California
via the First Transcontinental Railroad, 83 hours and 39 minutes after leaving New York City.
1876 Corrupt Tammany Hall
leader William Marcy Tweed (better known as Boss Tweed
) is delivered to authorities in New York City after being captured in Spain
.
1877 At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens (ends May 11).
1879 At New York City's Madison Square Garden
the first artificial ice rink in North America
opens.
1879 New York City's Gilmores Garden is renamed Madison Square Garden
by William Henry Vanderbilt
and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.
1880 Vaudeville actress Lillian Russell makes her debut at Tony Pastor's Theatre in New York City.
1882 The first United States
Labor Day parade is held in New York City.
1883 In New York City, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge
was going to collapse causes a stampede which crushes twelve people.
1885 The Statue of Liberty
arrives in New York Harbor
.
1891 The Music Hall in New York
(now known as Carnegie Hall
) has its grand opening and first public performance, with maestro Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
as the guest conductor.
1894 In New York City, 12,000 tailors strike
against sweatshop working conditions.
1896 Cherry Sisters perform in Olympia Music Hall in New York City. At first audience is stunned but then begins to answer with catcalls...
1897 Brooklyn, New York merges with New York City.
1898 New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan
, Brooklyn
, Queens, The Bronx
, and Staten Island
.
1899 Queens and Staten Island merge with New York City.
1900 The first Electric bus becomes operational in New York City
1900 New York City Mayor Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan
and Brooklyn.
1903 In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
1904 A fire aboard the steamboat ''General Slocum'' in New York City's East River kills 1000.
1908 A ball signifying New Year's Day
drops in New York City's Times Square
for the first time
1908 A train collision occurs in the Park Avenue Tunnel in New York City killing 17, injuring 38 and leading to increased demand for electric trains.
1908 New York City passes a law, the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for aliens to smoke in public only to be vetoed by the mayor.
1908 Start of the first around-the-world car race, from New York
to Paris
.
1910 New York
socialite Dorothy Arnold disappears. Her family does not notify the police
until six weeks later, after their own investigations fail to produce any results.
1911 Fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City - 145 dead
1913 New York City's Grand Central Terminal opens as the world's largest train station.
1913 The Armory Show opens in New York City. It displays works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century
1914 Copyright
: In New York City the ASCAP (for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
1917 ''Why Marry?'', first dramatic play to win a Pulitzer Prize
, opens at the Astor Theatre in New York City.
1918 May 15 — The Post Office Department (later renamed the USPS
) begins the first regular airmail service in the world (between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC).
1920 The Wall Street bombing: a bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front of the J.P.Morgan building in New York City - 39 dead, 400 injured
1924 Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin, first performed in New York City at Aeolian Hall.
1924 In the New York City the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held.
1925 New York City becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from London
.
1927 First transatlantic telephone
call - New York City to London
1927 In New York City, the Roxy Theatre is opened by Samuel Roxy Rothafel.
1927 A ticker-tape parade is held for aviator Charles Lindbergh
down 5th Avenue in New York City.
1927 The Holland Tunnel opens to traffic as the first Hudson River
vehicular tunnel linking New Jersey
to New York City.
1928 W2XBS, RCA
's first television station, is established in New York City.
1928 Mexican
aviator Emilio Carranza dies in a solo plane crash in the New Jersey Pine Barrens while returning from a goodwill flight to New York City.
1928 At Park Central Hotel in Manhattan
, Arnold Rothstein, New York City's most notorious gambler, is shot to death over a poker game.
1929 Febuuary 11 - Eugene O'Neill
's ''Dynamo'' premieres in New York
1929 In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art opens to the publi
1931 Construction of the Empire State Building
is completed in New York City
1933 The New York City-based Postal Telegraph Company introduces the first singing telegram.
1933 The original film version of ''King Kong'', starring Fay Wray
, premieres at Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy Theater in New York City.
1935 Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in New York City by William G. Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith.
1936 Max Schmeling knocks out Joe Louis
in the twelfth round of their heavyweight boxing
match at Yankee Stadium
in New York City.
1936 Abraham Lincoln Brigade sails from New York City on its way to Spanish Civil War | 
Timeline
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