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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 Europe
an 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 America
n 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
veto
s a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. state
s. 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 | 
Timeline
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