Timeline of Major Events & Inventions

Timeline of Events & Inventions

Knowing what major events were happening or what technologies were available to your ancestors during their lifetime could be useful when researching your family's history. For example, if they lived after 1839, there may be a photograph of them out there somewhere. If they lived after 1827, they may have been associated with or migrated west on the newly built railroads. If they died in New England in 1636, they could have been killed in the Pequot War.

Browse the timeline below or enter a span of years to see events occurring within that time period. You can also search for an event, subject, or year. (This timeline is a work in progress. More events are added periodically.)

Search

No matches found

Start Year

End Year

Error. End date must be after start date.

1524	Giovanni da Verrazzano explores New York
1540	Mabila (now Alabama) destroyed by Spanish soldiers
1550	Confederation of the Six Nations founded at Onondaga, New York
1560	The Bible is translated into English for the first time
1605	George Weymouth explores New England
1605	Gunpowder Plot of 1605 (England)
1606	The Plymouth Company and London Company are granted charters to establish settlements
1607	The Separatist Church (Puritans) breaks away from the Church of England
1607	Colonists arrive at Jamestown and establish a settlement
1607 Jan 30	British Channel Floods (Tsunami in England)
1609	The Starving Time at Jamestown
1609	Beaver Wars between the Iroquois and French (1609-1701)
1609 Sep 3	Henry Hudson sailed into New York's harbor
1610	Anglo-Powhatan Wars begin (1610-1646 intermittently)
1611	King James Bible translation completed and published
1614	Peace is made between the Powhatan Confederacy and the Virginia Colony
1618	The Thirty Years War begins in Central Europe (1618-1648)
1619	House of Burgesses first meeting in Virginia Colony
1619	The first African slaves brought to the Virginia Colony
1620 Dec 15	The Mayflower arrives at Cape Cod
1620 Sep 16	Mayflower departs from England
1621	The ship Fortune arrives at Plymouth
1622	Jamestown Massacre
1624	Dorchester Company attempts a settlement at Cape Ann
1624	Dutch West India Company founds New Netherland (New York and New Jersey)
1624	Virginia becomes a crown colony after Virginia Company fails
1625	Charles I becomes King of England, marking a new era (1625-1649)
1625	New Amsterdam (NY) founded by the Dutch West India Company
1626	Salem, Massachusetts is founded
1627	George Calvert abandons the Province of Avalon
1628	The Mohawks defeat the Mahicans (1624-1628)
1628	Massachusetts Bay Colony founded (1628-1692)
1629	Patroon system implemented by Kiliaen van Rensselaer
1629	The Cambridge Agreement signed
1630	First meeting of the Massachusetts General Court
1630	John Winthrop preaches his City upon a Hill sermon
1630	Puritans found 11 settlements including Boston (Massachusetts)
1632	George Calvert obtains charter to settle the Province of Maryland
1632	Tax Protest at Watertown, Massachusetts
1634	First English settlements in the Connecticut River Valley (1634-1636)
1634	First English settlers arrive at Maryland
1634	The eight Shires of Virginia named by the House of Burgesses
1635	Providence Plantations (Rhode Island) founded by Roger Williams
1635	Saybrook Colony established
1636	Pequot War
1636	The first university in the colonies (Harvard) founded
1636	Connecticut Colony founded by Thomas Hooker
1637	New Haven Colony is formed (Connecticut)
1637	Anne Hutchinson expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony
1638	The First Baptist Church in America established
1638	New Sweden (Delaware) founded by the Swedish
1642	The English Civil War begins (1642-1651)
1643	Kieft's War
1643	Founding of The New England Confederation
1644	Saybrook Colony incorporated into Connecticut Colony
1644	Second Native American Massacre (1644-1646)
1644	The Plundering Time of civil unrest in Maryland (1644-1646)
1644	Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations charter granted
1648	The Cambridge Platform (religious constitution of Massachusetts) written
1649	Charles I of England is killed
1651	Virginia acknowledges the Parliament of England's authority
1655	The Dutch take control of New Sweden
1655	Peach Tree War
1655	Battle of the Severn fought in Maryland
1656	The first Quakers arrive in New England
1658	Death of Oliver Cromwell
1659	Esopus Wars
1660	Restoration of the monarchy in England; Charles II becomes king
1660	The execution of Quaker, Mary Dyer, the first of the four Boston martyrs
1660	Navigation Acts established by the English to regulate exports from the colonies
1662	House of Burgesses slave declaration
1662	The Half-Way Covenant adopted
1662	New Haven Colony incorporated into the Connecticut Colony
1663	Province of Carolina created upon charter granted by Crown
1664	Second Anglo-Dutch War (New York captured by England)
1665	The Duke of York Laws issued in New York
1666	The Great Fire of London
1667	The Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667) results in Treaty of Breda
1669	The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina are written
1670	Old Charles Town (West Virginia) is founded
1673	Third Navigation Act regulates trade within the colonies
1673	Land rights in Virginia granted to Thomas Colepeper and Henry Bennet
1674	The Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672-1674) results in the Treaty of Westminster
1674	Charters granted for the Provinces of East Jersey and West Jersey (New Jersey)
1675	Northfield, Massachusetts, abandoned
1675	King Philip's War (1675-1678)
1676	Bacon's Rebellion against Governor Berkely by Virginia settlers
1677	Covenant Chain Agreement
1677	North Carolina colonists rebel against Thomas Colepeper
1680	Destruction of the Westo tribe in South Carolina
1680	Province of New Hampshire becomes a royal colony
1681	William Penn granted Pennsylvania
1681	Charters issued for colonies
1682	Philadelpha is founded in the Province of Pennsylvania
1682	Plant Cutter riots in Gloucester County, Virginia
1683	Quo warranto proceedings instituted against the Province of Massachusetts
1683	Charter of Liberties issued in New York
1684	King Charles II revokes colonial charter
1685	Duke of York becomes King James II of England
1686	First German Pietists arrival in Pennsylvania
1686	Edmond Andros becomes Governor General of the Dominion of New England
1686 May	Charter establishing the Dominion of New England in America arrives in Boston
1687	Arbitrary taxes cause protests in New England
1688	The Province of New York is added to the Dominion of New England
1688	Glorious Revolution in England (James II and VII replaced)
1688	King William's War begins in the American colonies (1688-1697)
1689	The Nine Years' War begins in France
1689	Leisler's Rebellion
1689	Government overthrown in Maryland
1689	Pennsylvania Quakers divided over doctrine of George Keith
1689 Apr 18	Boston Revolt overthrows the Dominion of New England in Boston
1690	The Spanish begin to colonise Texas
1690	Paper money issued for the first time in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
1690	French and Native American troops destroy Schenectady, New York
1691 Oct	King William III and Mary II approved the charter establishing the Province of Massachusetts Bay
1692	The first Salem witch trials are held in Massachusetts
1693	Rice crops introduced in the Province of Carolina
1697	King William's War ends (1688-1697) resulting in Treaty of Ryswick
1699	Free blacks are ordered to leave the Colony of Virginia
1699	The export of colonial woolens is banned by Parliament
1700	The Iroquois and New France sign treaty of neutrality
1700	William Kidd arrested at Boston, tried for piracy and executed
1701	Yale University founded in New Haven, Connecticut
1701	Charter granted to the Colony of Delaware, separating it from Pennsylvania
1702	Queen Anne's War in the American colonies (1702-1713)
1702	War of the Spanish Succession in Europe
1702	The Province of New Jersey is formed by the combining of East Jersey and West Jersey
1704	Raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts, by Native Americans and French colonists
1705	Virginia Slave Codes of 1705 passed by the House of Burgesses in Virginia
1707	Benjamin Church attempts to take Port Royal in Nova Scotia
1710	Francis Nicholson takes Port Royal in Nova Scotia
1711	Quebec City resists the British
1711	Tuscarora war in North Carolina (1711-1715)
1715	Yamasee War in South Carolina (1715-1717)
1718	Blackbeard (Edward Teach) killed by Virginia's naval force
1719	Rebellion against proprietary officials in South Carolina
1720	Fort Niagara built by New France
1720	In South Carolina, slaves become the majority of the population
1721	Small pox prevalent in New England
1722	Dummer's War in northern New England and Canada (1722-1725)
1723	New laws passed to deal with slave conspiracies in the Colony of Virginia
1727	Fort Oswego built by the British
1729	Proprietary rights to the Carolinas are surrendered
1732	The Province of South Carolina attempts to ban the import of slaves
1732	The Province of Georgia is founded
1735	Thr Province of Georgia bans slavery
1739	The Stono Rebellion slave uprising in the Province of South Carolina attempted
1739	War of Jenkins' Ear
1740	Negro Act of 1740 enacted in South Carolina
1740	Attempted capture of St. Augustine by Britain's James Oglethorpe (failed)
1740	Battle of Cartagena de Indias (War of Jenkins' Ear)
1740	The Plantation Act of 1740 is passed as incentive to immigrate to the colonies
1741	The First Great Awakening (1730s and 1740s)
1741	Jonathan Edwards preaches sermon called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
1741	The Slave Insurrection of 1741 is suppressed in New York
1745	Siege of Louisbourgh (Cape Breton Island) by New Englanders
1746	Prince University founded
1747	Ohio Company founded
1748	Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (or Treaty of Aachen)
1750	The Province of Georgia reverses its decision on forbidding slavery
1750	Explorer Thomas Walker passes through the Cumberland Gap
1754	Columbia University founded as King's College (Royal Charter by George II)
1754	Fort Duquesne built by the French in Pennsylvania
1754	The French and Indian War begins and proceeds until 1763
1754 Jun	Albany Convention of 1754 (Albany Congress)
1755	Expulsion of the Acadians by the British in Nova Scotia (1755-1758)
1755	Braddock Expedition (or Braddock's Defeat)
1756	Battle of Fort Oswego (part of the Seven Years' War) won by the French
1756	Seven Years' War begins in Europe and spans five continents
1757	Siege of Fort William Henry in New York by the French
1758	The first black Baptist church founded in Lunenbert, Virginia
1758	Battle of Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) French victory
1758	Battle of Fort Frontenac (part of the Seven Years' War) British victory
1758	Siege of Louisbourg (part of the Seven Years' War) British victory
1759	St Francis Raid (part of the French and Indian War) resulting in British victory
1759	Battle of the Plains of Abraham resulting in British occupation of Quebec City
1760	Battle of the Thousand Islands
1760 Oct	George III becomes king of England
1761	New England Planters go to Nova Scotia (Canada) to seize land
1761	Ban put on colonial land grants
1761	Writs of Assistance challenged in Massachusetts
1763	Native American tribes in the Great Lakes region resist British Policies under Amherst
1763	Land (except Lousiana territory) in North America, occupied by France, is ceded to Great Britain
1763	Paxton Boys retaliate against the Conestoga (Susquehannok) Indians
1763	Royal Proclamation of 1763 issued by King George III
1763	Treaty of Paris signed
1763	Pontiac's War (or Pontiac's Rebellion) in the Great Lakes region (1763-1766)
1763 Sep	Louisiana territory is ceded to Spain by the French
1763 Sep	Beginning of Pontiac's War (1763-1766) Indian uprising against British in Great Lakes Region
1764	Brown University founded in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
1764	The Sugar Act and Currency Act are passed by British Parliament
1765 Aug	Riots in Boston
1765 Mar	The Stamp Act is passed
1765 May 29	Virginia Resolves passed by House of Burgesses
1765 May 3	The Quartering Act is passed
1765 Oct	Stamp Act Congress held in New York City
1766	End of Pontiac's War
1766 Jan	Quartering Act rejected by New York Assembly
1766 Mar	The Stamp Act is repealed and replaced with The Declatory Act after boycott
1767 Jun	Townshend Acts passed by British Parliament from 1767 to 1768