Census Timeline

By medajohnson

  • 1810

    U.S. Resident Population: 7,239,881
    The thirteen stars and stripes configuration of the U.S. flag is officially adopted by Congress on April 4, 1818.
    The American steamship "Savannah" crosses the Atlantic Ocean in 29 days.
    Norwich University, the first private military school, is founded in Vermont on August 6, 1819.

  • 1820

    U.S. Resident Population: 9,638,453
    The Saturday Evening Post is published for the first time as a weekly newspaper on August 4, 1821.
    The first boat leaves Buffalo, NY, enroute to New York City via the Erie Canal on October 26, 1825.
    Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine (named the "Gas Or Vapor Engine") on April 1, 1826.

  • 1830

    U.S. Resident Population: 12,860,702
    P.T. Barnum begins his first circus tour of the United States on June 2, 1835.
    The battle for the Alamo is waged from February 23 to March 6, 1836, in San Antonio, TX.
    Charles Goodyear invents vulcanized rubber in 1839.

  • 1840

    U.S. Resident Population: 17,063,353
    Alexander Cartwright and his New York Knickerbockers codify the "Rules of Baseball" in 1845.
    Elias Howe patents the sewing machine on September 10, 1846.
    The American Medical Association is founded in Philadelphia on May 7, 1847.

  • 1850

    U.S. Resident Population: 23,191,876

    "America" wins the first America's Cup yacht race on August 22, 1851.
    Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is published in 1852.
    The Republican Party is founded in Ripon, WI, on February 28, 1854.

  • 1860

    U.S. Resident Population: 31,443,321
    The Pony Express leaves Sacramento, CA, for St. Joseph, MO, on April 3, 1860.
    Confederate forces begin bombarding Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861.
    Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow publishes Paul Revere's Ride in 1861.

  • 1870

    U.S. Resident Population: 38,558,371
    "The Great Chicago Fire" begins October 8, 1871.
    President Ulysses S. Grant signs legislation designating Yellowstone the first national park on March 1, 1872.
    The Jesse James Gang conduct the first successful train robbery in the American West on July 21, 1873.

  • 1880

    U.S. Resident Population: 50,189,209
    Doc Holiday and the Earp brothers survive their gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881.
    The first Vaudeville theater opens in Boston, MA, on February 28, 1883.
    Mark Twain publishes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884.

  • 1890

    U.S. Resident Population: 62,979,766
    Ex-slave and civil rights advocate Frederick Douglass dies on February 20, 1895.
    The first professional football game is played in Latrobe, PA, on September 3, 1895.
    The first U.S. Golf Open is held in Newport, RI, on October 4, 1895.

  • 1900

    U.S. Resident Population: 76,212,168
    Kodak® introduces the "Brownie" camera in February 1900.
    Composer and musician Scott Joplin publishes The Entertainer in 1902.
    The first silent film, The Great Train Robbery, debuts in 1903.