U.S History By cfelouzis 500 Middle Ages Begin Jan 1, 1000 Leif Ericson day Jan 1, 1100 Crusades Begin Jan 1, 1300 Crusades End Jan 1, 1350 Middle Ages End Jan 1, 1350 Renaissance Begins Jan 1, 1400 Portuguese Prince Henry encourages sea captains to sail south along the coast of Africa Jan 1, 1439 Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press Jan 1, 1488 Bartholomeu Dias reaches southern tip of Africa Aug 1, 1492 Christopher Columbus sets sail from Spain Oct 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus “discovers” America Jan 1, 1493 Christopher Columbus founds the first Spanish colony in the Americas Aug 1, 1497 John Cabot discovers a "new-found island" in the name of the English king and thinks it's Asia Jan 1, 1498 Vasco da Gama sails around southern tip of Africa to India Jan 1, 1500 First African slaves begin to be brought across the Atlantic to New Spain Jan 1, 1513 Vasco Nunez de Balboa is first European to see the Pacific Ocean, after crossing the isthmus of Panama Jan 1, 1517 German monk, Martin Luther, challenges Catholic Church Jan 1, 1519 Ferdinand Magellan leaves Spain (with 250 crew members and 5 ships) to sail around the world Nov 8, 1519 Hernando Cortes marches into the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan Jan 1, 1522 Magellan's crew returns, with only 1 ship and 18 crew members Jan 1, 1524 Giovanni Verrazano explores the coast of North America for France Jan 1, 1530 Jacques Cartier explores the St. Lawrence River for France Jan 1, 1532 Francisco Pizarro captures the Incan emperor, Atahualpa Jan 1, 1535 Spanish king divides conquered land into New Spain and Peru, and establishes the "Laws of the Indies" Jan 1, 1585 Sir Walter Raleigh sets sail for North America and attempts to colonize Roanoke Island Jan 1, 1600 Renaissance Ends Jan 1, 1605 Samuel de Champlain founds first colony for New France, in Nova Scotia Jan 1, 1607 Virginia founded Jan 1, 1609 Henry Hudson explores the New York harbor and Hudson River for the Dutch Jan 1, 1610 Henry Hudson explores the Hudson Bay for England Jan 1, 1619 First African slaves are brought to Jamestown, VA Nov 1, 1620 Pilgrims settle in what is now Massachusetts Jan 1, 1622 New Hampshire founded Jan 1, 1624 New York founded Jan 1, 1630 Puritans settle the Massachusetts Bay Colony Jan 1, 1632 Maryland founded Jan 1, 1636 Rhode Island founded May 1, 1636 Connecticut founded Jan 1, 1663 The Carolinas founded Jan 1, 1664 New Jersey founded Jan 1, 1673 Marquette & Joliet explore the northern Mississippi River Jan 1, 1676 Bacon's Rebellion Jan 1, 1682 Pennsylvania founded Jan 1, 1683 Delaware founded Jan 1, 1688 Glorious Revolution Jan 1, 1689 English Bill of Rights signed Jan 1, 1712 South Carolina founded Jan 1, 1712 North Carolina founded Jan 1, 1732 Georgia founded Jul 3, 1754 French and Indian War begins at Battle of Fort Necessity Jul 9, 1755 French troops defeat General Braddock Sep 18, 1759 Quebec surrenders to the British Sep 8, 1760 British troops take Montreal, ending the French & Indian War fighting in North America Feb 10, 1763 Treaty of Paris is signed between Britain & France, ending the French & Indian War Oct 7, 1763 The Proclamation of 1763 Apr 5, 1764 Sugar Act Mar 22, 1765 Stamp Act Mar 18, 1766 Sugar Act and Stamp Act are repealed Mar 5, 1770 Boston Massacre May 10, 1773 Tea Act Dec 16, 1773 Boston Tea Party Apr 22, 1774 Intolerable Acts May 1, 1776 Townshend Acts Jul 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence is accepted by delegates at the Continental Congress Aug 27, 1776 British victory at the Battle of Long Island Dec 26, 1776 American victory at the Battle of Trenton Oct 17, 1777 American victory at the Battle of Saratoga Nov 15, 1777 Articles of Confederation written Dec 10, 1777 Washington and troops camp at Valley Forge Dec 29, 1778 British seize Savannah, GA Feb 23, 1779 American victory at the Battle of Vincennes Sep 23, 1779 John Paul Jones commands the ship Bonhomme Richard and defeats the British ship Serapis in a rare American victory at sea Oct 7, 1780 American victory at the Battle of King's Mountain, SC Jan 5, 1781 Benedict Arnold (now fighting for the British) attacks and burns Richmond, VA Jan 7, 1781 American victory at the Battle of Cowpens, SC Mar 1, 1781 Articles of Confederation ratified Mar 15, 1781 British victory at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, NC Oct 19, 1781 British surrender at the Battle of Yorktown Apr 15, 1783 Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the Revolutionary War May 20, 1785 Land Ordinance of 1785 May 25, 1787 Constitutional Convention begins in Philadelphia Jul 13, 1787 Northwest Ordinance Sep 17, 1787 Constitutional Convention ends Dec 7, 1787 Delaware is the first state to ratify the Constitution Dec 12, 1787 Pennsylvania ratifies the Constitution Jun 21, 1788 New Hampshire is the 9th state to ratify the Constitution, allowing it to go into effect Jan 1, 1789 French Revolution Begins Apr 30, 1789 George Washington takes office as POTUS Jul 6, 1789 Alien & Sedition Acts Sep 24, 1789 .Congress passes the Judiciary Act, calling for one Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and five Assosicate Justices May 29, 1790 Rhode Island is the final state to ratify the Constitution Dec 15, 1791 The Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the Constitution) is ratified Jun 1, 1792 Kentucky becomes a state Jun 1, 1796 Tennessee becomes a state Mar 4, 1797 John Adams takes office as POTUS Jul 1, 1797 XYZ Affair Nov 16, 1798 Kentucky Resolution Dec 24, 1798 Virginia Resolution Mar 4, 1801 Thomas Jefferson takes office as POTUS Feb 11, 1803 Marbury v. Madison tried before Supreme Court Mar 1, 1803 Ohio becomes a state Jul 12, 1804 Alexander Hamilton killed in duel with Aaron Burr Mar 4, 1809 James Madison takes office as POTUS Apr 30, 1812 Louisiana becomes a state Dec 11, 1816 Indiana becomes a state Mar 4, 1817 James Monroe takes office as POTUS Dec 10, 1817 Mississippi becomes a state Aug 26, 1818 Illinois becomes a state Dec 14, 1819 Alabama becomes a state Mar 4, 1825 John Quincy Adams takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1829 Andrew Jackson takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1837 Martin Van Buren takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1841 William Henry Harrison takes office as POTUS Apr 4, 1841 John Tyler takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1845 James Knox Polk takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1849 Zachary Taylor takes office as POTUS Jul 9, 1850 Millard Fillmore takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1853 Franklin Pierce takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1857 James Buchanan takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1861 Abraham Lincoln takes office as POTUS Apr 15, 1865 Andrew Johnson takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1869 Ulysses Simpson Grant takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1877 Rutherford Birchard Hayes takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1881 March 4, 1881 – James Garfield takes office as POTUS Sep 19, 1881 Chester Arthur takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1885 Grover Cleveland takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1889 Benjamin Harrison takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1893 Grover Cleveland takes office as POTUS (for the second time) Mar 4, 1897 William McKinley takes office as POTUS Sep 14, 1901 Theodore Roosevelt takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1909 William Howard Taft takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1913 March 4, 1913 – Woodrow Wilson takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1921 Warren Harding takes office as POTUS Aug 2, 1923 Calvin Coolidge takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1929 Herbert Hoover takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1933 March 4, 1933 – Franklin Delano Roosevelt takes office as POTUS Apr 12, 1945 Harry S Truman takes office as POTUS Jan 20, 1953 January 20, 1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower takes office as POTUS Jan 20, 1961 John Fitzgerald Kennedy takes office as POTUS Nov 22, 1963 Lyndon B. Johnson takes office as POTUS Jan 20, 1969 January 20, 1969 – Richard M. Nixon takes office as POTUS Aug 9, 1974 Gerald Ford takes office as POTUS Jan 20, 1977 Jimmy Carter takes office as POTUS Jan 20, 1981 Ronald Reagan takes office as POTUS Jan 20, 1989 George H. W. Bush takes office as POTUS Jan 20, 1993 William Jefferson Clinton takes office as POTUS Jan 20, 2001 George W. Bush takes office as POTUS Sep 11, 2001 Al Qaeda attacks the United States Jan 20, 2009 Barack Obama takes office as- POTUS
