Colorado History Timeline

Events 1 - 100 of 110

• 1540-08-25 Explorer Hernando de Alarcon travels up Colorado River
• 1806-11-15 Explorer Zebulon Pike sights Pikes Peak in Colorado
• 1848-05-30 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between the United States and Mexico comes into force, giving California Nevada, Utah and most of Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona to the US in return for $15 million

• 1861-02-02 The "Organized Incorporated Territory of Nevada" is created, lasting until October 31st, 1864
• 1861-09-13 1st naval battle of Civil War, Union frigate "Colorado" sinks privateer "Judah" off Pensacola, Fla
• 1864-11-29 Sand Creek Massacre, Colorado militia kills about 150 peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians including Cheyenne chief One-Eye
• 1865-10-14 Cheyennes & Arapahos sign "peace treaty" then chased out Colorado
• 1870-08-15 Transcontinental Railway actually completed in Colorado
• 1876-08-01 Colorado becomes 38th state of the Union
• 1888-12-18 Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Anasazi ruins of Mesa Verde, Colorado
• 1889-10-02 In Colorado, Nicholas Creede strikes it rich in silver during the last great silver boom of the American Old West.
• 1893-07-22 Katharine Lee Bates writes "America the Beautiful" in Colorado
• 1893-11-07 US State Colorado accepts female suffrage
• 1894-02-07 The Cripple Creek miners' strike, led by the Western Federation of Miners, begins in Cripple Creek, Colorado
• 1896-04-25 Fight in Central Dance Hall starts fire at Cripple Creek, Colorado
• 1896-05-04 Grease fire ignites half ton of dynamite at Cripple Creek, Colorado

• 1896-05-14 Lowest US temperature in May recorded (-10°F /-23°C at Climax, Colorado)
• 1903-11-23 Colorado Governor James Peabody sends the state militia into the town of Cripple Creek to break up a miners' strike.
• 1904-08-07 Train derails on bridge in Eden, Colorado, during a flash flood, kills 96
• 1904-10-29 First intercity trucking service (Colorado City & Snyder, Texas)
• 1915-01-26 Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, is established
• 1915-10-04 Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado & Utah is established

• 1921-04-18 Junior Achievement incorporated in Colorado Spring
• 1921-06-03 A sudden cloudburst kills 120 near Pikes Peak, Colorado
• 1938-03-16 Temple defeats Colorado to win 1st NIT

• 1952-07-18 KWGN TV channel 2 in Denver, Colorado (IND) begins broadcasting
• 1952-12-02 First human birth televised to public on KOA-TV Denver, Colorado
• 1952-12-07 KKTV TV channel 11 in Colorado Spgs-Pueblo, CO (CBS) 1st broadcast
• 1953-06-13 KOAA TV channel 5 in Pueblo-Colorado Spgs, CO (NBC) 1st broadcast
• 1953-09-21 KRDO TV channel 13 in Colorado Spgs-Pueblo, CO (ABC) 1st broadcast
• 1954-07-11 114°F (45.6°C), Sedgwick, Colorado (ties state record; broken in 2019)
• 1955-07-11 New USAF Academy dedicated at Lowry AFB in Colorado with 300 cadets
• 1955-11-01 Time bomb aboard United DC-6 kills 44 above Longmont, Colorado
• 1955-11-28 1956 NFL Draft: Gary Glick from University of Colorado A&M first pick by Pittsburgh Steelers
• 1957-03-03 Ice Dance Championship at Colorado Springs won by Markham & Jones of Great Britain
• 1957-03-03 Ice Pairs Championship at Colorado Springs won by Wagner & Paul of Canada
• 1957-03-03 Men's Figure Skating Champ in Colorado Springs won by David Jenkins of the USA
• 1957-03-03 Worlds Ladies' Figure Skating Champ in Colorado Springs won by Carol Heiss (US)
• 1957-06-11 12 die in a train crash in Vroman, Colorado
• 1958-08-29 US Air Force Academy's permanent site opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• 1959-02-28 Ice Pairs Championship at Colorado Springs won by Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul of Canada, their 3rd title
• 1959-02-28 Men's World Figure Skating Championship in Colorado Springs won by David Jenkins USA
• 1959-06-03 1st US Air Force Academy graduation in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• 1965-06-17 11.08" (28.14 cm) of rainfall, Holly, Colorado (state 24-hour record)
• 1966-12-01 Radio time signal WWV moves from Greenbelt, Maryland to Boulder, Colorado
• 1967-04-25 Abortion legalized in Colorado

• 1967-07-23 First successful liver transplant, on 19 month old Julie Rodriguez by Dr Starzl at the University of Colorado
• 1969-02-28 Ice Dance Championship at Colorado Springs won by Towler & Ford of Great Britain
• 1969-02-28 Ice Pairs Championship at Colorado Springs won by Rodnina & Ulanov of the Soviet Union
• 1969-02-28 Ladies Figure Skating Champion in Colorado Springs won by Gabriele Seyfert of Great Britain
• 1969-02-28 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Colorado Springs won by Tim Wood of USA
• 1969-09-10 US performs nuclear test at Grand Valley Colorado
• 1970-09-07 Donald Boyles sets record for highest parachute jump from a bridge, by leaping off of 1,053' Royal George Bridge in Colorado
• 1971-02-03 KTSC TV channel 8 in Pueblo-Colorado Spgs, CO (PBS) 1st broadcast
• 1971-11-09 John List kills family & moves to Colorado

• 1973-05-17 US performs 3 nuclear tests at Rifle Colorado
• 1975-03-15 Bundy victim Julie Cunningham disappears from Vail, Colorado
• 1975-04-06 Bundy victim Denise Oliverson disappears from Grand Junction, Colorado
• 1975-06-30 Bundy victim Shelley Robertson disappears in Colorado
• 1976-06-28 1st woman was admitted to Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• 1977-12-17 Rookie defenseman Barry Beck scores first career hat trick and adds an assist in Colorado Rockies' 5-1 win v Minnesota North Stars; sets NHL record for rookie defensemen with a goal in his 6th straight game

• 1978-07-14 Allen Ginsburg completes "Plutonian Ode" - blocks trainload of fissile material headed for Rockwell's nuclear bomb trigger factory, Colorado
• 1982-05-27 New owners headed by John McMullen buy NHL's Colorado Rockies and move the team to the New Jersey Meadowlands under the new name NJ Devils

• 1985-02-01 -61°F (-52°C), Maybell, Colorado (state record)
• 1987-12-02 Jennifer Steele, 17, of Colorado becomes Miss Teen of America [Approx]
• 1991-01-02 University of Colorado, Boulder, coached by Bill McCartney wins its first Associated Press National Championship of College Football poll
• 1991-03-03 United Airlines 737 crashes near Colorado Springs, kills 25
• 1991-07-05 MLB owners approve Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins as new NL franchises to start play in 1993
• 1991-12-01 Colorado party wins Paraguay parliamentary election
• 1992-06-01 Snowfall in Colorado
• 1992-06-16 Colorado Rockies 1st minor league team's (Bend Oregon in Class A) game
• 1992-10-27 Don Baylor appointed 1st manager of Colorado Rockies
• 1993-04-05 A win and a loss for MLB expansion teams in their debut games; Florida Marlins beat LA Dodgers, 6-3 in Miami; the Colorado Rockies lose to Mets, 3-0 in NYC
• 1993-04-09 Colorado Rockies 1st home game & 1st victory, 11-4 over Mont Expos
• 1994-05-08 Colorado Silver Bullets (all-female pro baseball team) 1st game
• 1994-06-26 104°F (40°C) at Denver, Colorado
• 1994-12-10 60th Heisman Trophy Award: Rashaan Salaam, Colorado (RB)
• 1995-04-02 North & Western Colorado begins using new area code 970
• 1995-10-01 NY Yankees (AL) and Colorado Rockies (NL) become first wild-card teams in new MLB playoff system; Rox are first team to reach postseason before 7th year; post best ever record for a 3rd-year team, 10 games over .500 (77-67)

• 1996-05-11 Florida Marlin Al Leiter no hits Colorado Rockies, 11-0
• 1996-09-17 Dodger Hideo Nomo no-hits Colorado Rockies, 9-0 at Coors Field
• 1996-12-26 Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado
• 1998-03-31 Expansion clubs, Tampa Bay and Arizona both suffer bad losses in their MLB debuts; Devil Rays lose, 11-6 to the Detroit Tigers and the Diamondbacks fall, 9-2 to Colorado Rockies
• 1998-10-19 The Earth Liberation Front sets fire to Vail Mountain ski resort in Colorado, causing $12 million in damage
• 1999-04-20 Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School, Colorado
• 2001-02-04 51st NHL All-Star Game, Pepsi Centre, Denver, CO: North America beats World, 14-12; MVP: Bill Guerin, Boston Bruins, RW
• 2001-05-25 32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest

• 2004-09-01 Sexual assault charge against LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant is dropped by the Eagle County District Attorney's offices in Colorado after the victim decides not to participate
• 2007-10-28 Baseball World Series: Boston Red Sox beat Colorado, 4-3 in Game 4 at Coors Field, Denver to sweep the Rockies and win their 2nd title in 4 years; MVP: Boston 3rd baseman Mike Lowell
• 2012-07-20 12 people are killed and 59 injured after a gunman opens fire at a Dark Knight movie premier in Aurora, Colorado,
• 2013-04-20 5 snowboarders are killed by an avalanche in Loveland Pass, Colorado
• 2013-08-18 Solheim Cup Women's Golf, Colorado GC: Europe retain Cup for the first time in record winning margin 18-12; Sweden's Caroline Hedwall becomes first player to win 5 matches in a single competition

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Birthdays 1 - 100 of 211

• 1860-07-28 Elias M. Ammons, governor of Colorado, born in Macon County, North Carolina (d. 1925)
• 1871-11-09 Florence Sabin, American Scientist who was the first woman to graduate from Johns Hopkins and the first lifetime woman member of the National Academy of Sciences, born in Central City, Colorado (d. 1953)
• 1873-01-10 Jack O'Neill, Irish-born baseball player, born in Tawnaleen, Ireland (d. 1935)
• 1873-03-19 Arthur Hoyt, American actor and director (Gold Dust Gertie, Goldie Get Along), born in Georgetown, Colorado (d. 1953)
• 1873-08-19 Fred Stone, renowned American circus performer and broadway actor (Alice Adams), born in Longmont, Colorado (d. 1959)
• 1879-10-29 Alva B. Adams, American politician (U.S. Senator from Colorado 1933-41), born in Del Norte, Colorado (d. 1941)
• 1880-10-04 Young Corbett II (William J. Rothwell), American boxer (world featherweight champion 1901-02), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1927)
• 1880-11-14 Eugene O'Brien, American actor (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), born in Boulder, Colorado (d. 1966)
• 1883-04-01 Leonidas "Lon" Chaney, American actor nicknamed "the man of a 1000 faces" (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Phantom of the Opera), born in Colorado Springs, Colorado (d. 1930)

• 1885-11-19 Erskine Sanford, American actor (Citizen Kane, Angel on My Shoulder), born in Trinidad, Colorado (d. 1969)
• 1886-02-10 Olin Howland, American actor (Gone With The Wind; Them!; Circus Boy), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1959)
• 1886-04-10 Val Paul, American actor and director (Suspense, The Phantom Thief), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1962)
• 1886-10-17 Spring Byington, American actress (December Bride), born in Colorado Springs, Colorado (d. 1971)
• 1888-06-27 Antoinette Perry, American stage actress, theater director, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, and namesake of the Tony Award, born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1946)
• 1890-03-28 Paul Whiteman "The King of Jazz", American orchestra leader (George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue"), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1967)
• 1892-09-28 Ruth Stonehouse, American silent film actress and director (Dorothy Dares), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1941)
• 1892-11-06 Harold Ross, American magazine editor and co-founder of The New Yorker, born in Aspen, Colorado (d. 1951)

• 1896-02-22 Enid Markey, American actress, 1st to play Tarzan's Jane, born in Dillon, Colorado (d. 1981)

• 1898-12-06 Herman Shumlin, American Broadway producer, director and actor (Watch on the Rhine), born in Atwood, Colorado (d. 1979)
• 1899-04-09 James Smith McDonnell, American aviator and engineer, born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1980)
• 1899-06-29 Lester Vail, American actor (Dance Fools Dance, Consolation Marriage), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1959)
• 1900-11-05 Martin Dies, Jr., American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas), born in Colorado City, Texas (d. 1972)
• 1902-02-12 William D. Revelli, American bandleader, born in Spring Gulch, Colorado (d. 1994)
• 1902-07-05 Frank Waters, American writer, born in Colorado Springs, Colorado (d. 1995)
• 1902-12-13 Talcott Parsons, American sociologist, born in Colorado Springs, Colorado (d. 1979)
• 1903-04-09 Ward Bond, American actor (Wagon Train, It's a Wonderful Life), born in Benkelman, Nebraska (d. 1960)
• 1904-02-12 Ted Mack, American TV host (The Original Amateur Hour), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1976)
• 1905-01-17 Grant Withers, American actor (Rio Grande, Oklahoma, Annie), born in Pueblo, Colorado (d. 1959)
• 1906-06-28 Safford Cape, American-Belgian conductor, composer and music historian, born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1973)
• 1906-07-03 Jack Earle, American actor and sideshow performer known as "The World's Tallest Man", born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1952)
• 1906-07-09 Walter Sande, American actor (To Have and Have Not), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1971)
• 1906-09-06 Raymond Keane, American actor (Midnight Sun, Love Eagle), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1973)
• 1906-10-11 Dutch Clark, American Pro/College Football HOF back (Colorado College; 6 × First-team All-Pro; 3 × NFL rushing TD leader & NFL scoring leader; Portsmouth Spartans/Detroit Lions), born in Fowler, Colorado (d. 1978)
• 1906-10-23 Miriam Gideon, American composer, born in Greeley, Colorado (d. 1996)
• 1907-08-03 Irene Tedrow, American actress (Lucy-Dennis the Menace, Mr Novak), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1995)
• 1908-04-24 Marceline Day [Newlin], American actress, mostly in silent films (The Cameraman; The Jazz Age; The Arm of the Law), born in Colorado Springs, Colorado (d. 2000)

• 1909-04-08 John Fante, Italian-American author and screenwriter (Wait Until Spring, Bandini, Ask the Dust, Full of Life), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1983)
• 1909-04-23 (Frederick) "Erick" Hawkins, American modern ballet dancer, and choreographer (Martha Graham Dance Company, 1939-51; Erick Hawkins Dance Company, 1951-94), born in Trinidad, Colorado (d. 1994)
• 1909-12-14 Edward L Tatum, American molecular geneticist and biochemist (Nobel Prize 1958), born in Boulder, Colorado (d. 1975)
• 1909-12-24 Adam Popovich, Serbian-American musician, director and composer, born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2001)
• 1912-06-18 Glenn Morris, American athlete (Olympic gold decathlon 1936) and actor (Tarzan's Revenge; Hold That Co-ed), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1974)
• 1912-09-07 David Packard, American electronic engineer, businessman and co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, born in Pueblo, Colorado (d. 1996)
• 1912-11-27 Connie Sawyer [Rosie Cohen], American actress known as "The Clown Princess of Comedy" (Pineapple Express, Dumb and Dumber), born in Pueblo, Colorado (d. 2018)
• 1913-06-13 Ralph Edwards, American TV host (This is Your Life), born in Merino, Colorado (d. 2005)
• 1914-06-14 Pauline Moore [Joless Love], American actress (Colorado, Young Mr. Lincoln), born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (d. 2001)
• 1914-07-22 Cecil Effinger, American composer, born in Colorado Springs, Colorado (d. 1990)
• 1914-08-30 Julie Bishop [Jacqueline Wells], American actress (My Hero, Northern Pursuit, Threat), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2001)
• 1915-12-29 Charles L. Harness, American sci-fi author (Paradox Men, Wolfhead), born in Colorado City, Texas (d. 2005)
• 1916-04-04 David White, American actor (Larry Tate-Bewitched), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1990)
• 1916-07-02 Ken Curtis, American actor (Ripcord, Festus - Gunsmoke), born in Lamar, Colorado (d. 1991)
• 1916-11-04 Ruth Handler [née Mosko], American toy manufacturer (invented the Barbie doll), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2002)
• 1917-05-28 Marshall Reed, American actor (The Madmen of Mandoras, Mysterious Island), born in Englewood, Colorado (d. 1980)
• 1917-06-08 Byron White, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1962-93), born in Fort Collins, Colorado (d. 2002)
• 1917-07-08 Glenn Langan, American actor (Amazing Colossal Man, Margie, Jungle Heat, Rapture), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1991)
• 1919-10-23 Katie Lee, American folk singer, environmentalist and author (Colorado River Songs), born in Aledo, Illinois (d. 2017)
• 1921-01-17 Dehl Berti, Chiricahua Apache actor (Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Guns of Paradise), born in Pueblo, Colorado (d. 1991)
• 1922-07-19 Harold Camping, American evangelist and founder of Family Radio, born in Boulder, Colorado (d. 2013)
• 1923-07-29 Gordon Mitchell [Charles Allen Pendleton], American actor and bodybuilder (Sinbad), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2003)
• 1924-04-07 Nick Perito, American pianist, accordion player, arranger and orchestra leader (Perry Como; Muzak; The Don Knotts Show), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2005)

• 1925-08-06 Barbara Bates, American actress (All About Eve, It's a Great Life), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1969)
• 1926-07-08 John Dingell, American politician (D-Michigan, 1955-2015), born in Colorado Springs, Colorado (d. 2019)
• 1927-01-04 Barbara Rush, American stage and screen actress (Peyton Place - "Marsha"; It Came From Outer Space; Flamingo Road), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2024) [1]
• 1927-10-10 Thomas Wilson, Scottish composer, born in Trinidad, Colorado (d. 2001)
• 1928-03-20 Jerome Biffle, American long jumper (Olympic gold, 1952), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2002)
• 1928-10-30 Ernest Flatt, American choreographer (The Carol Burnett Show), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1995)
• 1929-05-04 Sydney M. Lamb, American linguist (Stratificational grammar), born in Denver, Colorado
• 1929-06-17 Michael L. Strang, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado), born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania (d. 2014)
• 1931-05-09 Vance DeVoe Brand, American USN officer and aviator, and NASA astronaut (Apollo 18; STS-5, -41-B & -35), born in Longmont, Colorado
• 1931-08-30 John Leonard Swigert Jr., American astronaut (Apollo 13), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1982)
• 1931-12-03 [Mary] Jaye P. Morgan, American pop singer ("All I Want From You"), game show panelist (Gong Show), born in Mancos, Colorado
• 1932-02-01 John Hart, American TV journalist (CBS News Retrospective, NBC News), born in Denver, Colorado

• 1932-08-22 Gerald P Carr, American USMC colonel and NASA astronaut (Skylab 4), born in Denver, Colorado
• 1932-12-01 Robert T. Herres, American air force officer (Vice Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2008)
• 1933-04-13 Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Cheyenne-American politician (Sen-D Colorado), born in Auburn, California
• 1933-05-23 John Browning, American pianist (Leventritt Award, 1956), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2003)
• 1933-08-19 Debra Paget [Debralee Griffin], American actress (Love Me Tender), born in Denver, Colorado

• 1934-06-26 Dave Grusin, American jazz pianist and Academy and Grammy Award-winning composer specializing in film scores (The Milagro Beanfield War; Ishtar), born in Littleton, Colorado
• 1935-02-13 Tommy Jacobs, American golfer (US Open 1964 runner-up; US Masters 1966 runner-up), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2022)
• 1935-04-16 Haskell Sadler, American blues singer and guitarist, born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1994)
• 1935-04-18 Joel Hefley, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado), born in Ardmore, Oklahoma
• 1935-08-03 Richard Lamm, American politician (38th Governor of Colorado 1975-87), born in Madison, Wisconsin (d. 2021)
• 1935-09-17 Ken Kesey, American author (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Sometimes a Great Notion), born in La Junta Colorado (d. 2001)
• 1936-05-09 Terry Drinkwater, American TV newsman (CBS), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1989)
• 1937-01-08 Robert Moran, American composer (Trinity Requiem), born in Denver, Colorado
• 1939-09-05 Donna Anderson [Knaflich], American actress (On the Beach), born in Gunnison, Gunnison County Colorado
• 1939-11-18 Tom Johnson, American minimalist composer (The Four-Note Opera; Nine Bells), born in Greeley, Colorado
• 1940-07-23 Gary Stites, American pop vocalist ("Lonely For You"), born in Denver, Colorado
• 1940-07-30 Pat Schroeder, American politician (Rep-D-Colorado, 1973-97), and feminist, born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2023)
• 1942-04-03 Michael Elliott, American skier (Olympics 1968), born in Durango, Colorado
• 1942-07-21 Patricia Elliott, American actress (Renee-Empire, One Life to Live), born in Gunnison, Colorado (d. 2015)
• 1943-02-22 David Skaggs, American politician (Rep-D-Colorado), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
• 1943-04-30 Bob Livingston, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana), born in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• 1943-05-31 Wayne Carson, American country musician and songwriter ("Always On My Mind"), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2015)

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