Minnesota History Timeline

• 1679-07-02 Europeans first visit Minnesota and see headwaters of Mississippi in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth
• 1830-07-15 Indian tribes, Sioux, Sauk & Fox, sign fourth Treaty of Prairie du Chien giving the US most of Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri
• 1844-09-05 Iron ore discovered in Minnesota's Mesabi Mountains

• 1849-03-03 Territory of Minnesota organizes
• 1855-01-23 1st bridge over the Mississippi River in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, opens; today made by the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge
• 1858-05-11 Minnesota admitted as 32nd US state
• 1862-08-18 Sioux Indians begin uprising in Minnesota (it is later crushed)
• 1862-12-26 Largest mass execution in US history: 38 Dakota men were executed via hanging in the aftermath of the U.S.-Dakota War in Mankato, Minnesota [1]
• 1867-12-04 Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (better known today as the Grange)
• 1869-10-05 Man-made tunnel under St. Anthony Falls, Minnesota collapses, threatening the Minneapolis riverfront
• 1870-02-15 Ground broken for Northern Pacific Railway near Duluth, Minnesota

• 1879-01-22 James Shields (D) elected US senator from Missouri after previously serving as US senator from Illinois & Minnesota
• 1886-01-19 Aurora Ski Club, 1st in US, founded in Minnesota
• 1891-05-16 George A. Hormel & Co establishes Geo. A.Hormel & Co. (Hormel Foods Corporation) in Austin, Minnesota
• 1894-09-01 A wildfire destroys the town of Hinckley, Minnesota, killing 438 people
• 1894-09-02 Forest fires destroy Hinckley Minnesota: about 600 die

• 1903-02-16 -59°F (-51°C), Pokegama Dam, Minnesota (state record)
• 1909-03-01 1st US university school of nursing established, University of Minnesota
• 1914-05-21 Greyhound Bus Co begins in Minnesota
• 1914-08-13 Carl Wickman begins Greyhound, the 1st US bus line, in Minnesota
• 1920-06-15 African American circus workers, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie are taken from jail and lynched by a white mob of thousands in Duluth, Minnesota
• 1922-07-31 18-year-old Ralph Samuelson rides world's 1st water skis (Minnesota)
• 1930-12-29 Fred P. Newton completes longest swim ever (1826 miles), when he swam in the Mississippi River from Ford Dam, Minnesota, to New Orleans
• 1933-11-13 First modern sit-down strike by Hormel meat packers in Austin, Minnesota
• 1936-02-08 1st ski jumping tournament at Red Wing, Minnesota
• 1936-07-06 114°F (46°C), Moorhead, Minnesota (state record)
• 1941-03-16 Blizzard hits North Dakota & Minnesota killing 60
• 1941-12-09 7th Heisman Trophy Award: Bruce Smith, Minnesota (HB)
• 1958-08-27 Clark Griffith says Senators will probably accept offer to move to Minnesota
• 1959-06-05 Bob Dylan graduates from Hibbing High School in Minnesota

• 1965-09-26 Minnesota gains its 1st AL pennant by defeating Washington, 2-1
• 1968-01-13 Minnesota North Stars NHL player Bill Masterson, suffers head injuries during a game and dies two days later, becoming the 1st player to die as result of a game
• 1968-01-15 Minnesota North Stars forward Bill Masterton dies 2 days after suffering a head injury in a game against the Oakland Seals; the only death as a result of a game injury in NHL history
• 1969-02-16 Detroit Red Wings' captain Alex Delvecchio picks up an assist in a 6-2 defeat at Minnesota to become the 3rd player in NHL history to score 1,000 career points
• 1969-09-28 Minnesota vs Baltimore, gains 530 yards passing!
• 1969-09-28 NFL Minnesota Vikings QB Joe Kapp passes for 7 touchdowns vs Baltimore Colts in 52-14 home win
• 1969-11-12 Minnesota's Harmon Killebrew is voted AL MVP
• 1970-01-11 Super Bowl IV, Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA: KC Chiefs beat Minnesota Vikings, 23-7; MVP: Len Dawson, Kansas City, QB
• 1970-03-01 Minnesota coach Charlie Burns becomes the final player/coach in NHL history, when he plays in the North Stars' 8-0 win over Toronto Maple Leafs; remains in role for final month of the season
• 1972-07-21 10.83 inches (27.5 cm) rainfall at Fort Ripley, Minnesota (state record, until 2007)

• 1974-01-13 Super Bowl VIII, Rice Stadium, Houston, TX: Miami Dolphins beat Minnesota Vikings, 24-7; MVP: Larry Csonka, Miami, RB
• 1974-10-12 1st time Washington Capitals are shutout as they are beat 6-0 by Minnesota
• 1975-01-12 Super Bowl IX, Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Minnesota Vikings, 16-6; MVP: Franco Harris, Pittsburgh, RB
• 1975-12-28 "The Hail Mary", with 32 seconds left in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game, Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach throws a legendary 50-yard winning touchdown pass to Drew Pearson to defeat the Minnesota Vikings, and the "Hail Mary" play gains national recognition

• 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
• 1978-06-20 1st 6 teams of Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL) granted-Iowa, NJ, Milwaukee, Chicago, Minnesota & Dayton
• 1979-08-11 28°F in Embarrass Minnesota
• 1979-11-20 US's 1st artificial blood transfusion occurs at University of Minnesota Hospital

• 1980-12-14 Minnesota Vikings pass for 456 yards against Cleveland Browns, winning 28-24
• 1981-05-21 Stanley Cup Final, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY: NY Islanders win back-to-back titles; beat Minnesota North Stars, 5-1 for 4 games to 1 series win
• 1982-04-06 Largest crowd ever to see a baseball game in Minnesota 52,279
• 1983-11-06 Tampa Bay Buccaneer James Wilder rushes for 219 yards vs Minnesota Vikings
• 1983-12-04 NJ Devils 1st shut-out, beating Minnesota North Stars 6-0
• 1984-01-04 Edmonton beats Minnesota 12-8 highest-scoring modern NHL game
• 1984-06-20 Amber Kvanli, of Minnesota, crowned America's Junior Miss

• 1987-02-19 Minnesota sheriff's office arrest FBI's most wanted, Thomas G. Harrelson

• 1989-06-14 Groundbreaking begins in Bloomington, Minnesota on world's largest mall - "The Mall of America"

• 1990-07-04 400 New Kids on the Block fans treated for heat exhaustion in Minnesota

• 1991-05-25 Stanley Cup Final, Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, MN: Pittsburgh Penguins beat Minnesota North Stars, 8-0 for a 4-2 series win; Penguins' first Final series appearance
• 1993-09-04 Penn State University plays its first football game in the Big 10, beating Minnesota 38-20; quarterback John Sacca throws 4 touchdown passes to Bobby Engram
• 1997-06-25 NHL approves franchises in Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, and Minnesota-St Paul
• 1997-07-07 Tower, Minnesota temperature dips to 24°F
• 1998-01-22 NHL's Minnesota franchise selects the nickname Wild
• 1999-01-04 Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as Governor of Minnesota
• 2001-02-16 Mathieu Schneider of the Los Angeles Kings becomes the first defenseman in history to score a goal against all 30 NHL teams as LA beats Minnesota, 4-0
• 2002-09-08 Rookie quarterback David Carr throws for 2 TDs as the Houston Texans beat Dallas Cowboys 19-10 to become only the 2nd expansion team (1961 Minnesota Vikings) to win their inaugural game
• 2003-11-01 John Gagliardi ties Eddie Robinson as college football's career victory leader with his 408th win, guiding Division III St. John's to a 15-12 victory over St.Thomas at St. Paul, Minnesota
• 2004-01-21 Minnesota Wild set an NHL record for 2 fastest goals, when Jim Dowd and Richard Park score just 3 seconds apart in the final 15 seconds of a 4-2 win over visiting Chicago Blackhawks

• 2007-08-01 The I-35W Mississippi River Bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour
• 2008-02-01 Minnesota starter Johan Santana signs a 6-year, $137.5 million deal with the New York Mets to become the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history; trade from Twins to Mets official the next day
• 2014-04-05 Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire picks up the 1,000th win of his MLB career as the Twins score a 7 - 3 victory over the Cleveland Indians
• 2016-07-06 African American Philando Castile is shot by police in St Paul, Minnesota after being pulled over for a broken rear light, killing is filmed
• 2016-09-06 Minnesota man Danny Heinrich admits to kidnapping and murdering 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling on October 22, 1989
• 2018-06-13 Raccoon climbs 23 story office building in St Paul, Minnesota, becoming an internet sensation
• 2018-11-06 Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) and Rashida Tlaib (Michigan) are the first Muslim women to be elected to the US House of Representatives
• 2019-02-10 Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar announces her 2020 presidential campaign
• 2019-02-18 25-year old murder of a woman solved when police in Minnesota run DNA though a genealogy site and find suspect
• 2019-03-18 “Historic to catastrophic flooding" faced by Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota according to US National Weather Service

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 331

• 1815-09-08 Alexander Ramsey, American politician (1st Governor of Minnesota Territory), born in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania (d. 1903)
• 1816-01-07 Stephen Miller, American politician (Governor of Minnesota) Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Perry County, Pennsylvania (d. 1881)
• 1861-06-29 William James Mayo, American surgeon and co-founder (Mayo Clinic in Minnesota), born in Le Sueur, Minnesota (d. 1939)
• 1865-07-19 Charles Horace Mayo, American surgeon and co-founder (Mayo Clinic), born in Rochester, Minnesota (d. 1939)
• 1870-06-17 George Cormack, American cereal inventor (invented Wheaties in 1921 at Washburn Crosby Co., born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1953)
• 1876-11-04 James Earle Fraser, American sculptor (Indian Head (Buffalo) nickel), born in Winona, Minnesota (d. 1953)
• 1876-12-12 Alvin Kraenzlein, American track and field athlete (4 Olympic gold 1900), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1928)
• 1877-04-23 Arthur Farwell, American composer, born in St Paul, Minnesota (d. 1952)
• 1881-11-01 Edward Van Sloan, American actor (Frankenstein, Dracula), born in Chaska, Minnesota (d. 1964)
• 1883-05-05 Charles "Chief" Bender, American Baseball HOF pitcher (only indigenous American in BHOF; World Series 1910, 11, 13; no-hitter 1910; Philadelphia A's), born in Crow Wing County, Minnesota (d. 1954)
• 1885-02-07 [Harry] Sinclair Lewis, American writer and social critic (Nobel Prize in Literature 1930), born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota (d. 1951)
• 1886-07-31 Fred Quimby, American film producer (Tom and Jerry), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1965)
• 1887-01-27 Carl Blegen, American archaeologist (excavator at Troy, Pylos), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1971)
• 1887-06-18 Blanche Yurka, American actress (Taxi, A Tale of Two Cities), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1974)
• 1889-11-12 DeWitt Wallace, American publisher who founded Readers Digest, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1981)
• 1890-05-07 Billy House, American actor (Imitation of Life; Bedlam: The Egg and I), born in Mankato, Minnesota (d. 1961)

• 1891-04-22 Belle Bennett, American actress (Stella Dallas, Iron Mask), born in Milaca, Minnesota (d. 1932)
• 1891-06-28 Carl Panzram, American serial killer and rapist, born in East Grand Forks, Minnesota (d. 1930)

• 1892-02-27 William Demarest, American actor (My 3 Sons), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1983)
• 1892-06-12 John Donald Robb, American composer, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1989)
• 1892-07-01 James M. Cain, American novelist (Postman Always Rings Twice), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1977)
• 1892-07-21 Lenore Ulric, American actress (Notorious, Better Woman), born in New Ulm, Minnesota (d. 1970)

• 1892-12-29 Emory Parnell, American vaudeville performer and character actor (Life of RIley; County Fair; Falcon films; Ma and Pa Kettle movies), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1979)
• 1893-05-03 Hope Landin, American actress (I Remember Mama; Sugarfoot), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1973)
• 1893-07-18 Richard Dix, American actor (10 Commandments, Cimarron, The Ghost Ship), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1949)
• 1893-10-02 Leroy Shield [Shields], American pianist, composer (Laurel & Hardy; Our Gang; Union Pacific Suite), and orchestra leader, born in Waseca, Minnesota (d. 1962)
• 1894-12-02 Warren William [Krech], American actor (The Wolf Man, Cleopatra), born in Aitkin, Minnesota (d. 1948)
• 1894-12-03 Bert Baston, American College Football Hall of Fame end (University of Minnesota), born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota (d. 1979)
• 1896-04-10 Edith Day, American actress (A Romance of the Air), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1971)

• 1897-01-01 Walter Greaza, American actor (Treasury Man, Martin Kane Private Eye), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1973)
• 1897-07-12 Fred Enke, American College basketball coach (University of Arizona 1925–1961, record 522–344), born in Olmsted County, Minnesota (d. 1985)
• 1898-05-10 Herbert Elwell, American composer (Happy Hypocrite), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1974)
• 1898-06-06 Walter Abel, American actor (Fury, Suspicion, Dream Girl), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1987)
• 1898-07-28 Charles William Mayo, American surgeon (Mayo Clinic), born in Rochester, Minnesota (d. 1968)
• 1899-02-15 Gale Sondergaard, American actress (The Letter, Road to Rio), born in Litchfield, Minnesota (d. 1985)
• 1899-09-01 Richard Arlen, American actor (Apache Uprising, Wings), born in St. Paul, Minnesota (d. 1976)
• 1901-12-09 Carol Dempster, American actress, born in Duluth, Minnesota (d. 1991)
• 1902-05-27 Celius Dougherty, American pianist and composer, born in Glenwood, Minnesota (d. 1986)
• 1902-06-22 Marguerite De La Motte, American actress, born in Duluth, Minnesota (d. 1950)
• 1903-02-19 Kay Boyle, American novelist (Plagued by Nightingales), born in St. Paul, Minnesota (d. 1992)
• 1903-06-11 Ernie Nevers, American College, Pro Football Hall of Fame fullback, coach (Stanford, Chicago Cardinals), born in Willow River, Minnesota (d. 1976)
• 1903-11-06 June Marlowe, American actress (Pardon Us, Clash of the Wolves), born in St. Cloud, Minnesota (d. 1984)
• 1904-06-14 Gilbert "Gil" Lamb, American actor (Hit Parade of 1947, Riding High), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1995)
• 1905-04-17 Herb Joesting, College Football Hall of Fame halfback/fullback (Uni of Minnesota; Chicago Bears), born in Little Falls, Minnesota (d. 1963)
• 1906-12-20 Lowell Gilmore, American actor (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Living Christ Series), born in St. Paul, Minnesota (d. 1960)
• 1906-12-23 Ross Lee Finney, American composer (Landscapes Remembered), born in Wells, Minnesota (d. 1997)
• 1907-04-13 Harold Stassen, American politician (25th Governor of Minnesota) and perennial presidential candidate, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 2001)
• 1907-05-02 Pinky Lee, American children's show host (Pinky Lee Show), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1993)
• 1907-09-17 Warren E. Burger, 15th Supreme Court chief justice (1969-86), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1995)
• 1908-12-28 Lew Ayres, American actor (All Quiet on Western Front; Holiday; Dr Kildare (films); Johnny Belinda), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1996)
• 1909-02-02 Frank Albertson, American actor (Psycho, It's a Wonderful Life, Alice Adams), born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota (d. 1964)
• 1909-06-17 Elmer L. Andersen, 30th Governor of Minnesota (1961-63), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2004)
• 1909-06-22 Michael "Mike" Todd [Avrom Goldbogen], American producer (Around the World in 80 Days) and 3rd husband of Elizabeth Taylor (1957-58), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1958)
• 1910-01-05 Ed Widseth, American College Football Hall of Fame tackle (University of Minnesota; Pro Bowl 1938; NY Giants), born in Gonvick, Minnesota (d. 1998)
• 1910-01-11 Izler Solomon, American conductor, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1987)
• 1910-05-22 Johnny Olson, American radio personality and television announcer (The Price is Right), born in Windom, Minnesota (d. 1985)
• 1910-09-29 Virginia Bruce, American actress (Action in Arabia), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1982)
• 1910-10-08 Gus Hall, American union organizer and head of the U.S. Communist Party, born in Cherry Township, Minnesota (d. 2000)
• 1911-07-06 LaVerne Andrews, American pop and swing jazz singer (The Andrews Sisters - "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"; "Rum and Coca-Cola"), born in Mound, Minnesota (d. 1967)
• 1911-10-26 Sid Gillman, Pro & College Football Hall of Fame end (Ohio State U) and coach (U of Cincinnati, LA Rams, Houston Oilers), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2003)
• 1912-04-27 Frederick R. Weisman, philanthropist, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1994)
• 1912-04-29 Richard Carlson, American stage and screen actor (All I Desire,; I Led 3 Lives), screenwriter and director (Riders to the Stars), born in Albert Lea, Minnesota (d. 1977)
• 1912-06-29 Joan Davis [Josephine Davis], American comic radio and screen actress (I Married Joan; The Rudy Vallee Show), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1961)
• 1912-07-18 Harry Levin, American literary scholar, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1994)
• 1913-01-19 Minnesota Fats [Rudolf Wanderone Jr], American billiard player and entertainer, born in New York City (d. 1996)
• 1913-08-19 Richard Simmons, American actor (Sergeant Preston of the Yukon), born in St. Paul, Minnesota (d. 2003)
• 1913-10-26 Stuart J. Byrne, American sci-fi author (Star Man, God Man), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 2011)
• 1913-11-04 Gig Young [Byron Elsworth Barr], American actor (They Shoot Horses Don't They), born in St. Cloud, Minnesota (d. 1978)
• 1914-01-28 Nelson Olmsted [or Olmstead], American voice actor (Sleep No More), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1992)
• 1914-06-18 E. G. Marshall [Everett Eugene Grunz], American actor (12 Angry Men, The Defenders), born in Owatonna Minnesota (d. 1998)
• 1914-11-08 Peter Mondavi, American Napa Valley winemaker (Charles Krug), born in Virginia, Minnesota (d. 2016)
• 1914-12-26 Richard Widmark, American actor (Madigan, Murder on the Orient Express, Judgement at Nuremberg), born in Sunrise Township, Minnesota (d. 2008)
• 1915-01-06 John C. Lilly, U.S. psychoanalyst and writer, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 2001)
• 1915-04-16 Joan Alexander [Louise Abrass], American actress (The New Adventures of Superman, The Tales of Hoffmann), born in St. Paul, Minnesota (d. 2009)
• 1915-07-18 Jane Frazee [Mary Jane Frehse], American actress, singer, and dancer (Beautiful But Broke; Beulah), born in Duluth, Minnesota (d. 1985)
• 1915-09-16 Cy Walter, American jazz pianist (Three's Company), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1968)
• 1915-09-24 Larry Gates, American actor (Guiding Light, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Body Snatchers), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 1996)
• 1916-01-03 Maxene Andrews, American pop and sing jazz singer (The Andrews Sisters - "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"; "Rum and Coca-Cola"), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1995)

• 1916-04-23 Bud Wilkinson, American college football coach (Oklahoma), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1994)
• 1917-02-24 William Fairbank, American physicist (superconductivity), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1989)
• 1917-07-10 Don Herbert, American scientist and TV host (Watch Mr Wizard), born in Waconia, Minnesota (d. 2007)

• 1918-02-16 Patty Andrews, American pop and swing jazz singer (The Andrews Sisters - "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"; "Rum and Coca-Cola"), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2013)
• 1918-05-09 Orville Freeman, American politician (Governor of Minnesota 1955-61, US Secretary of Agriculture 1961-69), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2003)
• 1919-02-05 Andreas Papandreou, Greek economist and politician (Prime Minister of Greece, 1981-89, 1993-96), born in Chios, Greece (d. 1996)
• 1920-04-23 Louis Barron, American composer (electronic music), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1989)
• 1920-11-21 Ralph Meeker [Rathgeber], American actor (Mister Roberts, Anderson Tapes, Night Stalker), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1988)
• 1920-11-25 Noel Neill, American actress (Adventures of Superman), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2016)
• 1921-05-09 Daniel Berrigan, American Jesuit priest and peace activist (Vietnam War), born in Virginia, Minnesota (d. 2016)
• 1921-05-19 William H. Stewart, 10th US Surgeon General (1965-69), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2008)
• 1921-06-08 LeRoy Neiman, American painter, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 2012)
• 1921-06-21 Jane Russell, American actress and leading sex symbol in 1940s-50s (The Outlaw), born in Bemidji, Minnesota (d. 2011)

• 1921-12-20 George Roy Hill, American Academy Award-winning film director (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; The Sting; Slap Shot; A Little Romance; The World According to Garp), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2002)

• 1922-06-11 Tony Charmoli, American dancer, choreographer, and director (Dinah Shore, Danny Kaye), born in Mountain Iron, Minnesota (d. 2020)

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