New York City History Timeline

Events 1 - 100 of 841

• 1652-06-27 New Amsterdam (now New York City) enacts first speed limit law in North America
• 1660-11-15 First kosher butcher (Asser Levy) licensed in New Amsterdam (now New York City)
• 1665-06-12 England installs a municipal government in New York City

• 1673-08-08 Dutch battle fleet of 23 ships demands surrender of NYC
• 1674-02-19 Dutch Republic and England sign Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War; North American colony of New Netherland returned to British [OS date, 02-09 NS]
• 1693-07-08 NYC authorizes 1st police uniforms in American colonies
• 1704-02-28 Frenchman Elias Neau opens a school for blacks in NYC
• 1730-04-08 Congregation Shearith Israel opens the 1st North American synagogue in New York City on Mill Street in Lower Manhattan
• 1732-12-06 1st play in American colonies acted by professional players in New York
• 1736-03-31 Bellevue Hospital founded in a New York City almshouse - 1st public hospital in the US

• 1751-02-25 1st performing monkey exhibited in America, NYC (admission 1 cent)
• 1754-01-04 Columbia University founded, as Kings College (NYC)
• 1754-07-07 Kings College in NYC opens (renamed Columbia College)
• 1756-03-17 St. Patrick's Day is first celebrated in NYC at the Crown & Thistle Tavern
• 1762-01-15 Fraunces Tavern opens in NYC
• 1762-03-17 1st St Patrick's Day parade in NYC
• 1765-10-07 Stamp Act Congress (First Congress of the American Colonies) convenes in New York City to devise a unified protest against new British taxation
• 1765-10-19 Stamp Act Congress meets in New York City, writes the Declaration of Rights and Grievances
• 1768-04-05 1st US Chamber of Commerce forms (NYC)
• 1768-10-30 First Methodist church in North American colonies initiated (Wesley Chapel, NYC)
• 1776-08-30 Continental Army evacuates Long Island and falls back to Manhattan, NYC
• 1783-11-25 Britain evacuates New York city, its last military position in the United States
• 1783-12-04 General Washington bids officers farewell at Fraunce's Tavern, NYC
• 1785-01-11 Continental Congress convenes in NYC
• 1786-06-08 Commercially made ice cream 1st advertised (Mr Hall in NYC)
• 1786-10-15 Earliest 32°F (0°C) recorded temperature in NYC
• 1787-04-16 1st American comedy, "The Contrast," makes its debut in NYC
• 1787-11-01 First free school in NYC (African Free School) opens
• 1789-03-04 US House of Representatives 1st full meeting, NYC, Fx. Muhlenberg 1st speaker

• 1789-05-07 First US Presidential inaugural ball (for George Washington in NYC)
• 1789-05-12 Society of St Tammany is formed by Revolutionary War soldiers. It later becomes an infamous group of NYC political bosses
• 1789-09-13 1st loan to US government (from NYC banks)
• 1790-02-01 US Supreme Court convenes for 1st time (NYC)
• 1790-12-06 The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1791-12-17 NYC traffic regulation creates 1st 1-way street
• 1794-04-21 NYC formally declares coast of Ellis Island publicly owned, so they can build forts to protect NYC from British
• 1797-01-01 Albany replaces New York City as capital of New York
• 1799-09-01 Bank of Manhattan Company opens in NYC (forerunner to Chase Manhattan)
• 1800-09-07 Zion AME Church dedicated (NYC)

• 1814-01-22 1st Knights Templar grand encampment in US held in New York City
• 1817-11-25 First sword swallower in US performs (NYC)
• 1818-02-07 1st successful US educational magazine "Academician" begins (NYC)
• 1819-05-21 1st bicycles (swift walkers) in US introduced in NYC
• 1819-07-03 1st savings bank in US (Bank of Savings in NYC) opens its doors
• 1820-08-14 1st US eye hospital, the NY Eye Infirmary, opens in NYC
• 1821-06-21 African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church organizes (NYC)
• 1824-11-16 New York City's Fifth Avenue opens for business
• 1825-03-02 1st grand opera in US sung in English, NYC
• 1825-06-04 Unseasonable hurricane hits NYC
• 1825-06-11 The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City
• 1827-03-16 First US newspaper, "Freedom's Journal" owned and operated by African Americans begins publishing in New York City
• 1830-09-09 Charles Durant, 1st US aeronaut, flies a balloon from Castle Garden, NYC to Perth Amboy, NJ, a dsstance of about 25 miles, covered in 3 hours
• 1831-12-10 "Spirit of the Times" begins publishing in New York City, the premier sports journal of the 19th century
• 1832-11-14 First streetcar (horse-drawn) (John Mason) debuts in NYC; fare 12 cents rode on 4th Avenue between Prince and 14th Streets
• 1832-11-26 1st streetcar railway in America starts operating in New York City with 12 cent fare
• 1832-12-17 Real Estate developer Samuel Ruggles deeds Gramercy Park to board of trustees to hold as parkland, he is granted tax exempt status by New York City for the park, and develops the surrounding lots ensuring private access only to those properties
• 1834-02-18 1st US labor newspaper, "The Man", published, NYC
• 1834-06-02 5th national black convention meets (NYC)
• 1835-12-16 Fire consumes over 600 buildings in NYC
• 1837-05-10 Panic of 1837: New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels.
• 1837-05-31 Astor Hotel opens in NYC, it later becomes the Waldorf-Astoria

• 1838-04-08 Steamship "Great Western" makes her maiden voyage from Bristol, England, to New York
• 1838-04-22 English steamship "Sirius" docks in NYC after crossing the Atlantic, first transatlantic steam passenger service
• 1838-04-23 English steamship "Great Western" crosses the Atlantic docks in NYC

• 1840-01-01 1st recorded bowling match in US, Knickerbocker Alleys, NYC
• 1841-03-27 1st US steam fire engine tested, NYC
• 1841-11-16 Life preservers made of cork are patented by Napoleon Guerin (NYC)
• 1842-01-01 1st illustrated weekly magazine in US publishes 1st issue, NYC
• 1842-02-01 1st adhesive postage stamps in US isssued, by Alexander Greig's City Despatch Post company, in New York City
• 1842-11-09 The first U.S. design patent for typefaces and borders was issued to George Bruce of New York City
• 1843-02-06 The first minstrel show in the United States The Virginia Minstrels opens (Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City).
• 1843-12-25 1st theatre matinee (Olympic Theatre, NYC)

• 1845-03-26 Joseph Francis from NYC, patents a corrugated sheet-iron lifeboat
• 1845-07-14 1st postmasters' provisional stamps issued, NYC
• 1845-07-19 Fire in NYC destroys 1,000 homes and kills many
• 1847-01-15 1st Swedish magazine in US, Skandinavia, published in NYC
• 1847-07-01 1st US postage stamps go on sale, 5 cent Franklin and 10 cent Washington, NYC
• 1847-07-24 Rotary-type printing press patents received by Richard March Hoe, NYC
• 1848-06-10 1st telegraph link between NYC & Chicago

• 1849-05-10 Astor Place Riot: Backers of American actor and working class hero Edwin Forrest attempt to disrupt British actor William McReady's performance at Astor Place Opera House in NYC; Military troops supporting police shoot at the crowd, killing between 22 and 31 [1]
• 1850-01-26 1st German language daily newspaper in US published, NYC
• 1852-01-01 1st US public bath opens in New York City
• 1853-03-03 US Assay Office in NYC authorized

• 1853-05-02 Franconi's Hippodrome opens in New York City
• 1854-01-09 Astor Library opens in New York City
• 1854-10-10 US Assay Office in NYC, New York opens
• 1854-12-30 Pennsylvania Rock Oil Co, 1st in US, incorporated in NYC
• 1855-05-05 New York State Commission on Emigration assumes lease of Castle Garden (now known as Castle Clinton), at the lower tip of Manhattan, to be used for immigration [1]
• 1855-08-01 Castle Garden in NYC (now known as Castle Clinton) opens as 1st US receiving station for immigrants [1]
• 1855-09-27 George Frederick Bristow's "Rip Van Winkle", 2nd American opera, opens in NYC

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Birthdays 1 - 100 of 1,806

• 1643-05-07 Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 17th Mayor of New York City (1686-88), born in New Amsterdam (now NYC) (d. 1700)
• 1720-09-12 Frederick Philipse III, American land owner (Bronx, Westchester & Putnam), born in New York City (d. 1785)
• 1726-12-04 William Alexander, Lord Stirling, American general (American Revolutionary War leader), born in New York City (d. 1783)

• 1768-06-30 Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, First Lady of the United States (1817-25) as the wife of the fifth President James Monroe, born in New York City (d. 1830)

• 1775-04-21 Alexander Anderson, American engraver and illustrator (Shakespeare), born in New York City (d. 1870)
• 1779-07-15 Clement Clarke Moore, US professor and author ('Twas the Night Before Xmas), born in New York City (d. 1863)

• 1791-02-12 Peter Cooper, American industrialist, inventor and philanthropist (Cooper Union, steam locomotive), born in New York City (d. 1883)
• 1791-06-09 John Howard Payne, American actor, playwright (Fair Warning), author and creator of the hit song "Home! Sweet Home!", born in New York City (d. 1852)

• 1798-09-01 Richard Delafield, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1873)
• 1801-07-11 John Hill Hewitt, American songwriter (A Minstrel's Return from the War), born in New York City (d. 1890)
• 1803-07-24 Alexander Jackson Davis, American architect (gothic revivalist), born in New York City (d. 1892)
• 1804-05-22 John William Livingston, American Commander (Union Navy), born in New York City (d. 1885)
• 1805-04-30 William Kerley Strong, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1867)
• 1807-07-24 Ira Aldridge, famed 19th century African American Shakespearian actor (Othello), born in New York City (d. 1867) [1]
• 1808-08-03 Hamilton Fish, American politician (Governor of New York), born in New York City (d. 1893)
• 1809-02-25 George Washington Cullom, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1892)
• 1811-08-29 Henry Bergh, American social reformer who founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and co-founded the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC), born in New York City (d. 1888)
• 1812-06-14 Fernando Wood, American politician, New York City mayor (1855-58 and 1860-62), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1881)
• 1812-09-12 Richard Hoe, American inventor and industrialist, born in New York City (d. 1886)
• 1814-01-26 Rufus King, American newspaper editor, politician and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1876)
• 1814-07-06 Justus McKinstry, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1897)
• 1814-08-23 James Roosevelt Bayley, first Bishop of Newark, New Jersey, and the eighth Archbishop of Baltimore, born in New York City (d. 1877)
• 1815-04-29 Abram Duryée, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1890)
• 1815-06-02 Philip Kearny, American Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1862)
• 1815-11-15 John Banvard, American artist who painted worlds largest painting (3 mile canvas), born in New York City (d. 1892)
• 1816-06-19 William Henry Webb, American industrialist and philanthropist, born in New York City (d. 1899)
• 1817-06-21 James Brewerton Ricketts, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1887)
• 1818-08-18 William Farquhar Barry, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1879)
• 1819-05-27 Julia Ward Howe, American poet (Battle Hymn of the Republic), author, abolitionist, and women's suffragist, born in New York City (d. 1910)

• 1819-10-20 Daniel E. Sickles, American lawyer, politician (US Representative from New York, 1857-61 and 1893-95), diplomat, and Civil War Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1914) [1]

• 1822-12-10 Thomas Casimer Devin, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1878)

• 1823-05-05 James Allen Hardie, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1876)
• 1823-06-17 John Henry Hobart Ward, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1903)
• 1823-06-21 Edward Elmer Potter, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1889)
• 1824-03-05 James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman (Currier and Ives), born in New York City (d. 1895)
• 1824-06-03 Charles Kinnaird Graham, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1889)
• 1827-09-22 John Grubb Parke, American Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1900)
• 1830-11-20 Patrick Henry Jones, Irish-American lawyer, Postmaster of New York City, and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland (d. 1900)
• 1831-01-26 Mary Mapes Dodge, American children's author (St. Nicholas Magazine), editor and writer (Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates), born in New York City (d. 1905)
• 1831-05-28 Eliza Ann Gardner, African-American abolitionist and religious leader, born in New York City (d. 1922)
• 1831-12-29 Adam Badeau, American author, Union Army officer, and diplomat, born in New York City (d. 1895)
• 1834-06-16 Wesley Merritt, American Major General (Union Army), 1st American Military Governor of the Philippines, born in New York City (d. 1910)
• 1835-09-11 William Wirt Allen, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in New York City (d. 1894)
• 1836-06-14 Thomas Wilberforce Egan, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1887)
• 1836-07-02 Henry Eugene Davies, American writer, public official, lawyer, and Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1894)
• 1836-09-11 Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American author (The Hasheesh Eater), born in New York City (d. 1870)
• 1838-12-03 Cleveland Abbe, American meteorologist (Father of Weather Bureau), born in New York City (d. 1916)
• 1839-03-09 Phoebe Knapp, American hymn writer and organist, born in New York City (d. 1908)
• 1841-01-10 George Melville, American polar explorer and naval engineer, born in New York City (d. 1912)

• 1842-10-14 Joe Start, American baseball player, born in New York City (d. 1927)
• 1843-04-15 Henry James, American-British author (Turn of the Screw, Bostonians), born in New York City (d. 1916)
• 1844-08-22 George Washington De Long, American Arctic Explorer whose disastrous expedition provided evidence to support the theory of trans-Arctic oceanic drift, born in New York City (d. 1881)
• 1845-05-25 Lip Pike, American baseball player, born in New York City (d. 1893)
• 1848-08-30 Andrew Onderdonk, American railway contractor (Canadian Pacific Railway), born in New York City (d. 1905)
• 1849-07-20 Robert Anderson Van Wyck, American first Mayor of New York City, born in New York City (d. 1918)

• 1851-04-13 Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist, born in New York City (d. 1928)
• 1853-11-09 Stanford White, American architect, born in New York City (d. 1906)
• 1855-07-30 James E. Kelly, American sculptor "Sculptor of American History", born in New York City (d. 1933)
• 1855-12-05 Clinton Hart Merriam, American zoologist and ornithologist, born in New York City (d. 1942)
• 1856-05-26 George Templeton Strong, American composer, born in New York City (d. 1948)
• 1857-06-18 Henry Clay Folger, American CEO of Standard Oil and founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library, born in New York City (d. 1930)
• 1858-07-24 Wolfgang Kapp, German politician (Kapp Putsch 1920), born in New York City (d. 1922)

• 1859-10-29 Charles Ebbets, American sports executive (co-owner of Brooklyn Dodgers 1897-1902), born in New York City (d. 1925)

• 1860-03-11 Thomas Hastings, American architect (NY Public Library), born in New York City (d. 1929)
• 1861-02-02 Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist (Guggenheim Museum NYC), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1949)
• 1861-09-20 Herbert Putnam, American Librarian of Congress, born in New York City (d. 1955)
• 1861-09-28 Pedro De Cordoba, American actor (Club Havana, Swamp Fire, Saboteur), born in New York City (d. 1950)

• 1862-11-08 James Edward Sullivan, American sports official and founder (Amateur Athletic Union), born in New York City (d. 1914)
• 1863-09-21 John Bunny, American film comedian, born in New York City (d. 1915)
• 1863-12-16 Ralph Adams Cram, American gothic architect (Cathedral of St Joan NYC), born in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire (d. 1942)
• 1864-12-25 Thomas Cahill, American soccer coach and administrator (first coach US men's national team), born in New York City (d. 1951)
• 1865-06-26 George C. Pearce, American actor (The Shadow Sinister, British Agent, Valiant), born in New York City (d. 1940)
• 1865-12-20 Elsie De Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator, born in New York City (d. 1950)
• 1866-01-19 Harry Davenport, American actor and director (Her Unborn Child, My Sin), born in New York City (d. 1949)
• 1867-01-21 James Marcus, American actor (The Eagle, The Lonely Trail), born in New York City (d. 1937)

• 1867-09-21 Henry L. Stimson, American statesman (46th United States Secretary of State), born in New York City (d. 1950)

• 1870-01-02 Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and entrepreneur (founder NHL New York Rangers; builder third incarnation of Madison Square Garden, NYC), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1929)
• 1870-02-12 Joe Howard, American vaudeville, Broadway, and television singer (Gay Nineties Revue), and songwriter ("Hello Ma Baby"), born in New York City (d. 1961) [1]
• 1870-05-24 Benjamin N. Cardozo, American lawyer and jurist, born in New York City (d. 1938)
• 1871-07-17 Lyonel Feininger, German-American cartoonist and painter, born in New York City (d. 1956)
• 1871-10-02 Martha Brookes Hutcheson, American landscape architect, born in New York City (d. 1959)
• 1872-04-29 Harry Payne Whitney, American businessman and thoroughbred horse breeder, born in New York City (d. 1930)
• 1873-08-18 Otto Harbach [Hauerbach], American librettist, lyricist (Smoke Gets in Your Eyes), and mentor to Oscar Hammerstein II, born in New York City (d. 1963)
• 1874-04-24 John Russell Pope, American architect (Jefferson Memorial, National Archives and Records Administration), born in New York City (d. 1937)

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