Oregon History Timeline

• 1792-10-29 Mount Hood (Oregon) is named after the British naval officer Alexander Arthur Hood by Lt. William E. Broughton who spotted the mountain near the mouth of the Willamette River.

• 1813-10-23 The Pacific Fur Company trading post in Astoria, Oregon is turned over to the rival British North West Company (the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest was dominated for the next three decades by the United Kingdom).
• 1818-10-20 US and Britain agree to joint control of Oregon country
• 1819-02-22 The Adams–Onís Treaty between Spain and the United States is signed, ceding Florida to the US and defining the boundary between the US and New Spain
• 1834-07-05 Provisional government forms in Oregon Country

• 1843-02-02 US & British settlers in Oregon Country choose government committee
• 1843-05-22 First wagon train departs Independence, Missouri for Oregon with 700-1,000 migrants
• 1843-07-05 Committee of 9 appointed to establish civil government in Oregon Country
• 1845-06-12 George Abernethy becomes 1st governor of Oregon Country
• 1846-01-05 The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom
• 1846-02-05 "Oregon Spectator" is 1st newspaper to be published on the West Coast
• 1846-06-15 Oregon Treaty signed, setting US-British boundary at 49°N
• 1846-08-05 Oregon territory divided between the United States and Britain at the 49th parallel
• 1848-08-14 Oregon Territory created
• 1850-07-25 Gold discovered in Oregon (Rogue River)
• 1853-03-02 Territory of Washington organized after separating from Oregon Territory
• 1859-02-14 Oregon admitted as 33rd state of the Union
• 1859-06-15 Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between U.S. and British/Canadian settlers
• 1880-01-09 The Great Gale of 1880 devastates parts of Oregon and Washington with high wind and heavy snow
• 1887-02-21 Oregon becomes 1st US state to make Labor Day a holiday
• 1902-06-02 2nd statewide initiative & referendum law adopted, in Oregon
• 1905-06-01 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition opens in Portland, Oregon
• 1907-06-20 1st Portland Rose festival held in Portland, Oregon
• 1908-02-24 In 'Muller v Oregon', the US Supreme Court favors an Oregon law limiting maximum hours a woman may work and denies that it curtails 'liberty of contract'
• 1913-02-17 US State of Oregon becomes second to enact minimum wage law
• 1915-12-21 10.17" (25.83 cm) of rainfall, Glenora, Oregon (state record until 2006)
• 1919-02-25 Oregon is 1st state to tax gasoline (1 cent per gallon)
• 1920-07-29 Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project, Oregon
• 1921-01-29 Great Olympic Blowdown: Hurricane force winds hit US Pacific Northwest states of Washington and Oregon [1]
• 1924-05-16 108°F (42°C) in Blitzen, Oregon
• 1929-08-08 Salem airport in Oregon dedicated
• 1933-02-10 -54°F (-48°C), Seneca, Oregon (state record)
• 1933-09-14 2 billion board feet of lumber destroyed in Tillamook Oregon fire

• 1938-08-10 119°F (48°C), Pendleton, Oregon (state record)
• 1939-03-27 1st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: U of Oregon beats Ohio State, 46-33; Ohio State forward Jimmy Hull is named tournament Most Outstanding Player
• 1942-06-22 Japanese submarine at the mouth of Columbia River, Oregon
• 1942-09-09 1st bombing on continental US soil at Mount Emily, Oregon during WWII by Japanese planes
• 1948-05-30 A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
• 1953-08-01 KOBI TV channel 5 in Medford, Oregon (NBC) begins broadcasting
• 1955-01-27 1955 NFL Draft: George Shaw from University of Oregon first pick by Baltimore Colts

• 1962-12-03 1963 NFL Draft: Terry Baker from Oregon State first pick by Los Angeles Rams
• 1962-12-27 28th Heisman Trophy Award: Terry Baker, Oregon State (QB)
• 1966-10-01 West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with eighteen fatal injuries and no survivors 5.5 miles south of Wemme, Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9.

• 1970-12-21 Oregon v. Mitchell Supreme Court case was decided, lowering the minimum voting age in U.S. federal elections to 18. The voting age for state and local elections was left to states discretion
• 1972-07-02 American pole vaulter Bob Seagren breaks world record for the 4th and final time with 5.63m in Eugene, Oregon
• 1974-01-16 Landslide kills 9 in Canyonville, Oregon
• 1979-01-18 Peter Jenkins finishes "A Walk Across America" at Florence, Oregon

• 1988-07-25 Mindy Duncan, 16, of Oregon, crowned 6th Miss Teen USA
• 1988-08-01 Deep Rover 1-man research submarine unveiled at Crater Lake, Oregon
• 1989-12-27 Oregon begins taking bids on NBA games
• 1990-04-01 It becomes illegal in Salem Oregon to be within 2 feet of nude dancers

• 1990-07-16 Bridgette LeAnn Wilson, 17, of Oregon, 8th crowned Miss Teen USA
• 1992-11-21 Oregon Senator Bob Packwood issues apology for unwelcome sexual advances
• 1992-11-22 Washington Post reports Oregon Senator Bob Packwood sexually harassed 10 women
• 1999-02-04 MV New Carissa runs aground near Coos Bay, Oregon
• 2005-04-14 The Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Multnomah County
• 2010-05-18 Police officer James Crooker is asked to leave the Red and Black Café in Portland, Oregon after co-owner John Langley claimed Crooker's uniformed presence made him uncomfortable
• 2011-01-10 College Football, 13th BCS National Championship, University of Phoenix Stadium: #1 Auburn beats #2 Oregon, 22-19
• 2012-12-30 9 people are killed and 26 are injured in a tour bus crash off interstate 84, Oregon, US
• 2014-12-13 80th Heisman Trophy Award: Marcus Mariota, Oregon (QB)
• 2015-01-12 College Football National Championship, AT&T Stadium, Arlington: #4 Ohio State beats #2 Oregon, 42-20
• 2015-10-01 A gunman kills 8 students and a teacher at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon
• 2016-01-26 Leader of Oregon militia occupying Malheur wildlife refuge arrested and another killed in shoot-out with Federal agents
• 2016-02-11 Last of Oregon militia occupying Malheur wildlife refuge surrenders to authorities after 41 days
• 2017-05-26 Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Ricky John Best killed, Micah David-Cole Fletcher injured defending Muslim teenager in Portland, Oregon
• 2019-06-03 MLB Draft: Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman first pick by Baltimore Orioles
• 2019-06-20 Oregon Governor Kate Brown authorizes police to round up 11 Republican state senators who have gone into hiding to stop vote on cap-and-trade proposal emissions bill

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 159

• 1784-10-19 John McLoughlin, Canadian Hudson's Bay Co pioneer and fur trader in Oregon Country, born in Rivière du Loup, Quebec (d. 1857)
• 1802-09-04 Marcus Whitman, American physician and missionary (Oregon Trail), born in Federal Hollow, New York (d. 1847)
• 1820-07-02 George Law Curry, American newspaper publisher and Governor of Oregon, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1878)
• 1823-09-16 Francis Parkman, American historian and author (Oregon Trail), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1893)
• 1852-04-23 Edwin Markham, American poet (1st winner of American Acad of Poets Award 1937), born in Oregon City, Oregon (d. 1940)
• 1875-04-27 Lumsden Hare, Irish actor (Oregon Trail, Desert Fox, Young Bess), born in Ireland (d. 1964)
• 1876-06-22 H. Guy Bedwell, American thoroughbred trainer (North American champion in wins x 7; earnings 1918-19; first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton), born in Roseburg, Oregon (d. 1951)
• 1883-04-12 Imogen Cunningham, American photographer (1965 ASMP award), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1976)

• 1888-10-31 Harold Vincent Milligan, American musician and composer, born in Astoria, Oregon (d. 1951)
• 1892-09-11 Pinto Colvig, American animation voice actor (Goofy, Pluto), born in Jacksonville, Oregon (d. 1967)
• 1895-12-07 Jack Pennick, American actor (Lady From Louisiana), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1964)

• 1901-04-12 Lowell Stockman, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon, born in Helix, Oregon (d. 1962)
• 1901-05-01 Slats Gill, Basketball Hall of Fame coach (36 seasons Oregon State 1928-64), born in Salem, Oregon (d. 1966)
• 1901-09-26 Donald Cook, American actor (Too Young To Go Steady), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1961)
• 1903-05-05 James Beard, American culinary expert and author (Delights & Prejudices), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1985)
• 1906-07-27 Herbert Jasper, Canadian physiologist and neurologist, born in La Grande, Oregon (d. 1999)
• 1907-01-23 Bob Steele [Robert Adrian Bradbury], American actor (Monogram, Supreme, Tiffany), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1988)
• 1907-02-05 Norton Simon, American industrialist (Hunts Foods, Norton Simon Museum), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1993)
• 1908-12-26 Ralph Hill, American athlete (Olympic silver 5,000m 1932; same time as winner Lauri Lehtinen), born in Klamath Falls, Oregon (d. 1994)

• 1913-03-22 Tom McCall, American politician, Governor of Oregon (d. 1983)
• 1916-04-12 Beverly Cleary, American Newberry Medal winning writer of children's and young adult fiction (Ramona series, 1955-99), born in McMinnville, Oregon (d. 2021)
• 1917-04-28 Robert Cornthwaite, American actor (Thing, War of the Worlds, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), born in St. Helens, Oregon (d. 2006)
• 1917-05-14 Lou Harrison, American composer (La Koro Sutro), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2003)
• 1918-03-04 Margaret Osborne DuPont, American tennis player (6-time Grand Slam singles winner), born in Joseph, Oregon (d. 2012)

• 1919-03-28 Jacob Avshalomov, Russian-American composer (Symphony of Songs; The Oregon), conductor (Portland Youth Philharmonic, 1954-91), and pedagogue, born in Tsingtao, China (d. 2013)
• 1920-07-19 Robert Mann, American composer and violinist (String Quartet 1952), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2018)
• 1920-11-12 Sunset Carson [Michael Harrison] American western actor (Cat of Rockies, El Paso Kid, Oregon Trail), born in Gracemont, Oklahoma (d. 1990)
• 1922-04-22 Richard Diebenkorn, American painter (Ocean Park Paintings), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1993)
• 1922-07-12 Mark Hatfield, American politician (29th Governor of Oregon), born in Dallas, Oregon (d. 2011)
• 1922-09-19 Damon Francis Knight, American sci-fi author (CV, Beyond the Barrier), born in Baker City, Oregon (d. 2002)
• 1924-11-01 Jeff Richards [Richard Mansfield Taylor], American actor (Don't Go Near the Water), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1989)

• 1925-08-09 Len Sutton, American auto racer and broadcaster (Indianapolis 500, 1962 runner-up), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2006)
• 1925-10-29 Betty Evans Grayson, American softball pitcher (National Softball Hall of Fame 1959; Chicago Queens), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1979)
• 1926-04-11 Robert Hall Lewis, American composer, born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1996)
• 1926-08-03 Gordon Scott [Werschkul], American actor (Tarzan series), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2007)
• 1927-01-10 Johnnie Ray, American pop singer ("Cry"), born in Dallas, Oregon (d. 1990)
• 1927-07-07 (Carl) "Doc" Severinsen, American trumpeter and bandleader (The Tonight Show, 1962-92), born in Arlington, Oregon
• 1927-08-08 Jim Weaver, American politician (US Representatives from Oregon, 1975-87), businessman, and WWII veteran, born in Brookings, South Dakota (d. 2020)
• 1927-10-08 Jim Elliot, American Christian missionary, born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1956)
• 1929-04-01 Jane Powell [Suzanne Burce], American singer and actress (Royal Wedding; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2021)
• 1929-11-02 Rachel Ames, American actress (Line Up, Audrey-Gen Hospital), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1931-06-16 Robert Freeman Smith, American politician (Rep-R-Oregon), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2020)

• 1934-04-26 Michael McCloskey, American environmentalist and chairman (Sierra Club), born in Eugene, Oregon
• 1935-05-03 Donald P Hodel, US Secretary of Interior (1985-89), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1936-10-13 Elizabeth Furse, American politician (first naturalized American born in Africa to win election to the United States Congress), born in Nairobi, Kenya
• 1936-11-21 James DePreist, American conductor (Mitropoulos Prize, 1964, Oregon Symphony, 1980-2003), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2013)
• 1938-05-25 Raymond Carver, American poet and short story writer (Furious Season), born in Clatskanie, Oregon (d. 1988)
• 1939-02-02 Dale T. Mortensen, American economist (Nobel, 2010), born in Enterprise, Oregon (d. 2014)
• 1939-09-07 Stanley David Griggs, American astronaut (STS 51-D), STS 33), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1989)
• 1940-02-27 Howard Hesseman, American comic actor (WKRP in Cincinnati - "Dr. Johnny Fever"; Head of the Class), born in Salem, Oregon (d. 2022) [1]
• 1940-03-01 Ralph Towner, American jazz-rock fusion and world music guitarist (Oregon; Paul Winter Consort), born in Chehalis, Washington
• 1940-06-16 Neil Goldschmidt, American politician (Governor of Oregon 1987-91), born in Eugene, Oregon
• 1940-07-30 Pat Schroeder, American politician (Rep-D-Colorado, 1973-97), and feminist, born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2023)
• 1940-09-12 Mickey Lolich, American pitcher (Detroit Tiger, won 25 in 1971), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1941-05-05 Terry Baker, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Heisman Trophy 1962, Oregon State), born in Pine River, Minnesota
• 1941-08-20 Rich Brooks, American football coach (University of Oregon 1977-94; St. Louis Rams 1995-96), born in Forest, California
• 1941-10-28 Glen Moore, American jazz bassist and composer, born in Portland, Oregon
• 1941-12-23 Tim Hardin, American singer ("If I Were A Carpenter"; "Black Sheep Boy"; "Reason to Believe"), born in Eugene, Oregon (d. 1980)
• 1942-03-09 Mark Lindsay, American rock vocalist (Paul Revere & Raiders - "Kicks"; "Indian Reservation"), born in Eugene, Oregon
• 1942-05-01 Jean Saubert, American alpine ski racer (Olympic giant slalom silver, slalom bronze 1964), born in Roseburg, Oregon (d. 2007)
• 1943-06-17 Burt Rutan, American aerospace engineer, born in Estacada, Oregon
• 1943-11-06 Ken Patera, American weightlifter, and professional wrestler, born in Portland, Oregon
• 1943-11-21 Larry Mahan, American rodeo rider (PRCA All-Around Champion 1966–70, 73; ProRodeo Hall of Fame), born in Salem, Oregon (d. 2023)
• 1944-05-25 John Bunnell, former Sheriff of Multnomah County, Oregon and TV personality (World's Wildest Police Videos), born in Pendleton, Oregon
• 1944-10-08 Susan Raye, American country music singer ("L.A. International Airport"), born in Eugene, Oregon
• 1944-10-10 Stephen Scott, American composer (Bowed Piano Ensemble; Vikings of Sunrise), and educator (Colorado College), born in Corvallis, Oregon (d. 2021)
• 1945-04-19 Ram Rod [Laurence Shurtliff], American music executive and roadie (the Grateful Dead), born in Pendleton, Oregon (d. 2006)
• 1945-08-05 Jo Collins, American Playboy playmate (Dec, 1964, Playmate of the Year 1965), born in Lebanon, Oregon
• 1946-12-09 Dennis Dunaway, American rock bassist and songwriter (Alice Cooper - "School's Out"), born in Cottage Grove, Oregon
• 1947-03-06 Dick Fosbury, American athlete (Olympic gold high jump 1968, "Fosbury Flop"), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2023)
• 1947-05-06 Ben Masters, American actor (Vic-Another World, Making Mr Right), born in Corvalis, Oregon
• 1947-05-27 Peter DeFazio, American politician, Rep-D-Oregon (1987-), born in Needham, Massachusetts
• 1947-07-28 Sally Struthers, American actress (All in the Family - "Gloria"), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1947-08-13 Gretchen Corbett, American actress (Beth-Rockford Files), born in Portland, Oregon

• 1949-01-07 Anne Schedeen, American actress, born in Portland, Oregon
• 1949-05-03 Ron Wyden, American politician (Senator-D-Oregon 1996-, Rep-D-Oregon 1981-96), born in Wichita, Kansas
• 1949-09-16 Susan Ruttan, American actress (Roxanne Melman-LA Law), born in Oregon City, Oregon
• 1949-10-17 Bill Hudson, comedian (Bonkers, Hudson Brothers Show), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1949-10-27 Mike Kopetski, American businessman and politician (Rep-D-Oregon), born in Pendleton, Oregon
• 1950-12-31 Bob Gilder, American golfer (6 PGA tour titles), born in Corvallis, Oregon
• 1951-06-26 Rindy Ross, American rock vocalist and saxophonist (Quarterflash), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1951-07-21 Diana Dennis, American body builder (Women Physique World), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1951-08-23 Mark Hudson, American television personality (The Hudson Brothers), musician, songwriter, and record producer (Aerosmith; Hanson; Ringo Starr; Ozzy Osbourne), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1952-01-10 Scott Thurston, American session and touring guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter (Iggy Pop, 1973-79; Motels, 1982-84; Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, 1989-2017), born in Medford, Oregon
• 1952-04-05 Mitch Pileggi, American actor (The X-Files), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1952-05-25 Gordon Smith, American politician (U.S. Senator from Oregon), born in Pendleton, Oregon
• 1953-01-18 Brett Hudson, American comedian (Bonkers, Hudson Brothers Show), born in Portland, Oregon

• 1954-02-16 Margaux Hemingway, actress (Lipstick, They Call Me Bruce), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1954-03-04 Peter Jacobsen, American golfer (US Senior Open 2004, Senior Players C'ship 2005; 7 PGA Tour titles), born in Portland, Oregon
• 1954-03-15 Craig Wasson, Oregon, actor (Body Double, 4 Friends, Men's Club)

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