New York History (state)

The history of the state of New York, from its days as an Iroquois and Lenape homeland to its modern status as an American financial powerhouse.

The Strange Legacy of Aaron Burr

Few of the nation's founders have been marginalized more than Aaron Burr. Was there something more to the man who shot and killed Alexander Hamilton?

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Timeline

  • c.10000 B.C. - First people arrive on what is now the East Coast of the United States.
  • 1626 - Manhattan Island purchased from Lenape tribe. New Amsterdam (now New York) had been founded a year earlier.
  • 1735 - The trial of John Peter Zenger in New York establishes important precedents for free speech and press.
  • 1792 - Twenty-four stock brokers sign the Buttonwood Agreement, creating what is now known as the New York Stock Exchange.
  • 1807 - The first steamboat line is opened between New York City and Albany.
  • 1863 - The New York Draft Riots are the largest civil disturbance in United States history.
  • 1872 - "Honest John" Kelly becomes the first Irish leader of the Tammany Hall political machine in New York, after the downfall of Boss Tweed.
  • c.1880 - Another great wave of immigration from Europe begins. Irish, Italians, Polish, Czechs, Slavs, and European Jews all diversify the nation's heritage.
  • 1898 - The Five Boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx) are consolidated into the current boundaries of New York City.
  • 1911 - Triangle Shirtwaist Fire kills 146 female workers, mainly Jewish and Italian immigrants.
  • 1919-1930s - The Harlem Renaissance flowers in New York, featuring Langston Hughes, W.E.B. Dubois, and others.
  • 1929 - A steep crash in the stock market precipitates the Great Depression.
  • 1969 - Stonewall Riots in New York become rallying point for gay community. The first Pride Parade is held on June 28th, 1970 to commemorate the one-year anniversary.
  • 1975 - New York is infamously forced to take federal loans to avoid bankruptcy in what is considered the city's low point. A period of revitalization begins in the 1980s.
  • 2001 - Terrorist attacks topple the World Trade Center on September 11.