A TIMELINE OF NEW YORK
By Tim Lambert
1624 The Dutch build the first permanent trading post at New York
1626 Peter Minuit buys the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans
1628 The first black slaves arrive
1639 A Swede called Jonas Bronck settles in the Bronx, which is named after him
1645 A settlement is founded at Flushing
1653 A wall of wooden stakes is built. The street next to it is called Wall Street.
1654 The first Jews arrive
1657 Thatched roofs are banned because of the risk of fire
1658 Dutch farmers build a village called Nieuw Haarlem
1661 The first settlement is made on Staten Island
1664 New Amsterdam surrenders to the British
1698 Trinity Church is dedicated
1700 New York has a population of about 5,000
1720 The first shipyard opens in New York
1725 New York gains its first newspaper
1730 The first synagogue in New York is built
1732 New York gains its first theatre
1741 A series of fires break out. Some people fear a conspiracy among the slaves and 31 of them are executed.
1766 St Paul's Chapel is built
1776 New York has a population of about 25,000
1783 George Washington enters New York
1784 The Bank of New York is founded
1799 St Marks Church-in-the-Bowery is built
1800 New York has a population of about 60,000
1811 A commission draws up plans for building new streets in New York
1823 New York has a population of about 23,000
1835 New York suffers a severe fire
1837 Harlem is connected to New York by railway
1845 New York Police Force is formed
1847 Madison Square opens
1849 The Astor Place Riot takes place
1851 The New York Times begins publication
1858 Macy's opens
1863 Draft riots take place
1866 Cholera kills 2,000 people
1867 Prospect Park is laid out
1869 The Museum of Natural History is founded
1872 Bloomingdales is founded
1878 The first telephones are installed in New York
1883 Brooklyn Bridge opens
1884 Bryant Park is laid out
1886 The Statue of Liberty is unveiled
1891 Carnegie Hall opens
1899 Bronx Zoo opens
1902 The Flat Iron Building is erected
1904 The first line of the New York Subway opens
1909 Queensboro Bridge is built
1911 A fire at the Triangle Factory kills 146 people
1913 The Woolworth Building is erected. Grand Central Station opens.
1927 Holland Tunnel opens
1929 The Museum of Modern Art is founded
1930 The Chrysler Building is erected. The Whitney Museum of American Art is founded.
1931 The Empire State Building is erected
1968 The General Motors Building is erected
1988 The Museum of the Moving Image opens
1990 David Dinkins becomes the first African American Mayor of New York
2001 The World Trade Center is destroyed in a terrorist attack