A Timeline of New York

Tim Lambert

1624

The Dutch build the first permanent trading post in New York

1626

Peter Minuit buys the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans

1628

The first black slaves arrive in New York

1639

A Swede called Jonas Bronck settles in the Bronx, which is named after him

1645

A settlement is founded at Flushing

1653

The city of New Amsterdam is incorporated. A wall of wooden stakes is built. The street next to it is called Wall Street.

1654

The first Jews arrive in New York

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. Federal Hall is built.

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 theater

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

1812

New York City Hall opens

1832

Horse-drawn streetcars run in New York for the first time

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 dedicated

1891

Carnegie Hall opens

1899

Bronx Zoo opens

1902

The Flatiron 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 in New York

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

2009

The Bank of America Tower is built

2013

The population of New York is 8.3 million

2014

One World Trade Center opens

2014

World Trade Center Transportation Hub opens