1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano reaches New York harbor.
1647 Peter Stuyvesant arrives in New Amsterdam to replace Willem Kieft as Director-General of New Netherland, the Dutch colonial settlement in present-day New York City.
1653 New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
1657 Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
1665 England installs a municipal government in New York City (the former Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam).
1730 Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
1756 Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern).
1783 American Revolutionary War: The last British troops leave New York City three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
1783 At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, US General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell.
1788 The Philadelphia Convention sets the date for the first presidential election in the United States, and New York City becomes the country's temporary capital.
1789 In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first ''quorum'' and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first House Speaker.
1789 On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
1790 George Washington delivers the first State of the Union Address in New York City.
1790 In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States attempts to convene for the first time.
1790 The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1793 New York City's first daily newspaper, the ''American Minerva'', is established by Noah Webster.
1807 Robert Fulton's first American steamboat leaves New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.
1816 The American Bible Society is founded in New York City.
1819 The Bank of Savings in New York City, the first savings bank in the United States, opens.
1825 The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.
1831 Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City.
1837 Panic of 1837: New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels.
1837 Tiffany and Co. (first named Tiffany & Young) is founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City. The store is called a "stationery and fancy goods emporium".
1843 The first minstrel show in the United States, The Virginia Minstrels, opens (Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City).
1843 In New York City, Henry Jones and 11 others found B'nai B'rith (the oldest Jewish service organization in the world).
1849 In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
1857 Elisha Otis's first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway New York City.
1859 Bryant's Minstrels debut "Dixie" in New York City in the finale of a blackface minstrel show.
1860 Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
1863 New York Draft Riots: in New York City, opponents of conscription begin three days of rioting which will be later regarded as the worst in United States history.
1864 American Civil War: A group of Confederate operatives calling themselves the Confederate Army of Manhattan starts fires in more than 20 locations in an unsuccessful attempt to burn down New York City.
1865 The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City.
1866 The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.
1868 In New York City the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
1870 The YWCA is founded in New York City.
1870 In New York City, a demonstration of the first pneumatic subway opens to the public.
1872 In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens.
1872 The first Shriners Temple (called Mecca) is established in New York City.
1875 Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison and flees to Cuba, then Spain.
1876 An express train called the ''Transcontinental Express'' arrives in San Francisco, California, via the First Transcontinental Railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after leaving New York City.
1876 Corrupt Tammany Hall leader William Marcy Tweed (better known as Boss Tweed) is delivered to authorities in New York City after being captured in Spain.
1877 At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens.
1879 The first artificial ice rink in North America opens at Gilmore's Park in New York City.
1879 New York City's Gilmores Garden is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.
1883 The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
1883 In New York City, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse causes a stampede that crushes twelve people.
1883 The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City opens with a performance of Gounod's ''Faust''.
1885 The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
1886 The first ticker-tape parade takes place in New York City when office workers spontaneously throw ticker tape into the streets as the Statue of Liberty is dedicated.
1891 The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
1894 The first ever commercial motion picture house opened in New York City using ten Kinetoscopes, a device for peep-show viewing of films.
1894 In New York City, 12,000 tailors strike against sweatshop working conditions.
1895 The inaugural run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's ''Royal Blue'' from Washington, D.C., to New York City, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
1898 New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
1904 A fire aboard the steamboat {{SS|General Slocum}} in New York City's East River kills 1,000.
1904 The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square (then known as Longacre Square) in New York, New York.
1907 Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first Follies on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City.
1907 Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City.
1907 Cunard Line's {{RMS|Mauretania|1906|6}}, sister ship of {{RMS|Lusitania}}, sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City.
1908 For the first time, a ball is dropped in New York City's Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight.
1908 New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
1911 In New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 garment workers.
1912 The Cunard liner ''RMS Carpathia'' brings 705 survivors from the ''RMS Titanic'' to New York City.
1913 Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.
1913 The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
1913 The Woolworth Building skyscraper in New York City is opened.
1914 Copyright: In New York City the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
1914 The new and then largest Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sails on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City.
1915 The {{RMS|Lusitania}} departs from New York City on her two hundred and second, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives, including 128 Americans, rousing American sentiment against Germany.
1915 Woman's suffrage: In New York City, 25,000-33,000 women march on Fifth Avenue to advocate their right to vote.
1924 In New York City, the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held.
1926 In New York City, the Warner Brothers' Vitaphone system premieres with the movie ''Don Juan'' starring John Barrymore.
1927 The first transatlantic telephone call is made – from New York City to London.
1927 In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre.
1927 First distance public television broadcast (from Washington, D.C. to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover).
1927 Aviator Charles Lindbergh receives a ticker-tape parade down 5th Avenue in New York City.
1927 The Holland Tunnel opens to traffic as the first Hudson River vehicle tunnel linking New Jersey to New York City.
1929 The first North American transcontinental air service begins between New York City and Los Angeles, California.
1929 In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art opens to the public.
1930 The first diesel-engined automobile trip is completed, from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City.
1930 The {{convert|1046|ft|m}} Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.
1930 The Chrysler Building in New York City officially opens.
1932 Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City.
1933 The New York City-based Postal Telegraph Company introduces the first singing telegram.
1933 In round 13 of a boxing match at New York City's Madison Square Garden, Primo Carnera knocks out Ernie Schaaf, killing him.
1933 Fiorello H. La Guardia is elected the 99th mayor of New York City.
1936 The Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic.
1937 Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles, California to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
1937 The Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic in New York City.
1938 The United States Department of Justice files suit in New York City against the motion picture industry charging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in regards to the studio system. The case would eventually result in a break-up of the industry in 1948.
1939 The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States' first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City.
1939 New York City's La Guardia Airport opens.
1940 New York City's Mad Bomber places his first bomb at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison.
1943 Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time.
1944 The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
1946 The Basketball Association of America is formed in New York City.
1946 The United Nations General Assembly convenes for the first time, at an auditorium in Flushing, Queens, New York City.
1946 A fire at a New York City ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people.
1946 The United Nations General Assembly votes to establish its headquarters in New York City.
1947 In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America.
1948 In New York City, twelve leaders of the Communist Party USA are indicted under the Smith Act including William Z. Foster and Gus Hall.
1948 Groundbreaking for the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
1951 The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
1957 The New York City "Mad Bomber", George P. Metesky, is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and is charged with planting more than 30 bombs.
1958 Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's ''Royal Blue'' from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
1958 Pan American Airways makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York City to Paris, France.
1959 In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens to the public.
1960 The Off-Broadway musical comedy, ''The Fantasticks'', opens in New York City's Greenwich Village, eventually becoming the longest-running musical of all time.
1962 A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's rendition of ''Happy Birthday''.
1962 The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City opens with the completion of the first building, the Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) home of the New York Philharmonic.
1964 A collection of irreplaceable gems, including the 565 carat (113 g) Star of India, is stolen by a group of thieves (among them is "Murph the surf") from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
1964 Che Guevara speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. An unknown terrorist fires a mortar shell at the building during the speech.
1965 The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City, in an event later seen as marking the birth of stadium rock.
1966 The Metropolitan Opera House opens at Lincoln Center in New York City with the world premiere of Samuel Barber's opera, ''Antony and Cleopatra''.
1966 New York City experiences the smoggiest day in the city's history.
1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech in New York City's Riverside Church.
1968 Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
1969 The British ocean liner ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
1969 The ''Apollo 11'' astronauts are released from a three-week quarantine to enjoy a ticker-tape parade in New York. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.
1970 The Hard Hat riot occurs in the Wall Street area of New York City as blue-collar construction workers clash with demonstrators protesting the Vietnam War.
1970 The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City is topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in the world.
1972 Vietnam War: Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompts anti-war protests in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco.
1973 The first portable cell phone call is made in New York City, United States.
1973 The World Trade Center in New York is officially dedicated.
1973 The ITT Building in New York City is bombed in protest at ITT's alleged involvement in the September 11 1973 coup d'état in Chile.
1975 A fire breaks out in the World Trade Center in New York City, New York.
1975 A bomb explodes at La Guardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring 74.
1976 In New York City, David Berkowitz (aka the "Son of Sam") kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.
1977 George Willig climbs the South Tower of New York City's World Trade Center.
1977 New York City, amidst a period of financial and social turmoil experiences a blackout lasting nearly 24 hours that leads to wide-spread fires and looting.
1977 In Yonkers, New York, 24-year-old postal employee David Berkowitz ("Son of Sam") is arrested for a series of killings in the New York City area over the period of one year.
1977 British Airways inaugurates a regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service.
1979 Six-year-old Etan Patz disappears from the street just two blocks away from his New York City home, prompting an international search for the child, and causing U.S. President Ronald Reagan to designate May 25th as National Missing Children's Day (in 1983).
1979 Shadow Traffic begins broadcasting in the New York City metropolitan area.
1980 John Lennon, an English musician and peace activist, is assassinated by Mark David Chapman, a mentally unstable fan, in front of the Dakota apartment building in New York City.
1984 Bernhard Hugo Goetz shoots four would-be African-American muggers on an express train in Manhattan, New York City.
1985 Mafia: In New York City, Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead on the orders of John Gotti, who assumes leadership of the Gambino family.
1987 The American radio station WFAN in New York City is launched as the world's first all-sports radio station.
1988 Rioting in New York City's Tompkins Square Park.
1989 David Dinkins becomes the first African American mayor of New York City.
1990 Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel.
1992 USAir Flight 405 crashes shortly after liftoff from New York City's LaGuardia Airport, leading to a number of studies into the effect that ice has on aircraft.
1993 World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand.
1995 The first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
1998 Two white separatists are arrested in Nevada and accused of plotting a biological attack on New York City subways.
1999 Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city.
1999 EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board.
2001 The September 11 attacks take place in the United States. Airplane hijackings result in the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York City, damage to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the crashing of a passenger airliner in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
2001 In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 ''en route'' to the Dominican Republic, crashes minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board and five on the ground.
2002 272 days following the September 11 attacks, closing ceremonies are held for the clean up and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site in New York City. The last remaining steel beam is removed and transported to the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island.
2004 The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.
2006 Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Center in New York City.
2007 The last direct-current electrical distribution system in the United States is shut down in New York City by Con Edison.
2009 US Airways Flight 1549 makes an emergency landing in the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. All passengers and crew members survive.