1100 - Farming begins in New York
The first farmers of New York City were Indian women who started growing maize. Later, these women learned to plant various other crops, such as beans and squash.

1609 - The first Dutch expedition to New York
The trip was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company and led by Henry Hudson. Sailing from Amsterdam on the Halve Maen, he dropped anchor in what would become New York Harbor.

1626 - The Dutch buy Manhattan from the Indians
Peter Minuit, sent by the Dutch West India Company, purchased Manhattan Island for sixty guilders (the equivalent of $23.70) from the Canarsie Indians. The land, however, was actually owned by the Wappingers who never contested the deal between Minuit and the Canarsies. Therefore, Manhattan, an area now worth over $60 billion, belonged to the Dutch. The original town, named New Amsterdam, had a population of 270, and was complete with forts, homes, farms and government buildings on the tip of Lower Manhattan.

1653- Wall Street is erected
Governor Peter Stuyvesant, with the help of colonists, erected a barricade nine feet tall to keep out invaders. Though the colony was lost to the English in 1664, and the wall never served its purpose (since the attack came by sea), his device and the area it covered became Wall Street.

1698 - The original Trinity Church is built
The first Trinity church, built in 1698, was burned in 1776. The second Church, completed in 1790, had a 200 foot steeple and large Gothic windows. Later, it was deemed structurally unsound, redesigned by Richard Upjohn, and rebuilt in 1846-the new steeple was 280 feet high, making it was the tallest structure in New York at that time.

1712 - African Burial Grounds established
The burial grounds, in use from 1712 to 1794, were originally located one mile north of what is now Wall Street. In 1991, a portion of the cemetery was excavated to construct federal office buildings just north of City Hall. The burial grounds were related to the original Trinity Church, which obtained the land charter in 1697.

1719 - Fraunces Tavern is built
Located on the corner of what is now Pearl and Broad, this historic tavern played an important role in the American Revolution. It was the site of the initial New York Chamber of Commerce meeting in 1768, as well as meetings for the Sons of Liberty. In 1785, when New York served as the nation's capital, the Tavern was among the first occupied by the federal government, housing the Departments of Foreign Affairs, War and the Treasury.

1785 - Ellis Island is acquired by Samuel Ellis
Originally intended as a fort to defend the harbor, the island would later become the point of entry for millions of immigrants.

1789 - George Washington is sworn in at Federal Hall
George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States of America in front of Federal Hall, when New York was still the nation's capital. The building was reconstructed in 1842, served as the nation's Custom House until 1862, and became a federal monument in 1920.

1792 - First New York stock market organized
On May 17 twenty-two stockbrokers (followed later by two more) signed the "Buttonwood Agreement." under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street. The New York Stock Exchange was organized, as the New York Stock and Exchange Board in 1817. In 1903, the Exchange opened at its current location at 18 Broad Street.

1812 - City Hall is built
After nine years of construction, City Hall was completed at its current location. The park surrounding City Hall was originally known as the Commons, officially laid out in 1730. In 1842, it held one of the city's first fountains to commemorate the completion of the Croton Aqueduct.

1835 - The Great Fire rips through Manhattan
Causing more damage to property than any previous event in United States history, the fire destroyed more than 20 square blocks around the area between Wall Street and Broad Street, Coenties Slip and the East River. Every fire company in the area responded to the alarm, although the flames did not subside for three full days.

1867 - First Tenement House Act
Following a report by the Council of Hygiene of the Citizen's Association in 1867, the first tenement house law was passed, requiring a window ventilator in each sleeping room, a fire escape, and "good and sufficient water-closets or privies" for every house. The law forbade cesspools, making their use a misdemeanor. Instead, all new tenements were to be graded, drained and connected with the sewer. The act paved the way for more rigorous and positive legislation and improved living conditions for the tenements of the residential Lower East Side.

1871 - Reign of Boss Tweed ends
Statesman William M(aeger) "Boss" Tweed was chosen to lead the general committee of the infamous Tammany Hall in 1863. As state senator and self-appointed Commissioner of Public Works, Tweed oversaw the passage of a new city charter which empowered a group of his associates known as the "Tweed Ring," and enabled them to siphon money from bond issues to such a degree that the city's debt, and thus taxes, tripled. His luck fell short owing to political cartoonist Thomas Nast's damning parodies of Tweed and his associates, and to a series of New York Times articles in 1871 which exposed evidence of corruption, and led to his arrest. In 1873 Tweed was fined and jailed, and was sent a year later to a prison on Ludlow Street. He escaped in 1875, but was caught in Spain the next year and returned to prison in New York where he remained until his death. It is estimated that, in total, the Tweed Ring extorted $30 million to $200 million from the City.

1882 - Chinatown becomes a neighborhood
Chinese immigrant workers moved east after the completion of the transcontinental railroad, relocating to Manhattan. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 eliminated all Chinese immigrants except tradesmen and professionals - which prevented men from having their wives and families join them. Thus, Chinatown became a "bachelor community".

1883 - Brooklyn Bridge completed
After 14 years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge was officially opened. A mass stampede occurred the following week when a rumor of the bridge's potential collapse spread among the 20,000 people on it at the time. Twelve people died due to the hysteria. In 1884, P.T. Barnam, made an effort to alleviate peoples' fears by marching across the Brooklyn Bridge with 21 elephants and 17 camels.

1886 - The Statue of Liberty is dedicated
Presented as a gift from the French to commemorate mutual liberty and friendship between the American and French nations, the structure, designed by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, would become one of the most widely recognized landmarks in North America and would leave an indelible impression on the vast number of immigrants who entered the United States through New York Harbor in the early 20th Century. Its association with New York City was heightened in 1903 due to the massive number of immigrants entering the harbor.

1889 - The Wall Street Journal prints its first paper
Initially the newspaper sold for two cents a copy and consisted of four pages. It published only railroad and crop conditions, as well as Dow's index of stocks and prices.

1904 - First subway
New York City's first subway opens. An estimated 150,000 people took it on the first day.

1919 - The first edition of the Daily News is published
The newspaper, founded by Joseph Medill Patterson, was originally titled the Illustrated Daily News. The first offices were located at 25 City Hall Place, although they relocated just two years later. The paper was known for its mass appeal, owing to its historic inclusion of numerous photographs, illustrations, comic strips, contests, coupons and colorful story coverage. by 1924, the Daily News was the most widely read newspaper in the United States.

1927 - Holland Tunnel is built
Construction of the tunnel began in 1920 under the supervision of Clifford Milburn Holland, and cost 48 million to complete. When the tunnel opened in 1927, the toll was 50 cents and the trip took just eight minutes to complete. In its day, it was the longest underwater tunnel in the world.

1929 - The Stock Market crashes
On "Black Tuesday," October 29, more than sixteen million shares were traded, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 23 percent from its closing level of the previous week. The event ushered in the Great Depression, and led to the formation of the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1934.

1955 - One Chase Manhattan Plaza is built
The 60-story building was erected at the cost of $121 million near Liberty and Pine Streets. The construction spawned an economic revival in the Financial District, bringing new office buildings to the area.

1973 - World Trade Center (WTC) completed
On April 4, 1973, the official ribbon cutting ceremony took place for the World Trade Center, marking the completion of the two 110-story towers by the Port Authority of New York. At the time, the World Trade Center towers were the tallest buildings in the world.

1973 - CBGB (& OMFUG) opens on Bowery
Located at 315 Bowery, the rock club was opened by Hilly Kristal, and after a brief run as a country music venue, began featuring both punk and rock groups. Acts included: The B-52s Debbie Harry and Blondie, Joan Jett and the Black Hearts, as well as Joey Ramone. By the mid 1990s, CBGB was the most well-known rock club in the United States.

1987 - Black Monday
After an extended bull market, during which prices and trading volumes rose sharply, the New York Stock Exchange fell 508 points on October 20th, at the time the greatest single day drop in history. The crash led to the implementation of "trading collars," special controls designed to make the market less volatile.

1993 - World Trade Center bombing
On February 26th, terrorists detonated a car bomb in an underground parking garage beneath the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing six and injuring more than a thousand. Six conspirators were convicted of the crime and given prison sentences of 240 years each.

2001 - September 11th
The World Trade Center was destroyed in a terrorist attack. Two hijacked jets crashed into the twin towers, causing them to collapse.

2002 - End of Recovery
The last girder from the World Trade Center was removed at a somber ceremony on May 28, marking the end of cleanup and recovery at Ground Zero.