1800-1609
1799 - A gradual emancipation act is passed, leading to the abolition of slavery by 1824 in New York State -- the first state in the union to do so.
1792 - The New York Stock Exchange is founded by two dozen stockbrokers gathered beneath a tree on Wall Street.
1789 - New York City becomes the first U.S. capital.
1789 - Washington is sworn in as America's first President on the balcony of the old City Hall, now known as Federal Hall. Thomas Jefferson is named Secretary of State and Alexander Hamilton is named Secretary of the Treasury.
1788 - New York is the 11th state to join the Union.
1783 - Washington reclaims New York.
1773 - Alexander Hamilton, soon to be a driving force in colonial politics and America's future, arrives in New York.
1699 - The Old Dutch Wall, erected to keep out invaders, in what is now lower Manhattan, is pulled down to make way for new houses and a paved lane -- called Wall Street.
1664 - Without battle or protest from the local colonists, the British arrive, take over New Amsterdam, and rename it New York, beginning a rule that would last for 119 years.
1609 - Henry Hudson, a British explorer hired by the Dutch to find a faster route to the Orient, accidentally "stumbles" into one of the three greatest natural harbors in the world, a natural location for a great city.
CHEERS!