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1607
Jamestown, Virginia, founded by English settlers, who begin growing tobacco. -
17th-18th centuries
Hundreds of thousands of Africans brought over and sold into slavery to work on cotton and tobacco plantations. -
1763
Britain gains control of territory up to the Mississippi river following victory over France in Seven Years' War. -
1774
Colonists form First Continental Congress as Britain closes down Boston harbour and deploys troops in Massachusetts. -
1775
American Revolution: George Washington leads Continental Army to fight against British rule. -
1776 4 July
Declaration of Independence endorsed by Congress; colonies declare independence. -
1781
Rebel states form loose confederation after defeating the British at the Battle of Yorktown. -
1787
Founding Fathers draw up new constitution for United States of America. Constitution comes into effect in 1788. -
1789
George Washington elected first president of USA. -
1803
France sells Louisiana territories to USA. -
1812-15
War of 1812 between the US and Britain, partly over the effects of British restrictions on US trade during the Napoleonic Wars. -
1846-48
US acquires vast tracts of Mexican territory in wake of Mexican War including California and New Mexico. -
1854
Opponents of slavery, or abolitionists, set up Republican Party. -
1860
Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln elected president. -
1865
Confederates defeated; slavery abolished under Thirteenth Amendment. Lincoln is assassinated. -
1898
US gains Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines and Cuba following the Spanish-American war. US annexes Hawaii. -
1917-18
US intervenes in World War I, but rejects membership of League of Nations in its aftermath. -
1920
Women given the right to vote under the Nineteenth Amendment. -
1929-33
More than 13 million people are unemployed after the Wall Street stock market crash of 1929 triggers the Great Depression. President Herbert Hoover rejects direct federal relief. -
1941
Japanese warplanes attack US fleet at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, leading to US joining World War II against the Axis powers. -
1945
US drops two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrenders. -
1950-53
US forces play leading role against North Korean and Chinese troops in Korean War. -
1960
Democratic Party candidate John F Kennedy elected president, narrowly defeating his rival Richard Nixon. -
1963
President John F Kennedy assassinated; Lyndon Johnson becomes president. -
1968
Black civil rights leader Martin Luther King assassinated. -
1969
Republican Party candidate Richard Nixon elected president amid growing public opposition to Vietnam war. US military presence in Vietnam exceeds 500,000 personnel. US astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon. -
1976
Democratic Party candidate Jimmy Carter elected president. -
1986 January
Space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after take off from Cape Canaveral. All seven crew members are killed. Manned space flights are suspended until September 1988. -
1991
US forces play dominant role in war against Iraq, which was triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and ended with the expulsion of Iraqi troops from that country. -
1992
Democratic Party candidate Bill Clinton elected president. -
1992
Congress passes North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta, intended to create free-trade bloc among US, Canada and Mexico. -
2000 November
Republican Party's George W Bush wins presidency. -
2001 11 september
Co-ordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda terror group prompts the US to embark on a ''war on terror'' that includes invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. -
2003 February
Space shuttle Columbia's 28th mission ends in tragedy when the craft breaks-up while re-entering the atmosphere. The seven astronauts on board are killed. -
2008 November
Democratic Senator Barack Obama becomes the first black president of the United States. -
2014 November
Republicans win a Senate majority in mid-term elections, gaining control of both houses of Congress and further reducing President Obama's room for manoeuvre. -
2016 November
Republican candidate Donald Trump wins presidential election, defeating Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in one of the biggest political upsets in US history. He is inaugurated in January. -
2017 January
President Trump signs executive orders restricting visas for people seeking to enter the US from certain Muslim-majority countries, and barring funding for cities that shelter illegal immigrants. Both policies are blocked by the courts. -
2020 March
National emergency declared over the Covid-19 pandemic.