USA's historie: Vigtige begivenheder og præsidenter

1492. Christopher Columbus, financed by Spain, makes the first of four voyages to the New World. He lands in the Bahamas.

1619. The House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in America, meets for the first time in Virginia. The first African slaves are brought to Jamestown

1770: Boston Massacre: British troops fire into a mob, killing five men and leading to intense public protests

1789: George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United States in a vote by state electors. U.S. Constitution goes into effect, having beenratified by nine states. U.S. Congress

1797: John Adams is inaugurated as the second president in Philadelphia

1801: Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third president in Washington, DC

1809: James Madison is inaugurated as the fourth president

1817: James Monroe is inaugurated as the fifth president

1860: Abraham Lincoln is elected president

1886: Statue of Liberty is dedicated

1903: U.S. acquires Panama Canal Zone. Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained flight in heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk

1906: San Francisco earthquake leaves 500 dead or missing and destroys about 4 sq mi of the city.

1927: Charles Lindbergh makes the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in his plane The Spirit of St. Louis.