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Ulf Hjorth-Moritzsen 

One of the greatest cities in the
world is New York. A visit to New York should almost be considered a human right. New York has everything that a human being can desire. Great buildings, great shopping, great art galleries, great museums, great theatres, great restaurants, great education, great book stores, great fashion, great sciences, great business opportunities, great architecture, great bars, great history and so on, and so on.

The below timeline will take you through some of the many milestones and highlights of New York City .

The first European to discover the Manhattan Island was Giovanni da
Verrazano who cast anchor at New York harbor in 1524. Then almost nothing happened before Henry Hudson in 1609, searching for the North West passage, sailed the river which today carry his name.

Dutch fell mongers entered the area around 1624 and established a trading post. Already next year the first black slaves was brought in from Africa and in 1626 the (in)famous trading of Manhattan where Peter Minuite bought the island from the Indians took place. The Dutch named the colony Nieuw Amsterdam. 
The relations to the Indians were not always peaceful and during the 1640's several disturbances took place, but in 1645 a peace treaty, which calmed the situation for a while, was signed. 
However, despite the peace treaty several incidents between the Indians and the Europeans took place and in 1653 the Dutch built a wall to protect against the Indians. The nearby street was named Wall Street.  
A few years later, in 1660, the Dutch established the first hospital. 

The colony's revenue was not as expected by the business loving Dutch, who downgraded the colony. Therefore in 1664 when English forces besieged the colony, the Dutch did not wait long before they surrended and handed over the colony.  

The English ousted the Dutch, and renamed the city New York, in honor of the Duke of York. 

During the English administration from1664 to 1783 the colony flourished and the population increased to 20.000. In this period the main industrial operations for the City was based on preparation of grain and some ship building. 

Some important events during the colonial period from 1664 to 1763;
- 1676, The great docks at East River was built   
- 1680, New York received exclusive rights to trade and ship grain
- 1689, Storekeeper Jacob Leisler conducted an uprising against high
           taxes and he run the city for two years, after which he was
           captured and sentenced to death for treason  
- 1693, 99 canons installed at Battery Park
- 1698, Trinity church consecrated
- 1711, A slave marked was established at the end of Wall Street  
- 1725, First news paper, The New York Gazette was founded
- 1732, The first theater was opened
- 1733, First park, Bowling Green was constructed
- 1754, Founding of King's College, now Columbia University  
- 1759, First prison built
- 1762, Regular police forces introduced


During the 1760s the English king introduced new taxes which instigated a series of protests and uproar on behalf of the residents, not only in New York, but throughout the entire country. These rebellions triggered the Revolutionary war which finally led to the independence and birth of the new nation. 

Here are some major event which took place between 1765 and 1783:
- 1765, The Stamp act was forced upon the colony and consequently
            the Sons of Liberty was formed
- 1766, St. Paul's Chapel finished. The stamp act was cancelled 
- 1767, New tariffs was introduced by the Townshend act. After severe
           protests the act was suspended
- 1774, Rebels protesting the high taxes throws sacks of tea into the
           New York Harbor
- 1776, War breaks out. The Americans led by George Washington
           managed to win the battle of Harlem heights at September 16.
           But lack of soldiers forced Washington to leave the city
- 1783, The Revolutionary war ends, and the English leaves the city.
           George Washington returns to New York November 25.


During the period from 1783 to the present, New York has become a world metropolis. It is a city where all languages and all nationalities are represented. Its inhabitants covers the best and the worst of human behavior. All your needs and requirements can be met and the standard of living spans from the deepest poverty to the most vulgar wealth.

Some major events after 1783;
- 1785, New York is appointed Capital of USA
- 1789, George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the
        United States of America. The ceremony took place in Federal
        Hall across the Street from to day's New York Stock Exchange.
- 1790,Philadelphia is named Capital of USA
- 1792, The first stock exchange is established in the tontine Coffee
           House
- 1801. New York Post is founded and published
- 1805, First public school is established
- 1827, New York abolish Slavery
- 1835. Most of old New York is destroyed in a fire
- 1845, First baseball team in New York, The Knickerbockers founded
- 1851, The New York Times is founded and published
- 1852, First World exhibitions arranged in New York
- 1857, Economical depression and panic
- 1857, Vaux and Olmsted designs Central Park
- 1861, The Civil War breaks out
- 1868, The first elevated railway built in Greenwich Street
- 1870, Standard Oil established
- 1877, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates the new telephone
- 1880, Electrical street lighting. Museum of modern art
- 1883, Metropolitan Opera opens at Broadway. Brooklyn Bridge
- 1886, Statue of Liberty unveiled
- 1890, First movie show
- 1892, Ellis Island opens
- 1896, First bagel is being served at a Clinton Street bakery
- 1898, Manhattan merges with Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and
           Bronx to become the second largest city in the world. 
- 1900, Construction of the New York Sub way system initiated
- 1901, Macy's opens at Broadway
- 1905, Staten Island ferry opened
- 1913, The world's tallest building, the Woolworth Building, is finished
- 1919, Alcohol is prohibited, 
- 1920, Women receives right to vote
- 1925, The New Yorker published
- 1927, Holland Tunnel opened. Babe Ruth hits 60 home runs
- 1929, The stock marked collapses
- 1930, The Chrysler Building completed
- 1931, The Empire State Building completed   
- 1939, Rockefeller Centre completed
- 1940, Queens - Midtown tunnel opened
- 1942, Idlewild International Airport (JFK) opened
- 1946, United nation headquarter established
- 1954, The immigrant centre at Ellis Island closed
- 1973, World trade Centre completed
- 2001, World Trade centre destroyed by Terorists
- 2004, Plans for a new building at the site of the World Trade Centre is
           approved