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Timeline

A collection of world events between 1492 and 1859, focusing on the 17th and 18th centuries. Please refer to the Guide for more info, tips and Search examples...

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IT	Me	Pr	1536	May	04	First recorded use of the “at” sign (the @ symbol) outside a monastery by Francesco Lapi, a Florentine merchant
??	??	??	1540	May	04	Venice and Turkey sign Treaty of Constantinople [-ed 1479?]
??	??	??	1572	May	04	Veere sides with Geuzen
NA	Sc	Cm	1626	May	04	Indians sell Manhattan Island to Dutch colonist Peter Minuit for $24 in cloth and buttons
NA	Sc	Gv				Peter Minuit arrives in New Amsterdam as the new director-general of New Netherlands
NE	Mv	Ex	1634	May	04	Johannes van Walbeeck’s fleet departs to West-Indies
FR	Cf	Fs	1652	May	04	Battle of Etampes: French army under Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne beats Fronde rebels
FR	Sc	Gw	1715	May	04	French manufacturer debuts first folding umbrella (Paris)
NE	Sc	Gv	1747	May	04	William IV of Orange appointed Hereditary Stattholder of the United Provinces (Netherlands)
NA	Sc	Gv	1776	May	04	Rhode Island declares independence from England
NA	Sc	Ed	1780	May	04	American Academy of Arts and Sciences, second oldest learned society in US, founded in Cambridge, MA
GB	Sc	Gs				Charles Bunbury on Diomed wins first Epsom Derby
GB	Se	Ay	1783	May	04	William Herschel reports seeing a red glow near lunar crater Aristarchus
NA	Sc	Cm	1805	May	04	Henry C. Overing buys 80 acres of Throggs Neck in Bronx
FR	Sc	Gv	1814	May	04	Bourbon reign restored in France
EU	Sc	Gv	1818	May	04	Netherlands and England sign treaty against illegal slave handling
SA	Mv	Ex	1834	May	04	Charles Darwin’s expedition reaches 200 km from Atlantic Ocean
??	??	??	1839	May	04	The Cunard Steamship Company Ltd forms San Bonifacio
??	??	??	1843	May	04	Great Britain annexes Natal
NA	Sc	Lc	1846	May	04	Michigan lawmakers vote to end the death penalty, becoming the first state to ban capital punishment
NA	Sc	Gv	1847	May	04	New York State creates a Board of Commissioners of Emigration
NA	??	??				Jack Slade, later victim of the Montana vigilantes, joins the army
NA	Sc	Cl	1851	May	04	First major San Francisco fire
NA	??	??	1858	May	04	War of Reform (Mexico)
??	??	??				Liberals establish capital at Vera Cruz