| 1497 | | 2 May:
John Cabot sets sail from England on his first successful voyage to North America.CBC CMoH |
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| 1570 | | 10 Sep:
Spanish Jesuits land in present-day Virginia to establish the short-lived Ajacán Mission.EVA GoogleBooks |
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| 1582 | | 4 Oct:
The Gregorian calendar is introduced. The next day is October 15th.Britannica UFL |
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| 1583 | | 5 Aug:
The first English colony in North America is chartered at Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey Gilbert but no settlement is made there until 1604.Fordham HF.uk |
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| 1587 | |
| | 18 Aug:
Virginia Dare is the first English child born in the Americas.OB NCMoH |
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| 1590 | | 18 Aug:
Governor John White returns to Roanoke colony and finds it abandoned.NPS tLC |
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| 1602 | |
| | 28 May:
Bartholomew Gosnold establishes a settlement at Cuttyhunk Island.HoMV GoogleBooks |
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| 1603 | |
| | 24 Mar:
James I Ruler of England 1603-1625. House of Stuart: Son of Mary, Queen of Scots, granddaughter of James IV and Margaret. First to call himself King of Great Britain. This became official with the Act of Union, 1707.HistoricUK |
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| 1606 | |
| | 19 Dec:
Three vessels - Susan Constant, of 100 tons, Capt Christopher Newport; Godspeed, of forty tons, Capt Bartholomew Gosnold; and Discovery, twenty tons, Capt John Ratcliffe - with 105 emigrants sail from the Downs, England destined for Virginia in the New World.LR MM |
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| 1607 | | 14 May:
Jamestown is founded.LoC HJ |
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| | 19 Aug:
Popham Colony is established in New England. It survives for only a year.CSM MFS |
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| 1608 | | 7 Jan:
A fire breaks out in Jamestown destroying nearly the entire settlement.Google Books EVa |
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| 1613 | | 27 Mar:
The first English child is born in Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy.tCE MC |
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| 1618 | | 23 May:
The Thirty Years War, a series of wars fought by European nations for various reasons, is initiated when the Holy Roman Emperor attempts to force Catholicism on most of Europe, and ends with the Peace of Westphalia.OSU CT |
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| 1619 | | 30 Jul:
The first elected legislative assembly in the New World convenes in Jamestown.USHistory NPS |
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| 1620 | |
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| 1621 | |
| 1623/4 | |
| 1625 | | 27 Mar:
Charles I. Ruler of England 1625-1649. House of Stuart: Only surviving son of James I; beheaded Jan 30, 1649.HistoricUK |
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| 1626 | |
| 1630 | |
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| 1630/1 | |
| 1631 | |
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| 1632 | |
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| 1634 | |
| 1635 | | 23 Apr:
Boston Latin School, the oldest school in America, is founded.BLS tBLS |
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| | 25 Aug:
The Great Colonial Hurricane plows through New England destroying anything in its path.NEHS HS |
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| 1636 | |
Roger Williams establishes Providence Plantation.PubBook |
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| 1637 | | 1 May:
General Court is convened in Hartford and war is declared against the Pequots.SCW ICT |
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| | 26 May:
Colonists attack and destroy the Pequot village at Misistuck (Mystic).ZEP ICT |
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| 1638 | |
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| 1638/39 | |
| 1639 | | 25 Sep:
The first printing press in America is set up.BE AWD |
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| 1642 | |
| 1643 | |
| 1647 | |
| | 26 May:
Alse Young becomes the first person in America to be hanged as a witch.CT.gov Courant |
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| 1648 | |
| | 18 Oct:
The "Shoomakers of Boston" along with the coopers, form the first labor organization in America.jstor IA |
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| 1649 | | 30 Jan:
Charles I is beheaded.HRP RMG |
|
| | 30 Jan:
Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector. Ruler of England 1649-1658. Commonwealth & Protectorate.HistoricUK |
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| 1652 | |
| 1656 | |
| 1658 | |
| | 3 Sep:
Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector. Ruler of England 1658-1659. Commonwealth & Proctorate: 3rd son of Oliver. Resigned May 25, 1659.HistoricUK |
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| 1660 | | 29 May:
Charles II. Ruler of England 1660-1685. House of Stuart (restored): Eldest son of Charles I, died without issue. De Jure King from Jan 30, 1649.HistoricUK |
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| 1663 | |
| 1664 | | 27 Aug:
Four English warships arrive in Nieuw-Amsterdam to claim the colony under the orders of James, Duke of York.13 WDL |
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| | 31 Aug:
Peter Stuyvesant, governor of Nieuw-Nederland, refuses to accept the terms of surrender to the British.SotS |
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| 1665 | |
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| 1673 | |
| 1673/4 | |
| 1674 | |
| 1675 | |
| 1676 | |
| | 19 Sep:
Bacon's Rebellion - Nathaniel Bacon and his followers set Jamestown on fire.NPS EoVA |
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| 1679 | | 27 May:
The Habeas Corpus Act, which required a court to examine the lawfulness of a prisoner's detention and thus prevent unlawful or arbitrary imprisonment, was passed by Parliament.AS LI |
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| 1684 | |
| 1685 | | 6 Feb:
James II. Ruler of England 1685-1689. House of Stuart (restored): 2nd son of Charles I. Deposed 1688, interregnum Dec 11, 1688, to Feb 13, 1689.HistoricUK |
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| 1687 | |
| 1689 | |
| | 17 May:
King William's War; England declares war on France which lasts until the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick.HoMA MB |
|
| | 4 Nov:
William III and Mary II. Rulers of England 1689-1702. House of Stuart (restored): Son of William, Prince of Orange, by Mary, daughter of Charles I. Mary eldest daughter of James II. She died 1694.HistoricUK |
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| 1690 | |
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| 1691 | |
| 1692 | |
| |
| | 10 Jun:
Bridget Bishop becomes the first of the accused Salem witches to be executed.Salem SWM |
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| | 19 Jul:
Salem "witches", Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe and Sarah Wildes are executed.SW PJ |
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| 1693 | |
| 1697 | | 20 Sep:
The Treaty of Ryswick settles the Nine Years War and ends hostilities in America, although that wouldn't happen for another two months.Jacobite theMet |
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| 1700 | | 26 Jan:
A magnitude 9.0 earthquake strikes off the west coast of North America producing a huge tsunami that sweeps across the Pacific.NRCan USGS |
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| 1702 | | 8 Mar:
Anne. Ruler of England 1702-1714. House of Stuart (restored): 2nd daughter of James II. Died with no living heirs.HistoricUK |
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| 1704 | |
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| 1713 | | 11 Apr:
The Treaty of Utrecht is signed ending the War of the Spanish Succession, also known as Queen Anne's War in North America.CHNC CBC |
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| 1714 | | 1 Aug:
George I. Ruler of England 1714-1727. House of Hanover: Son of Elector of Hanover, by Sophia, grand-daughter of James I. Proclaimed King under Act of Settlement.HistoricUK |
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| 1715 | |
| 1716 | |
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| 1717 | | 27 Feb:
A series of four successive snowstorms create the Great Snow of 1717.NEHS NWS |
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| 1718 | |
| 1721 | | 26 Jun:
During a smallpox outbreak in Boston, Dr. Zabdiel Boylston begins inoculating patients beginning with his own son.MassMoments CW |
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| 1722 | |
| 1727 | | 11 Jun:
George II. Ruler of England 1727-1760. House of Hanover: Only son of George I, married Caroline of Brandenburg.HistoricUK |
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| 1730 | | 8 Apr:
The first synagogue in North America is the Mill Street Synagogue built by the Shearith Israel congregation in New York City.ShearithIsrael JWA |
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| 1733 | | 12 Feb:
James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony, and its first city at Savannah.GHS OU |
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| | 17 May:
Britain passes the Molasses Act putting high tariffs on rum and molasses imported to the Colonies from anyplace other than Britain and its possessions.GoogleBooks JotAR |
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| 1744 | |
| 1752 | | 14 Sep:
The British Empire adopts the Gregorian calendar.CSL CalWiz |
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| 1753 | | 11 Feb:
The first patients are admitted to the first hospital in America, Pennsylvania Hospital, founded by Dr. Thomas Bond and Benjamin Franklin in 1751.PennMed UMW |
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| 1754 | |
| 1755 | |
| 1758 | | 27 Jul:
British and colonial forces defeat French and Canadian forces at the Battle of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia.BB CTHist |
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| 1759 | |
| 1760 | | 25 Oct:
George III. Ruler of England 1760-1820. House of Hanover: Grandson of George II, married Charlotte of Mecklenburg.HistoricUK LoC |
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| 1763 | |
| | 7 May:
Pontiac's Rebellion begins with an attack on the British at Fort Detroit.CHL LoA |
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| | 9 May:
Unable to defeat the British in the initial attack, Chief Pontiac lays siege to Fort Detroit. FVoA GoogleBooks |
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| 1764 | | 29 Oct:
The Connecticut Courant, today's Hartford Courant and the nation's oldest newspaper in continuous publication, prints its first issue.LoC Courant |
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| 1765 | | 22 Mar:
The Stamp Act is passed by the British Parliament - a tax imposed on American colonists on any printed paper.GLIoAH Avalon |
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| | 1 Nov:
The Stamp Act goes into effect - a tax on the Colonies to fund the British Military in America.CC SAH |
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| 1770 | | 5 Mar:
The Boston Massacre. British troops kill five colonists.LoC NPS |
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| 1773 | | 27 Apr:
British Parliament passes the Tea Act.LoC JotAR |
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| 1774 | | 28 Mar:
British Parliament passes the Coercive Act, better known as the Intolerable Act, in response to the Boston Tea Party.WoWA tCM |
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| 1775 | | 23 Mar:
Patrick Henry utters his most memorable words: "Give me liberty, or give me death" at the Second Virginia Convention.CW Avalon |
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| | 18 Apr:
Paul Revere rides out to warn the colonists that the British troops were on the march.PRH LoC |
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| | 19 Apr:
The first battles of the American Revolution. British troops fight American Minutemen at Lexington, killing eight. The British then move to Concord where they again engage the colonials. By the end of the battle, 93 colonists are dead. The British, having lost 273, retreat to Boston.LoC NPS |
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| | 10 May:
Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen capture Fort Ticonderoga.NPS VANY |
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| | 17 Jun:
The Battle of Bunker Hill takes place.LoC Yale |
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| | 30 Jun:
The Continental Congress attempts to notify the king of England that American colonists are unhappy with parliamentary policy by drafting the Articles of War.Avalon LoC |
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| | 31 Dec:
After nearly a month, Continental forces, under command of Montgomery and Arnold, are soundly defeated after attacking Québec.CMoH SIMag |
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| 1776 | | 24 Jan:
After several months, the cannons captured at Fort Ticonderoga make it to Boston.APC AHC |
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| | 3 Apr:
Congress gives to commanders of private ships the authority to capture British ships and cargo.LoC CTDA |
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| | 7 Apr:
The American warship Lexington captures the first British warship of the American Revolution, the HMS Edward.RW DoD |
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| | 4 Jul:
The United States is founded when the Second Continental Congress declares its independence from Great Britain.USHistory USNA |
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| | 10 Aug:
Word of America's Declaration of Independence finally reaches London.TXSAR OSA |
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| | 27 Aug:
The British defeat the Americans in the Battle of Long Island.BB MtVernon |
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| | 7 Sep:
David Bushnell's invention, American Turtle, the first combat submarine, is deployed against the H.M.S. Eagle in New York harbor.USSNautilus Archaeology |
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| | 16 Sep:
George Washington gets his first victory in the Battle of Harlem Heights.MtVernon RW |
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| | 22 Sep:
Nathan Hale is executed by the British for spying.tAW LoC |
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| | 28 Oct:
British and Hessian troops under Howe meet Americans under Washington in the Battle of White Plains.MtVernon BB |
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| | 16 Nov:
British and Hession forces capture Fort Washington on the northern end of Manhattan.History.com BB |
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| | 26 Dec:
Washington gets his first major victory at Trenton.MtVernon BB |
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| 1777 | | 3 Jan:
Washington defeats the British in the Battle of Princeton.MtVernon BB |
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| | 15 Jan:
New Connecticut declares its independence from Great Britain and the colony of New York. The name is changed to Vermont in June of that year.History.com UND |
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| | 26 Apr:
Major General William Tryon, royal governor of New York, and 2000 British troops attack and destroy Danbury, Connecticut.DM ABT |
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| 1778 | | 11 Nov:
The Cherry Valley Massacre - Tory and Mohawk forces murder 47 townsfolk, mostly by tomahawk.CN SotS |
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| 1779 | |
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| 1780 | | 4 May:
The American Academy of Arts & Sciences is founded.TiS AAoA&S |
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| | 19 May:
Smoke from forest fires cause The Dark Day of 1780.NEHS HI |
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| | 9 Oct:
An expedition sets off from Harvard College to observe a solar eclipse from Penobscot Bay in Maine which is still controlled by Britain.USNA JSTOR |
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| 1781 | | 5 Jan:
Richmond, Virginia is captured and burned by American traitor and British general Benedict Arnold.AMN VAMoH&C |
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| | 15 Mar:
British troops under Cornwallis defeat a larger American force at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina.NPS BB |
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| | 28 Sep:
The Siege of Yorktown begins. American and French forces surround British forces.BB MtVernon |
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| | 19 Oct:
Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown.AoC LoC |
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| 1782 | | 7 Aug:
The Purple Heart is established by General George Washington at Newburgh, New York.NPHHoH USArmy |
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| 1783 | |
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| 1784 | |
| 1787 | |
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| 1788 | |
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| 1789 | |
| 1790 | |
| 1812 | |
| | 19 Aug:
USS Constitution captures HMS Guerriere in a battle off the coast of Nova Scotia earning the nickname "Old Ironsides".USNavy MM |
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| 1813 | | 26 Oct:
Canadian troops and their Mohawk allies win an important victory over invading American forces in the Battle of the Châteauguay.NPS MC |
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| 1816 | |
The previous year, Mt. Tambora erupted producing so much ash and gas the sunlight was blocked from warming the earth causing the "Year Without Summer".USGS |
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| 1818 | |
| 1820 | | 29 Jan:
George IV. Ruler of England 1820-1830. House of Hanover: Eldest son of George III, Prince Regent, from Feb 1811.HistoricUK |
|
| 1830 | | 26 Jun:
William IV. Ruler of England 1830-1837. House of Hanover: 3rd son of George III, married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen.HistoricUK |
|
| 1837 | | 20 Jun:
Victoria. Ruler of England 1837-1901. House of Hanover: Daughter of Edward, 4th son of George III; married (1840) her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who became Prince Consort.HistoricUK |
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| 1838 | |
| 1842 | |
| 1864 | |
| 1867 | | 1 Jul:
Three British colonies merged to form the country of Canada. CNN |
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| 1906 | |
British America
