| 1570 | | 10 Sep:
Spanish Jesuits land in present-day Virginia to establish the short-lived Ajacán Mission.EVA GoogleBooks |
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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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| 1608 | | 7 Jan:
A fire breaks out in Jamestown destroying nearly the entire settlement.Google Books EVa |
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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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| 1622 | | 22 Mar:
347 of Jamestown's settlers are massacred by the Powhatans.BoRI MM |
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| 1676 | | 19 Sep:
Bacon's Rebellion - Nathaniel Bacon and his followers set Jamestown on fire.NPS EoVA |
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| 1774 | |
| 1775 | | 23 Mar:
Patrick Henry utters his most memorable words: "Give me liberty, or give me death" at the Second Virginia Convention.CW Avalon |
|
| | 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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| 1776 | | 7 Apr:
The American warship Lexington captures the first British warship of the American Revolution, the HMS Edward.RW DoD |
|
| | 4 Jul:
The United States is founded when the Second Continental Congress declares its independence from Great Britain.USHistory USNA |
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| 1781 | | 5 Jan:
Richmond, Virginia is captured and burned by American traitor and British general Benedict Arnold.AMN VAMoH&C |
|
| | 28 Sep:
The Siege of Yorktown begins. American and French forces surround British forces.BB MtVernon |
|
| | 19 Oct:
Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown.AoC LoC |
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| 1783 | |
| 1787 | |
| | 17 Sep:
The U. S. Constitution is signed by 38 of the 41 delegates present at the Constitutional Convention.LoC CC |
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| 1788 | |
| 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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| 1831 | | 21 Aug:
Nat Turner begins a bloody slave revolt in Virginia.ZEP  |
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| 1859 | |
| 1860 | | 20 Dec:
Confederate States begin to secede from the Union.Tulane SI |
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| 1861 | | 4 Feb:
The Confederate States of America is formed.CWH LoVA |
|
| | 18 Feb:
Jefferson Davis becomes the President of the Confederate States of America.ACW LoC |
|
| | 21 Jul:
The first major land battle of the Civil War occurs, the first Battle of Bull Run.USSenate ABT |
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| 1862 | | 13 Dec:
Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee defeat the Union forces under Ambrose Burnside, who abandoned his campaign 2 days later.LoC ABT |
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| 1865 | | 9 Apr:
Lee surrenders to Grant at the Appomattox Court House ending the Civil War.LoC USNA |
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| 1886 | |
| 1921 | | 21 Jul:
Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell demonstrates the ability of aircraft to sink enemy warships.CoF SI |
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| 1933 | | 25 Feb:
The USS Ranger, the first purpose-built aircraft carrier, is launched at Newport News, Virginia.NI&SHM USNavy |
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| 1950 | |
| 1955 | | 19 Aug:
Hurricane Diane becomes the first storm to top $1 billion in damages in the U. S..NEHS NWS |
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| 1959 | | 8 Jun:
Missile Mail - 3,000 pieces of mail are delivered by a cruise missile fired from a U. S. Navy submarine.W I R E D SI |
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| 1960 | | 24 Sep:
The first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, is launched in Newport News, Virginia.USNavy VNEC |
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| 2001 | |
Virginia
