(1634) French explorer, Jean Nicolet, arrived in the Green Bay area
(1666) Nicolas Perrot began fur trade with Indians
(1673) Water route from Lake Michigan to Mississippi River explored by Louis
Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette
(1678) Daniel Greysolon Sieur du Lhut explored western end of Lake Superior
(1754 - 1763) French and Indian War
(1755) British General Braddock defeated by Wisconsin Indians, led by Charles
Langlade
(1763) Control of Wisconsin area transferred to England under Treaty of Paris
at end of French and Indian War
(1764) Charles Langlade established first permanent Euro-American settlement
at Green Bay
(1774) The Quebec Act incorporates all of Wisconsin lands into the Province
of Quebec
(1783) U. S. took control of Wisconsin Region in second Treaty of Paris
(1787) Wisconsin became part of U. S. Northwest Territory, British fur traders
continued to control region
(1814) Fort Shelby built at Prairie du Chien, captured by British, name changed
to Fort McKay
(1815) British abandoned Fort McKay
(1816) Astor's American Fur Company began operating in Wisconsin
(1818) Wisconsin area included in Michigan Territory; territorial governor
created two Wisconsin counties: Brown and Crawford
(1822) Indians from New York moved to Wisconsin; lead mining began in southwestern
Wisconsin
(1825) U. S. and Indian representatives met at Prairie Du Chien, signed Treaty
of Prairie Du Chien establishing tribal boundaries
(1831) Survey of public lands began by Lucius Lyon
(1836) U.S. Congress created Territory of Wisconsin; Madison selected as
territorial capital
(1837) All territorial banks failed in Panic of 1837; Winnebago Indians ceded
claim to all land in Wisconsin
(1848) Wisconsin became 30th U. S. state; first telegram reached Milwaukee
(1851) First railroad opened between Milwaukee and Waukesha
(1854) Republican Party founded in Ripon; fugitive slave, Joshua Glover,
arrested in Racine; Wisconsin Supreme Court declared Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
unconstitutional
(1856) Margarethe Meyer Schurz opened first kindergarten in U. S. at Watertown
(1861 - 1865) Civil War; over 90,000 men from Wisconsin served in Union forces;
12,216 died
(1862) Governor Louis Harvey drowned
(1864) Cheese factory started at Ladoga in Fond du Lac County
(1868) C. L. Sholes patented typewriter
(1871) Forest fire devastated Peshtigo area, over 1,200 died
(1875) Oshkosh nearly destroyed by fire
(1877) John T. Appleby received a patent for a knotter for twine binders
(1883) Newhall House (
Hotel) fire in Milwaukee killed 71; south wing
of Capitol extension collapsed
(1886) Workers in Bay View struck for eight-hour work day; five died after
confrontations with militia
(1887) Marshfield nearly destroyed by fire
(1889) Bennett Law enacted, required classroom instruction to be in English;
Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled reading and prayers from King James Bible in public
schools was prohibited
(1891) Bennett Law repealed after intense disagreements with German Protestants
and Catholics
(1899) Lumber boom in northern Wisconsin, 3.4 billion board feet harvested
in one year; Antipass law enacted prohibiting railroads from giving free rides to
public officials; tornado struck New Richmond, killed 117, injured 125, village
nearly destroyed
(1900) Census Bureau reported seven of ten Wisconsin residents were born
in a foreign country or had parents born abroad
(1901) First Wisconsin-born Governor, Robert M. LaFollette, inaugurated
(1904) State Capitol burned
(1911) John Schwister of Wausau, flew first home-built airplane in the state
(1913) Workmen's Compensation Act enacted
(1917) Many African-Americans moved to Wisconsin cities of Racine, Beloit,
Milwaukee from rural South; U. S. entered World War I; 120,000 soldiers from Wisconsin
served, nearly 4,000 died
(1919) Wisconsin Legislature ratified nineteenth amendment (women's suffrage);
became first state to deliver ratification to Congress; E. L. "Curly" Lambeau started
Green Pay Packers football team
(1920) League of Women Voters founded by Carrie Chapman Catt of Ripon
(1932) Wisconsin passed first unemployment legislation law in U. S.
(1933) Dairy farmers out on strike
(1934) Wisconsin Progressive Party founded
(1941 - 1945) World War II; 375,000 Wisconsinites served,
(including 9,000
women), 7,980 died
(1946) Progressive Party dissolved, members rejoined Republican Party
(1953) Braves baseball team moved to Milwaukee; Hank Aaron signed contracts
with Milwaukee Braves
(1957) Milwaukee Braves won World Series
(1958) UW geneticist, Joshua Lederberg, won Nobel Prize for Medicine
(1965) Legislation passed banned housing discrimination
(1965 Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta; Grand jury investigated illegal
lobbying activities in legislature
(1967) Race riots held in Milwaukee; protests held by students at University
of Wisconsin in Madison resulted in confrontations and many injuries; Green Bay
Packers won first Super Bowl
(1968) Demonstration at Wisconsin State University - Oshkosh resulted in
90 African-American students being expelled for damage to the administration building;
Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl
(1969) Student strikes at UW in Madison demanded Black studies department,
National Guard activated; Wisconsin's Interstate Highway System completed
(1970) Anti-war protestors bombed Research Building at UW in Madison, one
death; arson suspected in fire at "Old Main" at UW in Whitewater
(1974) Democrats gained control of both houses; Kathryn Morrison first woman
elected to state senate; striking teachers in Hortonville fired
(1964 - 1975) Vietnam War - 165,400 Wisconsinites served, 1,239 killed
(1976) U. S. District Court ordered integration of Milwaukee schools; Exxon
discovered sulfide zinc and copper deposits in Forest County; Shirley S. Abrahamson
first woman appointed to serve on Wisconsin Supreme Court; ice storm blanketed most
of southern Wisconsin, $50 million in damages
(1977) State employees union struck, lasted 15 days, National Guard ran prisons
(1980) Brother and sister, Eric and Beth Heiden of Madison, competed in Lake
Placid, NY in Winter Olympics; Eric set world record, winning five gold medals in
speed skating; 15,000 Cuban refugees housed at Fort McCoy for the summer
(1982) Milwaukee's Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. closed after being acquired by
Stroh Brewing Co. of Detroit
(1984) Tornado destroys Barneveld, nine dead
(1988) Chrysler Corporation's auto assembly plant in Kenosha closed; first
state lottery games started
(1990) Milwaukee murders set new record, raised demands for crime and drug
controls; more than 1,400 Wisconsin National Guard and Reserve soldiers called to
active duty in Persian Gulf crisis, 11 died
(1991) First Indian gambling contracts signed; a record 456 items in state
budget vetoed by Governor Tommy Thompsom
(1992) Protests by thousands of opponents were held at six abortion clinics
in Milwaukee throughout summer; a major spill of toxic chemicals due to train derailment
in Superior caused evacuation of over 22,000 people
(1993) Cryptosoporidium in Milwaukee's water supply sickened thousands
(1995) Heat wave caused 172 deaths
(1996) Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee closed; train derailment at Weyauwega forced
evacuation
(1997) Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl
(1998) Tammy Baldwin was first Wisconsin woman elected to U. S. Congress
(1999) Tommy Thompson elected to fourth term as Wisconsin's Governor
(2001) Legislature approved local sales tax, revenue bonds for renovation
of Lambeau Field
(2001) Governor Thompson assumed post of U. S. Secretary of Health and Human
Services; State Senator Margaret Farrow first woman Lieutenant Governor
(2008) Lake Delton in Wisconsin Dells completely drained after record rains
caused its banks to burst