Year (s)	Event
1400	The Lenni Lenape, Native Americans of the Algonkians, settle along the Delaware.
1600	Minquas Indians, from the Susquehanna River Valley, began to attack the villages of the Lenni Lenape.
1609	Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, discovers Delaware Bay and River.
1610	Captain Samuel Argall, an English sea captain, names the bay and river after Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, the governor of Virginia.
1631	Dutch Capt. Peter Heycs makes settlement at Zwaanendael on Hoorn Kill (Lewes Creek) along with 28 men. (site of present-day Lewes).
1632	Capt. David Pieterssen Dc Vries comes to Zwaanendael (Lewes), finds colony destroyed, all colonists killed in dispute with Native Americans.
1637	New Sweden Company organized in Sweden. First expedition in Kalmar Nyckel (Key of Kalmar) and Fogel Grip (Bird Griffin) sails from Gothenburg, Sweden.
1638	Peter Minuit and his expedition arrives in Minquas Kill (Christina River), disembarks at The Rocks, builds Fort Christina (Wilmington), names river Christina Kill. Colony consists of 23 men. This was the first permanent settlement of white men in Delaware and the entire Delaware River Valley. The beginnings of the New Sweden Colony.
1639	The first African on the Delaware, Black Anthony, is brought from the Caribbean to Fort Christina.
1640	Two more Swedish expeditions arrive, with Peter Hollandaer.   Hollandaer is named Governor of the colony.   The first Lutheran minister in America, the Reverend Reorus Torkillus, arrives at Fort Christina.
1641	Fourth Swedish expedition arrives, with Herr Christoffer, a clergyman and 35 colonists including a number of Finns (Dutch).
1643	Fifth Swedish expedition arrives with Lt. Col. Johan Printz who now becomes governor of the New Sweden Colony. Printz builds Fort Elfsborg at Varckens Kill, N.J., Fort New Gothenburg at Tinicum, Pa. and a blockhouse at Upland (Chester), establishes a tobacco plantation on the Schuylkill; First law court held at Tinicum.
1644	Sixth Swedish expedition arrives.
1646	Seventh Swedish expedition arrives, with trade goods. Governor Printz expels Dutch settlers, from New Amsterdam, at Schuylkill.
1648	Eighth Swedish expedition arrives with trade-goods, but few settlers. Now only 79 men in the colony, of whom only 28 are farmers. The Swedes control the River.
1651	Peter Stuyvesant, Dutch governor of New Netherland, builds Fort Casimir (now New Castle) just a few miles south of Fort Christina on the Delaware.
1654	The Swedes capture Fort Casimir and rename it Fort Trinity.
1659	Lewes, Delaware is founded !
1655	The Dutch defeat the Swedes on the Delaware, ending the New Sweden Colony.  Delaware becomes a part of New Netherland.
1664	Sir Robert Carr drives the Dutch off the Delaware and claims the land for James, Duke of York.  Delaware becomes an English colony.
1673	The Dutch regain control of the Delaware River.
1674	The English regain control of the Delaware River.
1682	The Duke of York transfers control of the Delaware Colony to English Quaker William Penn.
1698	Holy Trinity, Old Swedes Church, is built in Wilmington.
1698- 1700	Pirates, including Captain Kidd, sail along the Delaware.
1704	Delaware's first assembly of the Three Lower Counties Upon Delaware, separate from Pennsylvania, meets at New Castle.
1717	Town of Dover laid out.
1731	Thomas Willing founds Willingtown in Northern Delaware. Richard Cantwell founds Cantwell's Bridge (Odessa).
1739	Willingtown receives royal charter and is renamed Wilmington.
1742	Oliver Canby builds flour mill on Brandywine River at Wilmington, beginning large commercial flour milling industry.
1761	James Adams sets up first printing press in Delaware at Wilmington.
1764	Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon survey Delaware's western boundary.
1765	Caesar Rodney and Thomas McKean represent Delaware at the Stamp Act Congress.
1767	John Dickinson writes " Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, " an influential protest against British policies towards the colonies.
1774	Caesar Rodney, Thomas McKean, and George Read represent Delaware at the First Continental Congress.
1776	June 15: Delaware Assembly declares independence from England. This is the origin of the holiday called Separation Day.
	July 1-2: Caesar Rodney makes heroic overnight ride from Dover to Philadelphia to cast the vote that put Delaware on the side of independence.
	Delaware adopts its first state constitution.
1777	Dover replaces New Castle as state capital.
	John McKinly elected first "President" (Governor) of Delaware, February 12, 1777.
	Late August-early September: British and American armies are in northern New Castle County.
	September 3: Battle of Cooch's Bridge near Newark, only engagement of the war in Delaware.
	September 12-British capture Delaware state documents, funds, and President John McKinly after winning the Battle of the Brandywine, then occupy Wilmington until mid October.
1778	Delaware President McKinly released by the British and returns to Delaware.
1779	Delaware Assembly ratifies Articles of Confederation.
1784	Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury meet at Barratt's Chapel in Frederica, establishing the Methodist Church as a separate denomination in the U.S. Caesar Rodney dies on July 25th.
1785	Oliver Evans builds prototype automatic flour mill in Newport. Delaware Gazette, state's first newspaper, begins publication.
1786	Delaware is one of 5 states to send delegates to Annapolis Convention, which hoped to revise the Articles of Confederation.
1787	December 7: Delaware is the first state to ratify the new U.S. Constitution.
1788	Abolition societies established in Dover and Wilmington.
1789	Richard Bassett & George Read become Delaware's first U.S. Senators. John Vining becomes Delaware's first U.S. Representatives. Governor Thomas Collins becomes the first Governor to die while in office.
1791	The county seat of Sussex County is moved from Lewes to Georgetown.
1792	Delaware adopts second state constitution.
1795	Bank of Delaware, the state's first bank, founded in Wilmington.
1798	British ship DeBraak sinks off Lewes. Yellow fever epidemic spreads from Philadelphia to Wilmington.
1802	Du Pont Company is founded when Eleuthere Irenee duPont de Nemours begins manufacturing gunpowder along the Brandywine River near Wilmington.
1805	First Methodist camp meeting held near Smyrna.
1807	Caesar Augustus Rodney named Attorney General of the United States by President Thomas Jefferson.
1808	Newport and Gap Turnpike becomes first toll road in Delaware.
1812-13	Peter Spencer founds the African Union Methodist Protestant Church. AUMP is the first denomination in the nation controlled entirely by African-Americans.
1813	The British bombard Lewes during War of 1812. Dr. James Tilton appointed Surgeon General of the U.S. Army.
1814	Commodore Thomas Macdonough defeats British on Lake Champlain.
	James A. Bayard is one of American signers of the Treaty of Ghent, ending War of 1812.
	Big Quarterly, or August Quarterly, started by Peter Spencer, founder of African Union Methodist Protestant Church, in Wilmington. America's first major black religious festival continues in the 21st century.
1818	Construction begins on the mile-long Delaware Breakwater, completed in 1835.
1828	Steamboat line opens between Philadelphia and New Castle.
1829	Chesapeake and Delaware Canal opens.
	Delaware Free School Act passes in legislature creating first public schools in the state.
	Louis McLane appointed Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.
1832	New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad opens. Covering one and a half miles at first, it used horse cars for nearly a year before switching over to steam service in 1832.
	Delaware adopts third constitution.
	First peach orchard planted in Delaware. State soon becomes major commercial producer of peaches.
1833	The University of Delaware is founded as Newark College.
	Louis McLane appointed Secretary of State of the United States.
1838	Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad opens.
1844	The Bangor, America's first iron-hulled propeller steamship, launched in Wilmington.
1847	Delaware Senate considers an act to abolish slavery.   " The act is defeated by one vote. "
1849	John M. Clayton appointed Secretary of State of the United States.
1852	Delaware Railroad Company organized.
1855	State-wide prohibition law enacted; repealed, 1857.
1856	Delaware Railroad completed to Seaford; to Delmar in 1859.
1861	Although a slaveholding state, Delaware rejects invitation to join Confederacy.
	Peace convention at Dover favors peaceable recognition of Confederacy.
	Troops from Philadelphia garrison Fort Delaware, which becomes prison camp.
1861-65	More than 12,000 troops from Delaware join Union forces; a small number join the Confederate Army.
1862	Delaware legislature rejects President Lincoln's offer to buy its slaves.
1865	Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishes slavery.   The Delaware legislature votes against the amendment.
1867	Howard High School, Delaware's first high school for African-Americans, established.
1868	The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees equal protection for all races under the law.  The Delaware legislature votes against the amendment.
1869	First woman suffrage convention in Delaware
1870	First ocean resort opens at Rehoboth Beach.
	The Fifteenth Amendment guarantees blacks the right to vote.  The Delaware legislature votes against the amendment.
	Wilmington's African American community honors Thomas Garrett for his work as a stationmaster on the Underground Railroad.
1872	Coeducation introduced at Delaware College, discontinued in 1885.
1875	State legislature creates separate schools with separate funding for white children and African American children.
1876	Indian River Lifesaving Station is built, the nation's oldest station still on its original site.
1878	First telephone line installed in Wilmington.
1880	Dynamite and nitroglycerine manufactured by DuPont Company.
	Rehoboth Beach holds what some claim is the first beauty contest in the nation.
1881	County seat of New Castle County moves from New Castle to Wilmington.
	First organized Jewish religious service in Delaware.
1882	First electric street lights installed in Wilmington.
1883-86	Baltimore and Ohio Railroad extends through Delaware.
1885	Thomas F. Bayard appointed Secretary of State of the United States.
1887	Volunteer, a steel-hulled racing yacht, built in Wilmington, defeats Thistle to win America's Cup.
1888	Electric street cars begin to replace horse cars in Wilmington.
1889	Law passes prohibiting punishment of women at whipping post or pillory.
1891	State College for Colored Students (now Delaware State University) chartered; opened in 1892.
	Delmar nearly destroyed by fire.
1893	Thomas F. Bayard appointed first United States Ambassador to Great Britain.
	Delaware receives "The Wedge," a small piece of land, in boundary dispute with Maryland.
1897	New state constitution adopted; still in effect today.
	Property qualifications for voter registration abolished.
1899	The Delaware Corporation Law is passed. In time this law will make it easier for businesses to incorporate in Delaware than in other states.
1900	Illustrator Howard Pyle opens his art school in Wilmington.
	Frank Stephens purchases 163 acres near Grubbs Corner to found single tax community of Arden.
1901	Legislature ratifies 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution.
1905	Delaware becomes last state to abolish use of the pillory.
1907	First automobile licensed in state.
	Delawarean Emily Bissell introduces Christmas Seal into America.
1909	State House restored and enlarged.
	Ownership of Chesapeake and Delaware Canal transferred to federal government.
1911-24	T. Coleman du Pont builds a highway running the length of the state and gives to State of Delaware ( Route 13 ).  It's the " First Dual Highway " in the United States to have grass inbetween the lanes.
1911	Upton Sinclair and Scott Nearing, along with others, arrested at Arden for playing games on Sunday.
1913	Women's College founded at Newark.
	Hotel Du Pont and Playhouse open.
	Wilson Line ferry begins ferry service between Wilmington and Pennsville, N.J.
1914	Women's College opens in Newark.
1915	Child Labor Law passes.
	State Labor Commission created.
1917-18	Nearly 10,000 Delawareans serve in World War I.
1920	Woman suffrage amendment narrowly fails adoption in legislature.
1921	Construction begins on Wilmington Marine Terminal, completed 1923.
1923	Cecile Steele begins Delaware's broiler chicken industry.
1926	Cape Henlopen Lighthouse collapses.
1929	Louis L. Redding becomes first African-American lawyer in state.
1933	Legislative Hall completed.
	Legislature votes to repeal prohibition amendment.
1934	United States Supreme Court confirms Delaware's claim to control Delaware River.
1935	U.S. Supreme Court rules that twelve mile arc that defines the Pennsylvania-Delaware line should be extended into the Delaware River, giving Delaware a few uninhabited acres attached to New Jersey.
	Dr. Wallace Carothers, working at the DuPont Experimental Station, discovers Fiber 66, the first synthetic fiber.
1937	Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge organized.
	Delaware Park race track opens.
1938	Tercentenary Celebration of landing of Swedes in Wilmington.
1939	DuPont Company opens first nylon plant in Seaford and nylon stockings exhibits at World Fairs in San Francisco and New York.
1941-45	30,000+ Delaware men and women serve in armed forces in World War II.
1942	Fort Miles created between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. Major air bases created at New Castle and Dover.
1945	Women's College merges with University of Delaware.
1949	First annual Delmarva Chicken Festival held.
1950	Delaware Court of Chancery orders University of Delaware to end segregation.
1951	Delaware Memorial Bridge opens first span linking Delaware to New Jersey.
1952	Chancellor Collins J. Seitz deemed Delaware's segregated schools to be separate and unequal, a position upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education.
	Last public whipping; this form of punishment was abolished in Delaware in 1972.
1963	Delaware General Assembly outlaws racial segregation in public accommodations.
	President John F. Kennedy opens Delaware Turnpike (Interstate 95; now John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway) completing a non-stop highway between Boston and Washington D.C.  This was one of Kennedy's last public appearances.
1964	Cape May- Lewes Ferry begins operation.
1968	Riots break out in Wilmington following assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., prompting 10-month occupation of city by National Guard, the longest occupation in the country.
	Second span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge dedicated.
1969	Richard Petty ( #43 ) wins the first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Dover Downs.
1971	The Delaware Coastal Zone Act prohibits construction of industrial plants on coastal areas.
1975	William "Judy" Johnson, a former Negro League baseball player, becomes state's first player elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
1978	Daniel Nathans wins the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work with molecular hormones.
1981	The Financial Center Development Act passes, encouraging out-of-state banks to move headquarters to Delaware.
1984	S.B. Woo elected lieutenant governor, becoming the highest-ranking Asian-American official in the United States.
1995	Legislature approves use of slot machines at Dover Downs, Harrington, and Delaware Park.
	Route 1 bridge over the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal opens.
1999	Jacqueline Jones, a native of Christiana, wins prestigious MacArthur Genius Award.
2000	Ruth Ann Minner elected Delaware's first woman governor.
2002	Clean Air Act passed - ban on smoking in public places.
2003	Elbert N. Carvel becomes the Oldest Surviving elected Governor in Delaware History (Age 93).