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Michigan Timeline of State History
Chronological History of Michigan
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17th century
- 1622 - French explorers Étienne Brulé, and his companion Grenoble, are probably the first white men to see Lake Superior.
- 1668 - Fathers Jacques Marquette and Claude Dablon establish the first mission at Sault Sainte Marie.
- 1673 - May 17 - Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette, fur trader Louis Jolliet and five voyageurs leave the recently established Indian mission at St. Ignace to explore a great river known by the Indians as the "Messissipi."
18th century
- 1701- June 24 - Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a 43-year-old French army officer, selects a site at le détroit (the straits)—the waterway between Lakes St. Clair and Erie—and establishes a French settlement.
- 1715 - The French establish Fort Michilimackinac at the Straits of Mackinac.
- 1760 - The French surrender Fort Pontchartrain to the British, ending French rule in Detroit.
- 1763 - May 7 - During the Indian wars in the area, Pontiac leads a 135-day siege of Detroit. Indians capture all the forts in Michigan, except Detroit.
- 1787 - The (Northwest) Ordinance of 1787 defines the procedure for obtaining statehood in the Northwest Territory, of which Michigan is a part.
- 1792 - Under the British Parliament's Constitutional Act, the first election is held in Michigan.
- 1796 - July 11 - The British evacuate Detroit and abandon their posts on the Great Lakes.
19th century
- 1805 - The Michigan Territory is created, with Detroit designated as the seat of government. William Hull is appointed as governor. Detroit is destroyed by fire.
- 1812 - Detroit and Fort Mackinac are surrendered to the British during the War of 1812.
- 1813-
- January 22- A British force of 1,300 soldiers and Indians falls upon an American army at the River Raisin near present-day Monroe. Against direct orders, U.S. Brigadier General James Winchester has moved his force of 700 Kentuckians and 200 regulars to the River Raisin.
- American forces reenter Detroit. Lewis Cass is appointed military and civil governor of the Michigan Territory.
- 1819 - The Treaty of Saginaw cedes nearly 6 million acres of Indian lands to Michigan settlers. Michigan sends a delegate to Congress.
- 1828 - The Territorial Capitol is built at Detroit for a cost of $24,500.
- 1835 -
- The Toledo War ensues over the Michigan- Ohio boundary. Michigan was not admitted to the Union because she would not surrender her claim to the Toledo strip. The area was finally surrendered in exchange for the western section of the Upper Peninsula.
- The First Constitutional Convention . . Stevens T. Mason is inaugurated as the first Governor.
- 1837 - Michigan is admitted to the Union as the twenty-sixth state.
- 1841 - The University of Michigan is moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor.
- 1842 - Copper mining operations begin near Keweenaw Point.
- 1844 - Iron ore is discovered in the Upper Peninsula at Negaunee.
- 1847 -
- January 27 - Underground Railroad: Francis Troutman and several others arrive at the home of the Adam Crosswhite family—Kentucky slaves who have escaped to Marshall.
- A law is passed by the State Legislature to locate the State Capital "in the township of Lansing, in the county of Ingham."
- 1854 - The Republican Party is organized at Jackson.
- 1855 - June 22 - The ship canal at Sault Ste. Marie opens.
- 1863 - July 1- Civil War
- 1861-1865 - Over 90,000 Michigan men are mustered into service during the Civil War.
- 1877 - January 28 - Winfield Scott Gerrish opens the 7.1-mile-long Lake George and Muskegon River Railroad in Clare County. Following a warm winter that seriously hampered logging activities, Gerrish moves 20 million board feet of logs to the Muskegon River.
- 1879 - The new State Capitol is dedicated in Lansing; the structure cost $1,510,130.
20th century
- 1908 - The Ford Model T is first manufactured.
- 1896 - March 6 - Charles King of Detroit is the first person to test drive a gasoline-powered automobile in Michigan. Three months later, also in Detroit, Henry Ford drives his gasoline-powered, two-cylinder quadricycle.
- 1910 -The first primary election in Michigan is held.
- 1920 - Detroit's WWJ begins commercial broadcasting of regular programs, the first such radio station in the United States.
- 1930 - The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel opens to automobile traffic.
- 1933 - May 2 - Two hundred young men from Detroit arrive at an isolated spot in Chippewa County and set up Camp Raco—Michigan's first Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) facility.
- 1935 - In the midst of the Great Depression, the United Automobile Workers of America (UAW) is organized in Detroit.
- 1936 - December 30 - Spurred by an unfounded rumor that work is going to be transferred to plants with weak union support, autoworkers begin a spontaneous sit-down strike at General Motors Corporation (GMC) plants in Flint.
- 1941 - Auto plants are converted to the production of war materials, helping Michigan become known as the "Arsenal of Democracy" on Oct 1, 1942.
- 1957 - November 1 - The five-mile long Mackinac Bridge opens on November 1.
- 1959 - Berry Gordy, Jr. founds Motown Records in Detroit.
- 1963 - The new State Constitution is ratified at the April election.
- 1967 - Riots erupt in Detroit amidst racial tensions.
- 1974 - Gerald R. Ford of Grand Rapids becomes the 38th President of the United States.
- 1976 - Throwaway bottles are banned by a referendum vote .
- 1977 - The Renaissance Center is dedicated, marking a revival of downtown Detroit.
- 1980 - The Republican National Convention is held in Detroit.
- 1981 - The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum are dedicated in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, respectively.
- 1987 - January 26 - Michigan celebrates 150 years of statehood.
- 1989 - The Michigan Library and Historical Center is dedicated in Lansing.
- 1992 -
- Michigan State University hosts the third and final Presidential debate. The State Capitol building is fully restored and rededicated.
- A constitutional amendment is adopted limiting the number of terms an official can serve as governor or as a federal or state Senator or Representative.
- 1998 - The J. L. Hudson's building in Detroit is demolished. Chrysler Corporation merges with the German auto company Daimler-Benz, forming DaimlerChrysler.
21th century
- 2001 - Detroit celebrates its 300th anniversary.
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