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British Troops
British Troops begin a nine day siege on the French fort, Port Royal in Nova Scotia, before capturing it for the crown in the Queen-Anne's War 1701-1713. -
The Villasur expedition of Spanish troops
The Villasur expedition of Spanish troops leaves Mexico on a mission to control the increasing presence of the French in the Great Plains. It would end with a defeat by the Pawnee on August 14 near the Loup and Platte Rivers, near Columbus, Nebraska. -
George Washington is Born
George Washington is born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. -
Benjamin Franklin Invents the Lightning Rod
Benjamin Franklin invents the lightning rod after earlier in the year proving that lightning was electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm. -
Fort Duquesne
George Washington and his troops attack Fort Duquesne, an initial action of the French and Indian War between the English and French which began when French forces built and occupied Fort Duquesne in Pittsburgh and did not heed warnings to leave Virginia territory. -
French and Indian War Ends
French and Indian War ends with peace treaty that cedes Canada and the American midwest to English. This signals and effectively tightens the control of Great Britain's colonial administration of North America. -
Stamp Act
Stamp Act is repealed. -
Boston Massacre
British troops fire into a mob, killing five men and leading to intense public protests. -
Boston Tea Party
Group of colonial patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians board three ships in Boston harbor and dump more than 300 crates of tea overboard as a protest against the British tea tax. -
American Revolution
War of independence fought between Great Britain and the 13 British colonies on the eastern seaboard of North America. Battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass., between the British Army and colonial minutemen, mark the beginning of the war. -
Declaration of Independence
Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. -
First President
George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United States in a vote by state electors. -
John Adams
John Adams is selected as the second president
