1783  Washington Irving is born. (AMS)

1787  The Federal Convention convenes in Philadelphia and the U.S. Constitution is approved. (PDC)

1789  George Washington becomes the first president of the United States of America. (GLRC)

1791  Washington, D. C. is established as the capital of the U.S.A. (PDC)

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The U.S. Bill of Rights is ratified. (GLRC)

1800  "Eli Whitney crafts muskets with interchangeable parts" (GLRC)

1803  The United States doubles its land area with the Louisiana purchase ($15 million). (PDC)

1807  "Washington Irving, his brother William, and James Kirke Paulding start an anonymous satirical magazine, Salmagundi." (PDC)

1808  The importation of African slaves becomes prohibited by U.S. federal law. (GLRC)

1809    His fiancée Matilda Hoffmanm died at the age of seventeen. (TLN)

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Washington Irving writes one of his earlist works, The History of New York (PDC)

1812  Irving was a military aide to New York Governor Tompkins in the U.S. Army. (TLN)

1812 to 1861  Literary Romanticism flourishes in the United States (GLRC)

1814  British forces invade Washington and set fire to the Capitol, the White House, and other buildings. (PDC)

1815   After the death of his mother, Irving decided to stay in Europe, where he remained for seventeen years (TLN)

1819  Irving publishes The Sketch Book, including the story “Rip Van Winkle” (AMS)

1819  The U.S. purchases Florida from Spain (GLRC)

1820  The U.S. Congress signs into law the terms of the Missouri Compromise (GLRC)

1822  Bracebridge Hall is written by Irving (AMS)

1823  President Monroe presents Monroe Doctrine stating that U.S. will not tolerate European interference in Western Hemisphere. (PDC)

1824  Washington writes Tales of a Traveller (AMS)

1828  Irving publishes The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus ((HHV))

1828  The first American railroad is built, the Baltimore and Ohio (GLRC) 

1829  Washington writes The Conquest of Granada  (TLN)

1829  William B. Burt receives the first patent for a typewriter in the U.S. (GLRC)

1830  Irving received a gold medal in history from the Royal Society of Literature in London, and also received honorary degrees from Oxford, Columbia, and Harvard. (HHV)

1830  Joseph Smith publishes the Book of Mormon and founds the Mormon Church in Fayette, New York (GLRC)

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The U.S. Congress passes the Indian Removal Act, which authorizes the government to move all Eastern Indians west of the Mississippi to make room for white settlers (GLRC)

1832  The Alhambra is published by Washington Irving (ACN)

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"Irving returned to New York to an enthusiastic welcome as the first American author to have achieved international fame". (TLN)

1832 to 1835  He toured the southern and western United States (TLN)

1835  Irving writes A Tour on the Prairies (ACN)

1836  Astoria is written by Irving (ACN)

1837  The Adventures of Captain Bonneville is published (ACN)

1838  American Indians living in the eastern United States embark on the "Trail of Tears": a forced migration to land west of the Mississippi (GLRC)

1842  American President Tyler appointed him Minister to Spain - a position we would now call ambassador.(HHV)

1844  Samuel F. B. Morse constructs the first working telegraph system in the U.S. (GLRC)

1846 to 1848  The Mexican War, pitting the U.S. against Mexico, is fought (GLRC)

1848 to 1859  He was President of Astor Library, later New York Public Library (TLN)

1848  Gold is discovered in California, news of which begins the California Gold Rush of 1848-49 (GLRC)

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The first American women's-rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York (GLRC)

1850  The U.S. Congress agrees upon the Compromise of 1850 (GLRC)

1857  The Dred Scott decision is handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, finding that blacks are not American citizens and denying the power of Congress to restrict the spread of slavery (GLRC)

1859 Washington Irving died at Sunnyside, New York, one year before the Civil War (HHV)

1860  Abraham Lincoln is elected president of the United States; South Carolina secedes from the Union (GLRC)