New Jersey historical timeline

Origins

The Lenape held this land. The Dutch and Swedes settled parts of it before the English took it in 1664 and named it for the island of Jersey.

Turning points

New Jersey saw more Revolutionary War engagements than any other state. George Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776 to take Trenton, followed it with Princeton a week later, and wintered his army at Morristown twice. The state is officially the Crossroads of the American Revolution.

Influential people

Thomas Edison ran his laboratories at Menlo Park and West Orange, where the practical incandescent lamp, the phonograph and early motion pictures were developed. The first commercial film studio in the world was built here.

Cultural evolution

The shore built the American boardwalk — Atlantic City laid the first one in 1870, and the street names on a Monopoly board are taken from it. Asbury Park's music scene produced Bruce Springsteen in the 1970s.

Present-day significance

The state is now among the wealthiest and most diverse in the country, with pharmaceuticals, ports and finance carrying an economy that once ran on manufacturing.