1540-1542: Francisco Vazquez de Coronado explores Arizona searching for the Fabled Seven Cities of Cibola.

1600′s-1700′s: Spanish miners descend upon the region searching for silver.

1848: As a result of the Mexican War, Mexico cedes much of Arizona to the United States.

1849: Thousands of prospectors travel through Arizona on their way to the California Gold Rush.

1850: Most of Arizona is organized into the New Mexico Territory.

1853: Authorized by President Franklin Pierce, the remainder of Arizona is purchased in the Gadsden Purchase.

1862: Union military forces score a minor victory at the Battle of Pacacho Pass. This battle marked the only battle fought in Arizona during the war.

1862: Apaches attack U.S. soldiers – which begins a ten year war with the settlers.

1863: The Territory of Arizona is created from the New Mexico Territory.

1864: Kit Carson captures 7,000 Navajos and makes them leave Arizona in what came to be known as “The Long Walk.”

1869: John Wesley Powell explores the Grand Canyon in a boat

1877: The Desert Land Act of 1877, giving settlers 640 acres in the region, attracts thousands of settlers.

1878: The boomtown of Tombstone is founded. The town came to epitomize the “Wild West” and was the scene of the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which lead to a prolonged political feud in the region.

1919: Grand Canyon National Park is founded.

1936: The Hoover Dam is finished

1948: Native Americans gain the right to vote

1975: Raul H. Castro becomes the first Mexican- American Governor or Arizona

1981: First woman on the U.S. Supreme court, Sandra Day O’ Connor is elected.