New York History - The history of New York City reminds us of the very essence of freedom and the resilience and the ability of the United States of America’s people to live, work with and prosper among so many different types of people.

The first people to settle in New York were Dutch in 1624 and after a while they set up New Amsterdam on Manhattan. Next the English came about 35 years later and they changed the name to New York (after the then Duke of York).

In 1882 the world's largest gothic cathedral construction began. Church of St John the Divine is still under construction today.

On Friday, January 1, 1892 Ellis Island opened its doors and from 1892 to 1924, 12 million immigrants entered the United States. Today 8,000,000 people, 1.5 million in Manhattan alone (that amounts to 67,000 people per square mile), call New York City their home.

In 1898, Greater New York was formed. It is made up of five boroughs-Manhattan and Staten Island are islands; Queens and Brooklyn are on the western tip of Long Island and the Bronx is part of the mainland. Together they form the Greater New York Area.

In 1904 the subway, called the IRT makes a trip from City Hall to West 145th Street. This was its first trip and it was 5 cents for a travel time of 26 minutes.

In 1909 the world’s first billionaire is named. He was none other than John D. Rockefeller.

On April 16, 1912 the Titanic, the infamous unsinkable ship was to arrive at Chelsea Piers. The ship struck an iceberg and sank on April 14, 1912.

In 1923 in the Bronx the Yankee Stadium opens and they win their first World Series.

The Holland Tunnel opened in 1927 and the Lincoln Tunnel opened in 1937.

With 12.3 million people in 1950 New York is named the largest metropolis in the world. With 40 million vehicles traveling the Lincoln Tunnel in 1990, it is named the world’s busiest tunnel.

On September 11, 2001 a terrorist attack, the most deadly attack on American soil destroyed the World Trade Centers. Two airplanes hit the World Trade Center in a unspeakable act of terrorism. A new monument has been erected in honor of the 3,000 Americans that died there.