1821 Mexico claims control of Nevada after gaining its independence from Spain.
1827 Explorer and fur trader Jedediah Smith passes through Nevada on his way to California.
1828 Peter Ogden travels along the Humboldt River.
1842 American explorer John Fremont finds Lake Tahoe.
1846 The Donner party wagon train is trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
1848 Nevada becomes part of the United States after the Mexican-American War.
1849 Thousands of settlers pass through Nevada on their way to California hoping to strike it rich.
1850 Nevada is organized into the Utah Territory.
1851 Mormon Station is established as a trading post for California bound migrants.
1859 The Comstock Lode of silver is discovered.
1861 The Nevada Territory is established by the U.S. Congress.
1864 Nevada is admitted to the Union as the 36th state.
1875 A fire destroys much of Virginia City.
1898 The silver runs out at the Comstock Lode.
1905 Las Vegas is founded as a railroad stop.
1931 Gambling was made legal throughout Nevada.
1935 The Hoover Dam is completed creating Lake Mead.
1936 The Boulder Dam was built.
1946 Bugsy Siegel opened the Flamingo Hotel beginning the famous Las Vegas Strip.
1951 Nuclear testing begins in Nevada.
1992 All nuclear testing is stopped.