DATE HISTORY OF THE CANAL.
Reading edition
Conquest of Constantinople by Turks 1453
Columbus discovers Bay of Limon 1492
Rodrigo de Bastidas, Balboa, and La Cosa reach the Isthmus 1500
Columbus's Fourth Voyage, vainly seeks the strait 1502
Balboa sights the Pacific Sept. 25, 1513
Pedrarias founds the old town of Panama 1519
Magellan discovers the straits that bear his name 1519-21
Gonzalez de Avila discovers Lake Nicaragua 1522
The quest of Isthmian Strait given up as hopeless circa 1532
Gomara appeals to Charles V. to construct canal 1551
Drake sights the Pacific 1573
Philip III. directs surveys for Darien Canal 1616
English seize Jamaica 1655
Henry Morgan destroys old Panama 1671
Paterson's settlement at Panama 1698
Spanish surveys of Tehuantepec and Nicaragua 1771 and 1779
Von Humboldt's residence in Central America 1799-1804
Panama declares its independence and joins New Granada 1822
Overtures made by Central America to United States for canal 1825
Goethe's prophecies 1827
Dutch canal concession from Nicaraguan Government, 1829; abandoned 1830
British Honduras annexed by Great Britain 1835
United States Treaty with New Granada 1846
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty 1850
Panama Railway opened to traffic 1855
Dickinson-Ayon Treaty between United States and Nicaragua 1868
President Grant recommends canal under United States control 1869
Apppoints Interoceanic Canal Commission 1869
Suez Canal opened 1869
La Société Civile Internationale du Canal Interocéanique founded 1876
Grant's Commission reports in favour of Nicaraguan route 1876
The De Lesseps Company formed 1878
Company starts work 1881
Bankruptcy of French company 1889
New Panama Company formed 1889
Construction work at Nicaragua 1890-3
Ferdinand de Lesseps died 1894
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty 1901
Spooner Act 1902
Panama revolts from Colombia 1903
Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty 1904
American occupation of Isthmus begins 1904
Completion of canal 1914
Formal opening 1915