| 1524 | | 17 Jan:
Giovanni da Verrazanno sets sail from Madeira, Portugal to explore North America - from North Carolina north to Newfoundland.MM&P AJ |
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| 1609 | | 11 Sep:
Henry Hudson enters New York Bay in search of the Northwest Passage.IA NYSA |
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| 1614 | | 11 Oct:
Adriaen Block and 12 Amsterdam merchants petition the States General of the Dutch Republic for exclusive trading rights in the Nieuw-Nederland colony.SCW ND-Coins |
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| 1624 | |
| 1625 | | 22 Apr:
The West India Company decrees the establishment of Fort Amsterdam and the creation of adjoining farms on the island of Manhates (Manhattan).GC HMdb |
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| 1626 | |
| 1627 | | 18 Jul:
A French missionary is the first European to mention the occurrence of petroleum in North America.GoogleBooks PA-Roots |
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| 1635 | | 25 Aug:
The Great Colonial Hurricane plows through New England destroying anything in its path.NEHS HS |
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| 1637 | | 1 May:
General Court is convened in Hartford and war is declared against the Pequots.SCW ICT |
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| | 26 May:
Colonists attack and destroy the Pequot village at Misistuck (Mystic).ZEP ICT |
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| 1638 | |
| 1647 | |
| 1654 | | 26 Jan:
Portugal decrees that Jewish and Dutch settlers have three months to leave Brazil. Many of the refugees go on to establish the first Jewish community in Nieuw-Amsterdam.LoC JVL |
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| 1664 | | 27 Aug:
Four English warships arrive in Nieuw-Amsterdam to claim the colony under the orders of James, Duke of York.13 WDL |
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| | 31 Aug:
Peter Stuyvesant, governor of Nieuw-Nederland, refuses to accept the terms of surrender to the British.SotS |
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| 1665 | |
| 1673 | |
| 1674 | | 19 Feb:
The signing of the Treaty of Westminster ends the Third Anglo-Dutch War.OUPLaw MW |
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| 1675 | |
| 1676 | |
| 1689 | | 17 May:
King William's War; England declares war on France which lasts until the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick.HoMA MB |
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| 1702 | |
| 1730 | | 8 Apr:
The first synagogue in North America is the Mill Street Synagogue built by the Shearith Israel congregation in New York City.ShearithIsrael JWA |
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| 1744 | |
| 1753 | |
| 1758 | | 27 Jul:
British and colonial forces defeat French and Canadian forces at the Battle of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia.BB CTHist |
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| 1774 | |
| 1775 | | 19 Apr:
The first battles of the American Revolution. British troops fight American Minutemen at Lexington, killing eight. The British then move to Concord where they again engage the colonials. By the end of the battle, 93 colonists are dead. The British, having lost 273, retreat to Boston.LoC NPS |
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| | 10 May:
Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen capture Fort Ticonderoga.NPS VANY |
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| 1776 | | 4 Jul:
The United States is founded when the Second Continental Congress declares its independence from Great Britain.USHistory USNA |
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| | 27 Aug:
The British defeat the Americans in the Battle of Long Island.BB MtVernon |
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| | 7 Sep:
David Bushnell's invention, American Turtle, the first combat submarine, is deployed against the H.M.S. Eagle in New York harbor.USSNautilus Archaeology |
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| | 22 Sep:
Nathan Hale is executed by the British for spying.tAW LoC |
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| | 28 Oct:
British and Hessian troops under Howe meet Americans under Washington in the Battle of White Plains.MtVernon BB |
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| | 16 Nov:
British and Hession forces capture Fort Washington on the northern end of Manhattan.History.com BB |
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| 1777 | | 15 Jan:
New Connecticut declares its independence from Great Britain and the colony of New York. The name is changed to Vermont in June of that year.History.com UND |
|
| | 9 Jul:
New York State elects its first, and longest serving, governor, George Clinton.POLITICO USNA |
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| | 17 Oct:
British troops surrender at Saratoga.Saratoga AoC |
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| 1778 | | 11 Nov:
The Cherry Valley Massacre - Tory and Mohawk forces murder 47 townsfolk, mostly by tomahawk.CN SotS |
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| 1780 | | 21 Sep:
Treasonous American General Benedict Arnold, believing that he was unrewarded for his military successes, meets with British Major John Andre to discuss handing over West Point to the British.NCC LoC |
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| 1783 | |
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| 1786 | | 8 Jun:
The first advertisement for commercially-made ice cream in the U. S. is published in the New York Post Boy.NYTimes OAA |
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| 1787 | |
| | 17 Sep:
The U. S. Constitution is signed by 38 of the 41 delegates present at the Constitutional Convention.LoC CC |
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| 1788 | |
| 1789 | |
| 1790 | |
| 1796 | |
| 1802 | |
| 1804 | |
| 1807 | | 17 Aug:
Robert Fulton's steamboat, Clermont, begins its first successful trip up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany.PBS OHC |
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| 1811 | |
| 1816 | |
The previous year, Mt. Tambora erupted producing so much ash and gas the sunlight was blocked from warming the earth causing the "Year Without Summer".USGS |
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| 1817 | |
| 1823 | |
| 1825 | |
| | 26 Oct:
The Erie Canal is completed.EC LoC |
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| 1830 | | 26 Mar:
The first printed copies of the Book of Mormon are available for sale in Palmyra, New York.DN PBS |
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| | 6 Apr:
Joseph Smith and his followers organize the Church of Christ, the Mormon Church.LDS PBS |
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| 1837 | | 25 Feb:
Thomas Davenport receives a patent for the first practical DC electric motor.W I R E D MagLab |
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| 1843 | | 1 Feb:
MONY, the oldest continuous writer of insurance policies in the U. S. begins operation.FU 1Lib |
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| 1849 | | 23 Jan:
Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman in the U. S. to receive a medical doctorate.NIH LoC |
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| 1850 | | 18 Mar:
American Express is founded by Henry Wells, William G. Fargo, and John Butterfield.CPRRPHM SI |
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| 1851 | | 12 Aug:
Isaac Merritt Singer is granted a patent for a sewing machine.SI PG |
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| 1855 | | 8 Mar:
The first train crosses the Niagara Railway Suspension Bridge, the first such bridge in the U. S..NFT NG |
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| 1863 | |
| 1869 | | 16 Oct:
The Cardiff Giant, a 10 foot petrified body of a man, is "discovered" in Cardiff, New York.WRVO Hoaxes |
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| 1870 | | 3 Jan:
Ground is broken and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.GG NY |
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| 1871 | | 27 Apr:
The American Museum of Natural History opens to the public.AMNH GoogleBooks |
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| 1872 | |
| 1876 | | 2 Feb:
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, which comes to be more commonly known as the National League is formed.Reds SABR |
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| 1879 | | 8 Apr:
Milk is sold for the first time in glass containers.W I R E D CI |
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| 1882 | | 4 Sep:
The Edison Electric Illuminating Company at 257 Pearl Street in New York City begins providing eletricity to homes and businesses.JAIA ETHW |
|
| | 22 Dec:
For the first time, a Christmas tree is decorated using a string of electric lights.W I R E D DLG |
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| 1883 | | 24 May:
The Brooklyn Bridge opens to the public.LoC BWH |
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| 1884 | | 16 Jun:
The first amusement-park roller coaster ride in America opens at Coney Island.W I R E D WB |
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| 1885 | | 28 Feb:
The American Telephone and Telegraph Company, or AT&T, is chartered in New York.A-C GPM |
|
| | 17 Jun:
The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor on board the French Navy ship Isère.NPS IBTimes |
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| 1886 | | 28 Oct:
The Statue of Liberty is dedicated.SoL NPS |
|
| | 30 Nov:
The Westinghouse Electrical Company begins the first commercially successful transmission of A/C electricity.Google Books ETHW |
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| 1888 | | 11 Mar:
The Great Blizzard of March 1888 or the Great White Hurricane, hits the northeastern United States.HI LoC |
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| 1890 | | 6 Aug:
The first execution by electric chair is carried out.DPI ABA |
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| 1892 | | 1 Jan:
Ellis Island Immigration Station opens.EI LoC |
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| 1895 | | 26 Aug:
Water is diverted from Niagara Falls to begin the first large scale generation of electricity.SI BAH |
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| 1896 | |
| 1898 | |
| 1899 | | 10 Jan:
David Misell receives a patent for his "electric device" - better known as the flashlight, which is still almost unchanged from its original design.FF USPTO |
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| |
| 1901 | |
| 1902 | | 17 Jul:
Willis Carrier completes the design for the world's first successful air-conditioning system.WC W I R E D |
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| 1903 | |
| 1904 | |
| 1905 | | 5 Aug:
Teddy Roosevelt gathers up the Russian and Japanese peace delegates in Oyster Bay, herds them aboard the yacht Mayflower, and heads off to Portsmouth.GoogleBooks GLIAH |
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| 1910 | | 13 Jan:
The first public radio broadcast takes place with a live performance at New York's Metropolitan Opera House. SIMag WQXR |
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| 1911 | |
| | 16 Jun:
The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, the precursor to IBM, is founded in New York.IBM CHM |
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| 1913 | | 2 Feb:
Grand Central Terminal opens.GCT PBS |
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| | 31 Oct:
The first transcontinental highway, the Lincoln Highway, is dedicated.DOT ILH |
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| 1915 | | 27 Mar:
Mary Mallon - Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States, is put in her final quarantine at Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island, where she would remain for the rest of her life.PBS AH |
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| 1916 | | 11 Feb:
Emma Goldman, an American anarchist and feminist, advocate of free speech, the eight-hour work day and birth control, is arrested in New York City before giving a lecture on family planning.LoC PBS |
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| 1919 | | 17 Oct:
Radio Corporation of America, better known as RCA, is incorporated.LoVA VTInc |
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| 1920 | | 12 Oct:
Construction begins on the Holland Tunnel.HHM PA |
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| 1927 | | 7 Jan:
The first commercial transoceanic telephone service begins, using radio, between New York and London.EDN USNA |
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| |
| | 23 Aug:
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti die in the electric chair.ZEP MA |
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| 1928 | | 13 Jan:
The first television sets are installed in Schenectady, New York.MIT RM |
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| | 18 Nov:
Mickey Mouse makes his silver screen premier in Steamboat Willie.MoMA TIME |
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| 1929 | | 29 Oct:
The Great Depression in the United States begins with the crash of the stock market, Black Tuesday.TIME BT |
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| 1931 | | 1 May:
The Empire State Building opens.LoC HDC |
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| 1932 | |
| 1933 | | 22 Jul:
American aviator Wiley Post lands at Floyd Bennett Field in New York, completing the first solo flight around the world in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes.A&SMag PopMech |
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| | 17 Oct:
Albert Einstein, his wife, his assistant and his collaberator/assistant arrive in New York harbor aboard the Westernland on his way to Princeton.IRC EDN |
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| 1934 | | 15 Aug:
Otis Barton and William Beebe make the first deep sea dive in their Bathysphere.NOAA APS |
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| 1935 | |
| 1937 | | 22 Dec:
The center tube of the Lincoln Tunnel opens to automobile traffic.PANYNJ AH |
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| 1938 | |
| | 22 Oct:
The first xerographic copy is made in a laboratory in Astoria, Queens, New York, the birth of Xerox. SIMag APS |
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| |
| 1939 | | 28 Jun:
Pan Am's Dixie Clipper makes its inaugural passenger flight from New York to Europe.CFB Airways |
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| 1945 | | 28 Jul:
A B-25 Mitchell bomber, flying from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to LaGuardia Airport in New York City, crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 people. NYCR&I npr |
|
| | 24 Oct:
The United Nations is established.UN USState |
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| 1946 | | 8 Mar:
The Bell Model 47 becomes the first helicopter to be certified for civilian use.GoogleBooks TW |
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| 1947 | | 16 Apr:
The first television zoom lens, the Zoomar lens, is demonstrated by NBC-TV in New York City, allowing close-up and distant camera shots from the same stationary camera, rather than moving the entire camera as had been done previously.TiS BH |
|
| | 20 Oct:
The House Un-American Activities Committee opens an investigation of communism in Hollywood.N TIME |
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| 1950 | | 24 Sep:
Black Sunday occurs when smoke from forest fires in western Canada makes its way east, darkening the skies in the eastern United States and Canada and as far away as western Europe.BLM WR |
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| |
| 1952 | | 20 Sep:
Geneticists Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase publish their conclusion that DNA is where life's hereditary data is found.OSU RUP |
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| 1953 | | 26 Mar:
The success of the polio vaccine is announced on the radio.NIH WAPO |
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| 1955 | | 19 Aug:
Hurricane Diane becomes the first storm to top $1 billion in damages in the U. S..NEHS NWS |
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| 1958 | | 4 Oct:
BOAC begins the first transatlantic jet aircraft passenger service.UA BA |
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| 1959 | | 9 Mar:
The Barbie doll is introduced at the International Toy Fair in New York.JWA BM |
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| 1961 | | 10 Feb:
The Niagara Falls hydroelectric project, the largest water-driven power complex in the world, goes into service.W I R E D WNYC |
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| 1962 | |
| 1964 | | 7 Feb:
The Beatles invade America.PHD TIME |
|
| | 9 Feb:
The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan Show.ES AP |
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| 1965 | | 9 Nov:
The Northeast Blackout of 1965 is caused by human error.SIMag NEHS |
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| 1968 | | 17 Nov:
With just 65 seconds left to play, NBC switches off an NFL game between the Oakland Raiders and New York Jets in favor of the movie Heidi.History.com |
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| 1969 | | 15 Aug:
The Woodstock Music & Art Fair begins. Woodstock BWC |
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| 1970 | | 22 Jan:
Pan Am airlines makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 747.PanAm PM |
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| 1974 | | 16 Aug:
The Ramones play their first public gig at CBGBs.Rhino VP |
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| 1975 | | 20 Jun:
The Talking Heads play their first gig at CBGBs, opening for the Ramones.PunkDiary CA |
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| 1978 | |
| 1980 | |
| 1981 | | 12 Aug:
The first IBM Personal Computer introduced.IBM ThoughtCo |
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| 1986 | |
| 1993 | | 26 Feb:
A massive truck bomb explodes in the parking garage of the World Trade Center, the first attempt by Islamist extremists to destroy buildings in America.
USState FBI |
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| 2001 | |
| 2003 | |
| | 24 Oct:
Concorde completes its last commercial passenger flight, ending three decades of supersonic travel.B B C GIZMODO |
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| 2012 | | 29 Oct:
Hurricane Sandy becomes Superstorm Sandy after moving up the east coast of the U. S. and takes a left turn towards shore that devastates many of the communities along the mid-Atlantic, especially New York and New Jersey.NASA LiveScience |
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| 2023 | | 30 Mar:
The twice impeached, former squatter of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue adds to his criminal resumé with an indictment - another first, I might add - he received in New York City over hush money payments to a porn star. Happy days are here again!CNN npr |
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| 2024 | |
New York
