Cajun History

SOME IMPORTANT DATES IN LOUISIANA HISTORY

1715 - Louis Juchereau de St. Denis establishes Fort St. Jean Baptiste (Natchitoches) first permanent settlement in the Mississippi Valley.

1718 - New Orleans is founded and named for Phillippe Duc D'Orleans.

1718 - The St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans is built, the oldest in the United States.

1723 - New Orleans becomes the capital of Louisiana, superseding Biloxi.

1762 - Louis XV gives the "Island of New Orleans" and all of Louisiana west of the Mississippi to his cousin, Charles III of Spain.

1763 - Treaty of Paris ends Seven Year War and confirms transfer of Louisiana to Spain. Florida Parishes ceded to England with Baton Rouge becoming New Richmond.

1764 - First four Acadian families arrive in Louisiana from New York

1796 - Opera is first performed in the United States at New Orleans.

1803 - Louisiana is purchased from Napoleon I by the United States for $15,000,000.

1808 - First public school is established in Pointe Coupee Parish.

1811 - First institution of higher learning opens in New Orleans (College of Orleans).

1812 - Louisiana is admitted to the Union.

1815 - Battle of New Orleans is won by General Andrew Jackson.

1838 - First Mardi Gras parade is held in New Orleans.

1849 - Baton Rouge becomes capital of Louisiana.

1862 - The first salt mine is discovered at Avery Island, oldest in the Western Hemisphere.

1868 - Louisiana is re-admitted to the Union.

1869 - First sulphur is produced in United States.

1872 - Rex, King of Carnival, parades for the first time on Mardi Gras.

1901 - The first oil is discovered about six miles from Jennings.

1915 - The name "Jazz" is given to music of New Orleans origin.

1926 - Louisiana's first public airport is built in Mansfield.

1928 - Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo is established, the oldest fishing tournament in the United States.

1932 - New capitol is completed in Baton Rouge.

1935 - Senator Huey Long is assassinated in the state capitol.

1947 - Kerr-McGee Corporation, with offshore operations based in Morgan City, drills the first commercial producing oil well out of sight of land.

1963 - Tulane University accepts five black students, the first in its history.

1973 - A team of surgeons performs Louisianas first heart transplant.

1975 - The Super Dome in New Orleans is completed, with a final cost of $163,313,315 for building and grounds.

1977 - Ernest Morial is elected mayor of New Orleans, becoming the city's first black mayor.

1979 - David Treen is elected governor, the first Republican governor since Reconstruction.

1983 - Edwin W. Edwards becomes the first three-term governor.

1987 - Louisiana celebrates the 175th anniversary of its admission into the Union.