This is a brief chronology of the milestones of Washington history. Part 4 covers 1951 to the present. Search the HistoryLink.org database for more detail on selected events.
1951-1960
- Washington State Ferries begins operations on June 1, 1951.
- Strikers close The Seattle Times for 94 days beginning on July 16, 1953.
- Life magazine sheds limelight on Northwest School painters on September 28, 1953.
- Windshield pitting incidents reach fever pitch on April 15, 1954.
- Dash-80, prototype for Boeing 707, makes first flight on July 15, 1954.
- The Dalles dam obliterates Celilo Falls in 1956.
- UW scientist collects blood sample of first documented case of HIV in 1959.
- Food and Drug Administration approves birth control pill on May 9, 1960.
- King County voters approve development of Port of Seattle’s first shipping container facilities on November 8, 1960.
- Population of Washington state is 2,853,214 in 1960.
1961-1970
- Hood Canal Floating Bridge opens on August 12, 1961.
- Century 21 World’s Fair, April-October 1962.
- Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in Congress marks active involvement of the U.S. in the Vietnam War on August 7, 1964.
- Earthquake April 29, 1965.
- Boeing builds 747 plant on Paine field near Everett in 1966.
- Boeing-built Saturn booster launches Apollo 11 towards humanity’s first moon landing on July 20, 1969.
- National Environment Protection Act, spearheaded by Washington Senator Henry Jackson, passes in 1970.
- Washington voters legalize abortion on November 3, 1970.
- Federal cancellation of supersonic transport (SST) triggers regional “Boeing Bust” recession and layoffs in the early 1970s.
- Population of Washington state is 3,413,300 in 1970.
1971-1980
- Dale Chihuly starts Pilchuck Glass School in 1971.
- The Evergreen State College opens near Olympia in September 1971.
- “D. B. Cooper” parachutes from skyjacked jetliner over southwest Washington on November 24, 1971.
- State voters approve Shorelines Management and Public Disclosure acts and re-elect Governor Dan Evans to an unprecedented third term on November 7, 1972.
- Endangered Species Act 1973.
- World’s Fair in Spokane 1974.
- Federal Judge George Boldt issues historic ruling affirming Native American treaty fishing rights on February 12, 1974.
- Fall of Saigon to Communist troops marks end of the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975.
- Voters elect Dixy Lee Ray as first woman governor of Washington on November 2, 1976.
- Hood Canal Floating Bridge sinks during storm on February 13, 1979 (it reopens in 1982).
- Seattle SuperSonics win National Basketball Association Championship on June 1, 1979.
- Tom Foley (Spokane) becomes House of Representatives majority whip 1980.
- Mount St. Helens erupts on May 18, 1980.
- Population of Washington state is 4,132,400 in 1980.
1981-1990
- Three robbers raid Wah Mee gambling club in the International District and kill 13 patrons on February 18, 1983.
- Tacoma Dome opens its doors on April 21, 1983.
- First Costco warehouse opens in Seattle on September 15, 1983.
- U.S. and Canada sign the Skagit River Treaty on April 2, 1984.
- Astronaut Richard F. Scobee (b. 1939 in Cle Elum) and six fellow astronauts die in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.
- Microsoft Corporation offers first shares to the public on March 13, 1986.
- Congress passes Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act on November 16, 1990.
- State Legislature passes Growth Management Act in 1990 and authorizes planning for what becomes Sound Transit system.
- Population of Washington state is 4,866,700 in 1990.
1991-2000
- Washington voters approve Initiative 120 on November 5, 1991.
- Velma Veloria, first Asian elected to a state legislature, is elected to the Washington State Legislature on November 3, 1992.
- Washington voters elect Bill Clinton and Democrats on November 3, 1992.
- President Clinton convenes APEC summit on Blake Island on November 20, 1993.
- Tacoma City Council approves Chinese Reconciliation Resolution on November 30, 1993.
- Nirvana rock band star Kurt Cobain commits suicide in Seattle on April 5, 1994.
- Naval Station at Everett dedicated on April 8, 1994.
- Slade Gorton is reelected to U.S. Senate in Republican sweep on November 8, 1994.
- Seattle Mariners win the American League West pennant on October 2, 1995.
- SuperSonics win Western Conference Championship, earn trip to NBA Finals on June 2, 1996.
- Bones of Kennewick Man found July 26, 1996.
- Washington voters elect Democrats Bill Clinton for president and Gary Locke for governor on November 5, 1996.
- Boeing merges with McDonnell Douglas on August 1, 1997.
- Seattle Mariners win the American League West pennant on September 23, 1997.
- United States sues Microsoft Corporation on May 18, 1998.
- Department of Interior lists nine salmon runs as Endangered Species on March 16, 1999.
- Makah whale hunt begins on May 17, 1999.
- Bill and Melinda Gates confirm endowment of the nation's second largest philanthropic trust on August 22, 1999.
- Federal government recognizes the Snoqualmie Tribe on October 6, 1999.
- Boeing Sea Launch puts first satellite in orbit on October 9, 1999.
- Battle of Seattle begins over WTO on November 30, 1999.
- Alaska Flight 261 bound for Seattle crashes into the Pacific Ocean on January 31, 2000.
- Kingdome stadium is imploded on March 26, 2000.
- Miss Freei breaks hydroplane world speed record on Lake Washington on June 15, 2000.
- President Bill Clinton establishes Hanford Reach National Monument on June 9, 2000.
- William Kenzo Nakamura (d. 1944) receives Medal of Honor for World War II heroism in a ceremony on June 21, 2000.
- Walla Walla Wine Institute is founded in 2000.
- Population of Washington state is 5,894,121 in 2000.
2001-2006
- Duwamish Tribe wins federal recognition on January 19, 2001, but loses it again two days later.
- Earthquake Puget Sound February 28, 2001.
- Boeing moves corporate headquarters to Chicago on September 4, 2001.
- New York’s World Trade Center towers (built by a Seattle architect) destroyed by terrorists on September 11, 2001.
- Michael P. Anderson, former Spokane resident, and six fellow astronauts die when Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry on February 1, 2003.
- Gary Leon Ridgway pleads guilty to murdering 48 Green River Killer victims on November 5, 2003.
- First U.S. case of mad cow disease is reported in a Mabton dairy cow on December 23, 2003.
- "Frasier," the TV sitcom set in Seattle, airs its last show on May 13, 2004.
- New Central Library opens in downtown Seattle on May 23, 2004.
- Christine Gregoire wins nation's closest-ever governor's race after recounts and a court battle on November 2, 2004.
- Historical court clears Chief Leschi's name on December 10, 2004.
- Tri-Cities Fever wins the National Indoor Football League Championship in its first year on July 30, 2005.
- School Fire burns nearly 52,000 acres in the Blue Mountains beginning on August 5, 2005.
- Spokane celebrates the opening of the reconstructed Monroe Street Bridge beginning on September 16, 2005.
- Strict anti-smoking law goes into effect in Washington state on December 8, 2005.
- Governor Christine Gregoire signs bill extending civil rights laws to gays and lesbians on January 31, 2006.
- Thousands march streets of Seattle and Yakima in support of immigrants' rights on May 1, 2006.
- Last coal mine in Washington closes on November 27, 2006.
- Hunukkah eve wind storm ravages Western Washington on December 14 and 15, 2006.
2007-Present
- Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park opens to the public on January 20-21, 2007.
- BlackPast.org is launched on February 1, 2007.
- Walla Walla sweet onions become Washington's official state vegetable on April 20, 2007.
- New Tacoma Narrows Bridge is dedicated on July 15, 2007.
- Makah whalers harpoon and shoot a gray whale in an unauthorized hunt on September 8, 2007.
- Seattle's South Lake Union Streetcar begins service on December 12, 2007.
- Four local women buy Seattle Storm for $10 million on February 29, 2008.
- Northwest African American Museum opens on March 8, 2008.
- Seattle SuperSonics play final home game on April 13, 2008.
- Seattle Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus gains entry to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27, 2008.
- Federal bank regulators seize Washington Mutual on September 25, 2008.
- Washington voters set turnout record, support Barack Obama for president, re-elect Governor Christine Gregoire, and legalize assisted suicide on November 4, 2008.
- Sea-Tac International Airport's third runway opens on November 20, 2008.
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer publishes its final edition on March 17, 2009.
- Granite Falls elects Haroon Saleem as mayor on November 3, 2009.
- Maurice Clemmons kills four Lakewood police officers in a coffeeshop near Tacoma on November 29, 2009.
- Boeing 787 makes its first flight on December 15, 2009.
- Explosion and fire at the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes kills seven refinery workers on April 2, 2010.
- Ken Griffey Jr. retires from baseball on June 2, 2010, ending the most accomplished and celebrated career in Seattle Mariners history.
- The Seattle Storm wins its second WNBA championship on September 16, 2010.
- Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base merge to create Joint Base Lewis-McChord on October 1, 2010.
- The Tulalip Tribes open Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve on August 19, 2011.
- Demolition of the southern mile of Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct begins on October 21, 2011.
- Next 50 celebration starts its six-month run with opening day ceremonies at Seattle Center on April 21, 2012.
