Timeline
A chronology of key events in the life of Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary War officer, aide-de-camp to General George Washington, and the nation’s first treasury secretary.
Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804)
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[1757], Jan. 11
Hamilton's presumed birth date, on Nevis, British West Indies -
1766-1768
Clerk, trading firm of Beekman and Cruger, St. Croix -
1769
Clerk for Nicholas Cruger, merchant, St. Croix -
1772
Left St. Croix, arrived in Boston, went to New York -
1772-1773
Attended Francis Barber's academy, Elizabethtown, N.J. -
1773
Entered King's College (later Columbia University), New York -
1774
Published A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress from the Calumnies of Their Enemies (New York: James Rivington) -
1775
Published The Farmer Refuted, Or, A More Impartial and Comprehensive View of the Dispute between Great-Britain and the Colonies (New York: James Rivington) -
1776
Appointed captain of a New York artillery company -
1777
Appointed aide-de-camp to George Washington with rank of lieutenant colonel -
1780, Dec.
Married Elizabeth Schuyler -
1781, Apr. 30
Resigned as aide-de-camp to George Washington -
1781, July
Given command of New York and Connecticut light infantry battalion and was ordered to Virginia. -
1781, Nov.
Retired from active military duty -
1782
Appointed receiver of continental taxes for New York
Chosen delegate from New York to the Continental Congress
Admitted to practice of law as attorney and counselor before the New York Supreme Court of Judicature -
1783, July
Resigned from Continental Congress. Opened a law office in New York -
1784
Organized the Bank of New York -
1786
Chosen delegate to Annapolis Convention
Elected, New York state assembly -
1787
Named delegate to the Constitutional Convention, Philadelphia
Began series of Federalist essays -
1788
Elected a delegate to New York's ratifying convention -
1789
Appointed the first treasury secretary of the United States -
1790-1791
Prepared four major economic reports for Congress -
1795, Jan. 31
Resigned as treasury secretary -
1795-1796
Wrote a series of articles under the pseudonyms Camillus and Philo Camillus -
1798
Appointed inspector general of the army with rank of major general -
1800
Resigned as inspector general -
1801
Founded the New York Evening Post -
1804, July 12
Died in New York following a duel with Aaron Burr in Weehawken, New Jersey, on July 11