The written history of New Jersey began with the exploration of the Jersey Coast by Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524, though the region had been settled for millennia by Native Americans. The New Jersey region soon came under the control of the Swedes and the Dutch resulting in a struggle in which the Dutch were victorious. However, the Dutch colony of New Netherland was seized by the British in 1664. New Jersey was one of the original 13 colonies that joined the American Revolutionary War in 1776. In 1787, New Jersey was the third state to join the United States of America. In the nineteenth century, New Jersey cities led the nation into the Industrial Revolution and provided soldiers for many of the wars the United States fought, including 88,000 soldiers for the American Civil War. During the early 1900s, New Jersey prospered but weakened in the Great Depression in the 1930s. During World War II and the Cold War New Jersey's shipyards and military bases played an important role in the defense of the United States. In the 1960s New Jersey was the site of several race riots and the Glassboro Summit Conference, between American President Lyndon Johnson and Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_Jersey

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1187: Saladin defeated Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, at the Battle of Hattin and captured the True Cross. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hattin)

1776: The Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies in British North America approved a Declaration of Independence. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Independence_% 28United_States%29)

1865: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was first published. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland)

1894: The Republic of Hawai'i was proclaimed at Ali'iolani Hale in Honolulu, with Sanford B. Dole as the first president. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Hawaii)

1976: Operation Yonatan: Israeli commandos raided Uganda's Entebbe International Airport to free hostages taken by PLO and RAF hijackers. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Entebbe)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"It contributes greatly towards a man's moral and intellectual health, to be brought into habits of companionship with individuals unlike himself, who care little for his pursuits, and whose sphere and abilities he must go out of himself to appreciate." -- Nathaniel Hawthorne (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne)