(1634) French explorer Jean Nicolet arrives in the Green Bay area 1650s: Fur trading industry begins 1673: Explorers Louis Jolliet and Fr. Jacques Marquette discover the upper Mississippi River 1763: Control of the Wisconsin area is transferred to England after the French and Indian War 1776: Green Bay settlement established by Augustin Monet de Langlade 1783: With the Treaty of Paris the overall area is given to the U.S., but the British continue to claim it until after the War of 1812 1822: Lead mining begins in southwestern Wisconsin 1836: Madison selected as territorial capital 1848: Wisconsin becomes 30th U.S. State 1854: Republican Party is founded in Ripon 1871: Severe forest fire devastates Peshtigo area, over 1,200 die 1901: Robert LaFollette becomes the first native governor 1932: Wisconsin passes the first unemployment compensation legislation 1953: Baseball Braves move to Milwaukee, win World Series in 1957 1959: St Lawrence Seaway opens, provided access to the world for shipping ports on the Great Lakes 1967: Green Bay Packers win first Super Bowl. Win again in 1968 1980: Eric Heiden of Madison wins five Olympic Gold Medals in ice skating competition 1998: Tammy Baldwin becomes the first women from Wisconsin elected to the U.S. Congress 2001: Governor Tommy Thompson assumes the office of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush Administration
1650s: Fur trading industry begins