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Keyword(s): Walt Crowley

109 Features

About Washington State -- Frequently Asked Questions and Their Answers

This essay offers a brief introduction to the state of Washington, its jurisdictional development and government, and its official symbols.

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Allied Arts of Seattle

Allied Arts of Seattle is one of the city's most influential advocates for urban design and the arts. It grew out of the Beer & Culture Society, a small circle of academics, architects, and artist...

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Anti-Chinese Activism in Seattle

Chinese immigrants, largely men, began arriving in Seattle in the 1860s, and played a key role in the development of Washington Territory, providing labor for the region's mines and salmon canneries a...

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Battling Union Busters with Gary Ewing (1942-2000)

Gary Ewing (1942-2000) died on October 5, 2000, one week past his 58th birthday. This extraordinary, courageous, funny man was a passionate champion of working people and a loyal friend of many. Gary ...

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Beaver, SS, First Steamship in Pacific Northwest

The first steamship to operate in the eastern Pacific Ocean was the HMS Beaver, a stout little craft commissioned by the Hudson's Bay Company. She saw continuous service from 1835 until July 26, 1888,...

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was formally established in the summer of 1999. The new organization consolidated previous activities dating back to 1994, including family giving, the William ...

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Blue Moon Tavern: An Unofficial Cultural Landmark

Seattle's Blue Moon Tavern first opened its doors at 712 NE 45th Street near the University of Washington on or near April 15, 1934. Founded by Hank Reverman (1912-2009), the tavern was an instant hit...

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Boeing and Early Aviation in Seattle, 1909-1919

Seattle residents saw their first flying machine on June 27, 1908, a balloon flown by L. Guy Mecklem (1882-1973) from West Seattle's Luna Park, and saw another flying machine, a dirigible, in 1909 dur...

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Boeing and United Air Lines from Birth to Break Up, 1919-1934

The Boeing Airplane Company nearly collapsed following the end of World War I military orders. Pioneer pilot Eddie Hubbard (1889-1928) helped William E. Boeing (1881-1956) deliver the first bag of int...

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Boeing Quotient -- The Wright Stuff: HistoryLink "B-Q" Quiz published by The Seattle Times on December 17, 2003, centennial of the Wright Brothers' first flight

On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright executed the first controlled flights by a heavier-than-air machine, at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. One century later, The Seattle Times published...

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Breaking In a New Mayor

In this op-ed essay for The Seattle Times, Walt Crowley compares the "transition" of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels to that of Wes Uhlman, Charles Royer, Norm Rice, and Paul Schell. Crowley was an aide to...

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Burnley Ghost and Other Seattle Apparitions

In his famous, possibly apocryphal, speech of 1854, Chief Seattle is said to have warned his new neighbors that "the dead are not altogether powerless." There have been numerous reports of ghosts and ...

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Chief Seattle's Speech

In addition to his namesake city, Chief Seattle (178?-1866) is best remembered for a speech given, according to pioneer Dr. Henry Smith, on the occasion of an 1854 visit to Seattle of Isaac Stevens (1...

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City Light's Birth and Seattle's Early Power Struggles, 1886-1950

City Light, Seattle's publicly owned electric utility, began to take shape in 1902, when voters approved bonds for a hydroelectric dam on the Cedar River. The project, completed in 1905, was a direct ...

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188 Timeline Entries

Mexican and Spanish settlers complete Neah Bay settlement in May 1792.

In May 1792, Mexican and Spanish settlers commanded by Salvador Fidalgo complete a settlement at Neah Bay near the northeastern tip of the Olympic Peninsula. Explorer Manuel Quimper had claimed the ba...

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George Vancouver begins British survey of Puget Sound on May 19, 1792.

On May 19, 1792, the British sloop-of-war Discovery drops anchor between Bainbridge and Blake islands. The following morning, Capt. George Vancouver (1757-1798) dispatches Lt. Peter Puget and Master J...

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Great Britain and the United States sign the Treaty of Joint Occupation of Oregon on October 20, 1818.

On October 20, 1818, in order to improve relations in the wake of the War of 1812, Great Britain and the United States agree to peaceful coexistence in the Pacific Northwest by signing the Convention ...

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Charles Wilkes begins first American survey of Puget Sound on May 11, 1841.

On May 11, 1841, the U.S. Navy ships Vincennes and Porpoise, commanded by Lt. Charles Wilkes (1798-1877), drop anchor in southern Puget Sound, near the mouth of Sesquilatchew Creek and the Hudson's Ba...

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American settlers in Oregon declare a provisional government on May 2, 1843.

On May 2, 1843, following the first major influx of settlers, American citizens in "Oregon Country" meet to organize a provisional government for self-rule. The act challenges the Hudson's Bay Company...

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Congress creates Territory of Oregon on August 14, 1848.

On August 14, 1848, Congress establishes the Territorial Government of Oregon. The United States had enjoyed sovereignty over the region, which included present-day Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, sinc...

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Denny Party scouts arrive at mouth of Duwamish River in future King County on September 25, 1851.

On September 25, 1851, David Denny (1832-1903), John Low (1820-1888), and Lee Terry (1818-1862) arrive in a vessel commanded by Capt. Robert C. Fay at the mouth of the Duwamish River in the future Kin...

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John Low and Lee Terry select claims at Alki Point on September 28, 1851.

On September 28, 1851, John Low (1820-1888) and Leander (Lee) Terry (1818-1862) select Donation Land claims on Alki Point not far from the future site of Seattle. David Denny (1832-1903) and Lee Terry...

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Denny, Boren, and Bell select claims on Elliott Bay marking the beginning of Seattle on February 15, 1852.

On February 15, 1852, Arthur Denny (1822-1899), Carson Boren (1824-1912), and William Bell (1817-1887) select Donation Land claim sites on the eastern portion of Elliott Bay. Most of the original sett...

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Bishop Demers holds Seattle's first Christian religious ceremony on August 22, 1852.

On August 22, 1852, at the invitation of Arthur Denny (1822-1899), visiting Bishop Modeste Demers (1809-1871) celebrates Mass in Henry Yesler's sawmill cookhouse. Although the town has no Catholic set...

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Seattle appears in print for the first time on October 30, 1852.

On October 30, 1852, the Olympia newspaper The Columbian prints an advertisement for Dr. David S. Maynard's store, the "Seattle Exchange." This (and a notice in the same issue about Henry Yesler's saw...

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Oregon Territorial Legislature creates King County and names Seattle county seat on December 22, 1852.

On December 22, 1852, the Oregon Territorial Legislature approves creation of King County and names Seattle as the seat of its government. The legislation is sponsored by Col. Isaac Ebey (1818-1857) t...

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Marriage unites David Denny and Louisa Boren on January 23, 1853.

On January 23, 1853, King County's first Justice of the Peace, Dr. David S. Maynard (1808-1873) issues the new county's first (in a manner of speaking) marriage license and presides at the wedding of ...

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Plats filed for Town of Seattle on May 23, 1853.

On May 23, 1853, Arthur Denny (1822-1899), Carson Boren (1824-1912), and Dr. David S. Maynard (1808-1873) file the first plats for the Town of Seattle and establish the present-day street grid in Pion...

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