Timeline of New Mexico history

This timeline is a chronology of significant events in the history of the U.S. State of New Mexico and the historical area that is now occupied by the state.

2000s 1900s Statehood 1800s Territory 1700s 1600s 1500s Before 1492

2020s

Year	Date	Event
2020	November 3	In the 2020 General Election, New Mexico voters elect five U.S. Presidential Electors for Joe Biden, elect Ben Ray Luján as new U.S. Senator, re-elect Deb Haaland and elect Yvette Herrell and Teresa Leger Fernandez as U.S. Representatives. Democrats retain control of the New Mexico Legislature.
	April 2	The 2020 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, estimated to be about 2,101,000.
	March 1	COVID-19 has affected in New Mexico, which impacts the economy, culture, business, and the people of this state.[1]

2010s

Year	Date	Event
2019	December 20	U.S. President Donald Trump signs the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 which creates White Sands National Park from White Sands National Monument.[2]
2019	January 1	Michelle Lujan Grisham assumes office as the thirty-second Governor of the State of New Mexico.
2015	November 10	The National Park Service creates the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.[2]
2015	October 22	Dianna Duran resigns as New Mexico Secretary of State amid investigations of corruption.
2014	May 21	U.S. President Barack Obama issues an executive order creating Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument.[3]
2013	May 16	The City of Rio Communities is incorporated.
	March 25	U.S. President Barack Obama issues an executive order creating Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
	January 3	Martin Heinrich takes office as the junior New Mexico U.S. Senator.
2011	January 1	Susana Martinez assumes office as the thirty-first Governor of the State of New Mexico.
2010	April 1	The 2010 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, later determined to be 2,059,179, an increase of 13.2% since the 2000 United States Census. New Mexico remains the 36th most populous of the 50 U.S. states.

2000s

Year	Date	Event
2009	January 3	Tom Udall takes office as the junior New Mexico U.S. Senator.
2003	January 1	Bill Richardson assumes office as the thirtieth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
2002	December 4	U.S. President George W. Bush signs An Act to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Old Spanish Trail as a National Historic Trail creating the Old Spanish National Historic Trail.
2001	January 17	U.S. President Bill Clinton issues an executive order creating Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.[3]
2000	October 13	U.S. President Bill Clinton signs An Act to amend the National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail, creating El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail.
	July 25	U.S. President Bill Clinton signs An Act to authorize the acquisition of the Valles Caldera, to provide for an effective land and wildlife management program for this resource within the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes, creating the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
	April 1	The 2000 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, later determined to be 1,819,046, an increase of 20.1% since the 1990 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the 36th most populous of the 50 U.S. states.

1990s

Year	Date	Event
1998	August 18	U.S. President Bill Clinton appoints Bill Richardson the ninth United States Secretary of Energy.
1997	February 18	U.S. President Bill Clinton appoints Bill Richardson the twenty-first United States Ambassador to the United Nations.
1995	January 1	Gary Johnson assumes office as the twenty-ninth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1992	December 14	The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates Taos Pueblo as a World Heritage Site.
1991	July 2	The National Park Service changes the name of Pecos National Monument to Pecos National Historical Park.[3][2]
1991	January 1	Bruce King assumes office as the twenty-eighth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1990	June 27	U.S. President George H. W. Bush issues a proclamation creating Petroglyph National Monument.[3][2]
1990	April 1	The 1990 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, later determined to be 1,515,069, an increase of 16.2% since the 1980 United States Census. New Mexico remains the 37th most populous of the 50 U.S. states.

1980s

Year	Date	Event
1988	October 28	The National Park Service changes the name of Salinas National Monument to Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument.[3][2]
1987	December 31	U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs An Act to establish the El Malpais National Monument and the El Malpais National Conservation Area in the State of New Mexico, to authorize the Masau Trail, and for other purposes, creating El Malpais National Monument and changing the name of Capulin Mountain National Monument to Capulin Volcano National Monument.[3][2]
	December 11	The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates the Chaco Culture World Heritage Site. The Chaco Culture World Heritage Site includes Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Aztec Ruins National Monument, and several smaller Chaco sites managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
	May 8	U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs An Act to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Santa Fe Trail as a National Historic Trail, creating the Santa Fe National Historic Trail.
	January 1	Garrey Carruthers assumes office as the twenty-seventh Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1983	January 1	Toney Anaya assumes office as the twenty-sixth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1981	June 19	Cibola County, the thirty-third and newest county, is created from the western part of Valencia County.
1980	December 19	U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs An Act to designate certain National Forest System lands in the State of New Mexico for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes, that changes the name of Chaco Canyon National Monument to Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and changes the name of Gran Quivira National Monument to Salinas National Monument.[3][2]
1980	April 1	The 1980 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, later determined to be 1,302,894, an increase of 28.1% since the 1970 United States Census. New Mexico remains the 37th most populous of the 50 U.S. states but gains a 3rd Congressional District.

1970s

Year	Date	Event
1979	January 1	Bruce King assumes office as the twenty-fifth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1978	November 10	U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 creating the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.
1976	July 4	The State of New Mexico celebrates the Bicentennial of the United States of America.
1975	January 1	Jerry Apodaca assumes office as the twenty-fourth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1971	January 1	Bruce King assumes office as the twenty-third Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1970	April 1	The 1970 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, later determined to be 1,017,055, an increase of 6.9% since the 1960 United States Census. New Mexico remains the 37th most populous of the 50 U.S. states.

1960s

Year	Date	Event
1969	March 4	New Mexico creates its 2nd Congressional District to replace its At-large Congressional seat. This congressional district remains to the present.
1968	December 2	U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs An Act to establish a national trails system, and for other purposes, creating the National Trails System.
1968	July 1	U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs An Act to establish a national trails system, and for other purposes, creating the National Trails System.
1967	June 5	Reies Tijerina leads an armed raid on the Rio Arriba County Courthouse in Tierra Amarilla.
1967	January 1	David Cargo assumes office as the twenty-second Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1965	June 28	U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson issues a proclamation creating Pecos National Monument.[3][2]
1963	January 1	Jack M. Campbell assumes office as the twenty-first Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1962	November 30	Lieutenant Governor Tom Bolack assumes office as the twentieth Governor of the State of New Mexico upon the resignation of Governor Edwin L. Mechem.
1962	November 18	Dennis Chavez, United States Senator since 1934, dies during his fifth term in the Senate.
1961	January 1	Edwin L. Mechem assumes office as the nineteenth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1960	November 8	The State of New Mexico amends its Constitution changing the name of New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts to New Mexico State University.
1960	April 1	The 1960 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, later determined to be 951,023, an increase of 39.6% since the 1950 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the 37th most populous of the 50 U.S. states.

1950s

Year	Date	Event
1959	January 1	John Burroughs assumes office as the eighteenth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1957	January 1	Edwin L. Mechem assumes office as the seventeenth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1955	January 1	John F. Simms assumes office as the sixteenth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1954	June 28	U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issues a proclamation creating Fort Union National Monument.[3][2]
1951	January 1	Edwin L. Mechem assumes office as the fifteenth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1950	August 28	U.S. President Harry S. Truman issues a Public Land Order abolishing Mesilla National Forest.[4]
1950	April 1	The 1950 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, later determined to be 681,187, an increase of 28.1% since the 1940 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the 39th most populous of the 48 U.S. states.

1940s

Year	Date	Event
1947	January 1	Thomas J. Mabry assumes office as the fourteenth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1945	September 2	World War II ends as the Empire of Japan formally surrenders.
	July 18	The U.S. Army's Manhattan Project conducts the Trinity test, the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. The test is conducted in Socorro County on the Alamogordo Bombing Range.
	May 8	The war in Europe ends as the Greater German Empire formally surrenders.
1944	April 6	U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues a Public Land Order creating Mesilla National Forest.[4] (Abolished August 28, 1950.)
1943	January 1	John J. Dempsey assumes office as the thirteenth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1941	December 11	The United States declares war on the German Reich and the Italian Empire.
1941	December 8	The United States declares war on the Empire of Japan and enters World War II.
1940	April 1	The 1940 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, later determined to be 531,818, an increase of 25.6% since the 1930 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the 41st most populous of the 48 U.S. states and gains a 2nd Congressional seat.

1930s

Year	Date	Event
1939	January 1	John E. Miles assumes office as the twelfth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1937	November 3	The United States Department of Agriculture creates Kiowa National Grassland.[4]
	July 22	U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs An Act to create the Farmers' Home Corporation, to promote more secure occupancy of farms and farm homes, to correct the economic instability resulting from some present forms of farm tenancy, and for other purposes, also known as the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act.
	spring	Bluewater State Park, New Mexico's first state park, opens.
1935	January 1	Clyde Tingley assumes office as the eleventh Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1933	September 25	Lieutenant Governor Andrew W. Hockenhull assumes office as the tenth Governor of the State of New Mexico upon the death of Governor Arthur Seligman.
1933	January 18	U.S. President Herbert Hoover issues a proclamation creating White Sands National Monument.[3][2]
1932	August	Edgar Billings Howard begins excavating the Blackwater Locality No. 1 archaeological site discovered in 1929 by Ridgely Whiteman near Clovis. Blackwater Locality No. 1 becomes the type site for Clovis culture.
1931	December 3	U.S. President Herbert Hoover issues an executive order creating Cibola National Forest.[4]
1931	January 1	Arthur Seligman assumes office as the ninth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1930	May 14	U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs An Act to establish the Carlsbad Caverns National Park in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes, creating Carlsbad Caverns National Park from Carlsbad Caverns National Monument.[2]
1930	April 1	The 1930 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, later determined to be 423,317, an increase of 17.5% since the 1920 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the 43rd most populous of the 48 U.S. states.

1920s

Year	Date	Event
1929		Nineteen-year-old Ridgley Whiteman discovers Paleo-Indian artifacts at Blackwater Draw near Clovis.
1928	July 2	U.S. President Calvin Coolidge issues an executive order enlarging Aztec Ruin National Monument and changing the name to Aztec Ruins National Monument.[3][2]
1927	January 1	Richard C. Dillon assumes office as the eighth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1925	January 1	Arthur T. Hannett assumes office as the seventh Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1924	June 2	U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs An Act To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue certificates of citizenship to Indians, also known as the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, finally granting full United States Citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States.[5]
1923	October 25	U.S. President Calvin Coolidge issues a proclamation creating Carlsbad Caverns National Monument.[3][2]
	January 24	U.S. President Warren G. Harding issues a proclamation creating Aztec Ruin National Monument.[3][2]
	January 1	James F. Hinkle assumes office as the sixth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1921	March 4	Harding County is created on the same day its namesake, Warren G. Harding, is inaugurated as President of the United States.
1921	January 1	Merritt C. Mechem assumes office as the fifth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1920	April 1	The 1920 United States Census enumerates the population of the State of New Mexico, later determined to be 360,350, an increase of 10.1% since the 1910 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the 43rd most populous of the 48 U.S. states

1910s

Year	Date	Event
1919	January 1	Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo assumes office as the fourth Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1918	November 11	An armistice halts the Great War.
1917	April 6	The United States declares war on the German Empire and enters the Great War.
	February 18	Lieutenant Governor Washington Lindsey assumes office as the third Governor of the State of New Mexico upon the death of Governor Ezequiel Cabeza De Baca.
	January 1	Ezequiel Cabeza De Baca assumes office as the second Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1916	August 25	U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs An Act To establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes.[6]
	August 9	U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issues a proclamation creating Capulin Mountain National Monument.[3][2]
	February 11	U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issues a proclamation creating Bandelier National Monument.[3][2]
1915	April 6	U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issues an executive order creating Santa Fe National Forest.[4]
1912	January 14	William C. McDonald assumes office as the first Governor of the State of New Mexico.
1912	January 6	U.S. President William Howard Taft issues Proclamation 1175: Admitting New Mexico to the Union.[7] The Territory of New Mexico becomes the State of New Mexico, the 47th U.S. state.
1910	June 20	U.S. President William Howard Taft signs An Act to enable the people of New Mexico to form a constitution and state government and be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States; and to enable the people of Arizona to form a constitution and state government and be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States.[8]
	April 1	The 1910 United States Census enumerates the population of the Territory of New Mexico, later determined to be 327,301, an increase of 67.6% since the 1900 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the most populous of the four U.S. territories.
	March 1	U.S. President William Howard Taft appoints William J. Mills the eighteenth (and last) Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.

1900s

Year	Date	Event
1909	November 1	U.S. President William Howard Taft issues a proclamation creating Gran Quivira National Monument.[3][2]
1909	March 2	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues an executive order creating Zuni National Forest.[4]
1908	July 2	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues executive orders creating Alamo National Forest and Pecos National Forest.[4]
	June 26	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues an executive order creating Carson National Forest.[4]
	June 18	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating Datil National Forest.[4]
1907	November 16	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.[3][2]
	April 24	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating Sacramento National Forest.[4]
	April 20	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt appoints George Curry the seventeenth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
	April 19	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating Guadalupe National Forest.[4]
	March 16	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation abolishing the Portales Forest Reserve.[4]
	March 11	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating Chaco Canyon National Monument.[3][2]
	March 1	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating the Las Animas Forest Reserve.[4]
	February 6	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating the Big Burros Forest Reserve.[4]
1906	December 8	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating El Morro National Monument.[3]
	November 7	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating the Taos Forest Reserve.[4]
	November 6	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating the Manzano Forest Reserve.[4]
	November 5	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues proclamations creating the Gallinas Forest Reserve, the Magdalena Forest Reserve, the Peloncillo Forest Reserve, and the San Mateo Forest Reserve.[4]
	October 5	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating the Mount Taylor Forest Reserve.[4]
	June 16	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signs An Act to enable the people of Oklahoma and of the Indian Territory to form a constitution and State government and be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States; and to enable the people of New Mexico and of Arizona to form a constitution and State government and be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States.
	June 8	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signs An Act For the preservation of American antiquities, also known as the Antiquities Act of 1906, giving the President of the United States the authority to create national monuments on federal lands to protect significant natural, cultural, or scientific features.[9]
	January 10	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt appoints Herbert James Hagerman the sixteenth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1905	October 12	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating the Jemez Forest Reserve.[4]
	October 3	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating the Portales Forest Reserve.[4] (Abolished March 16, 1907.)
	July 21	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating the Gila Forest Reserve.[4]
1902	July 26	U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issues a proclamation creating the Lincoln Forest Reserve.[4]
1900	April 1	The 1900 United States Census enumerates the population of the Territory of New Mexico, later determined to be 195,310, an increase of 21.9% since the 1890 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the second most populous of the five U.S. territories.

1890s

Year	Date	Event
1899	March 2	U.S. President William McKinley issues a proclamation creating the Gila River Forest Reserve.[4]
1898	December 10	The United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain sign the Treaty of Paris of 1898 to end the Spanish–American War.
	August 12	The United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain sign a Protocol of Peace.
	April 23	The Kingdom of Spain declares war on the United States of America. The United States declares war on Spain two days later.
1897	June 2	U.S. President William McKinley appoints Miguel Antonio Otero the fifteenth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1893	April	U.S. President Grover Cleveland appoints William Taylor Thornton the fourteenth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1892	January 11	U.S. President Benjamin Harrison issues a proclamation creating the Pecos River Forest Reserve, the third United States National Forest.[4]
1891	March 3	U.S. President Benjamin Harrison signs An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes, also known as the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, giving the President of the United States the authority to create protected national forests on federal lands.[10]
1891	winter	The New Mexico Territorial Agriculture College changes it name to the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts
1890	April 1	The 1890 United States Census enumerates the population of the Territory of New Mexico, later determined to be 160,282, an increase of 34.1% since the 1880 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the third most populous of the six U.S. territories.
1890	January 21	The New Mexico Territorial Agriculture College opens at the former Las Cruces College.

1880s

Year	Date	Event
1889	spring	U.S. President Benjamin Harrison appoints L. Bradford Prince the thirteenth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
	February 28	The Territory of New Mexico founds the University of New Mexico.
	February 25	The Territory of New Mexico creates Chaves County from a portion of Lincoln County.[11]
1888	September 17	Hiram Hadly establishes Las Cruces College.
1887	February 25	The Territory of New Mexico creates Eddy County from a portion of Lincoln County.[11]
1887	February 24	The Territory of New Mexico creates San Juan County from a portion of Rio Arriba County.[11]
1885	spring	U.S. President Grover Cleveland appoints Edmund G. Ross the twelfth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1884	April 3	The Territory of New Mexico creates Sierra County from portions of Doña Ana County and Socorro County.[11]
1881	July 14	Sheriff Pat Garrett shoots to death Billy the Kid near Fort Sumner.
1881	March 9	U.S. President James A. Garfield appoints Lionel Allen Sheldon the eleventh Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1880	November 12	Territorial Governor Lew Wallace publishes Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, the best-selling American novel of the 19th century.
1880	April 1	The 1880 United States Census enumerates the population of the Territory of New Mexico, later determined to be 119,565, an increase of 30.1% since the 1880 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the third most populous of the eight U.S. territories.

1870s

Year	Date	Event
1878	November 1	The tracks of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad are built into New Mexico in the Raton Pass, the first railroad to reach the state.
1878	September 29	U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes appoints Lew Wallace the tenth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1876	July 4	The Territory of New Mexico celebrates the Centennial of the United States of America while still reeling from the defeat of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 26.
1875	July 30	U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant appoints Samuel Beach Axtell the ninth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1871	July 27	U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant appoints Marsh Giddings the eighth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1870	April 1	The 1870 United States Census enumerates the population of the Territory of New Mexico, later determined to be 91,874, a decrease of -1.8% since the 1880 United States Census when the Territory of Arizona was still a part of the Territory of New Mexico. New Mexico becomes the most populous of the nine U.S. territories.

1860s

Year	Date	Event
1869	May 28	U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant appoints William Anderson Pile the seventh Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
	January 25	The Territory of New Mexico creates Colfax County from a portion of Mora County.[11]
	January 16	The Territory of New Mexico creates Lincoln County from a portion of Socorro County.[11]
1868	January 30	The Territory of New Mexico creates Grant County from a portion of Doña Ana County.[11]
1866	January 15	U.S. President Andrew Johnson appoints Robert Byington Mitchell the sixth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1865	May 9	U.S. President Andrew Johnson proclaims the end of the American Civil War.
1863	February 24	U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Arizona, and for other Purposes. The act creates the Territory of Arizona from the portion of the Territory of New Mexico lying west of the 32nd meridian west from Washington (109°02′43″W). The boundaries of the Territory of New Mexico are now the same as the future State of New Mexico.
1862	June 19	U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs An Act to secure Freedom to all Persons within the Territories of the United States, granting freedom to the slaves in all U.S. territories including the Territory of New Mexico.
	March 28	Colorado volunteers under the command of Colonel John P. Slough repulse Texas cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Read Scurry at the Battle of Glorieta Pass. The battle effectively ends the Confederate New Mexico Campaign and the Confederate Territory of Arizona.
	March 10	Texas cavalry under the command of Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley occupy Santa Fe in the Confederate New Mexico Campaign.
	February 24	Confederate President Jefferson Davis proclaims that the portion of the Territory of New Mexico lying south of the 34th parallel north is the Confederate Territory of Arizona.
1861	July 25	Texas cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor invades the Territory of New Mexico and occupies the town of Mesilla.
	May 24	U.S. President Abraham Lincoln appoints Henry Connelly the fifth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
	April 12	The American Civil War begins with the Battle of Fort Sumter.
	March 4	Abraham Lincoln assumes office as the 16th President of the United States.
	February 28	U.S. President James Buchanan signs the An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado, creating the free Territory of Colorado. The Territory of Colorado annexes the portion of the Territory of New Mexico lying north of the 37th parallel north. The Territory of New Mexico now includes all of the future states of New Mexico and Arizona and the portion of the present-day State of Nevada lying south of the 37th parallel north.
	February 8	The seven secessionist slave states create the Confederate States of America.
1860	November 6	Abraham Lincoln is elected President of the United States. Seven slave states will secede from the United States of America before February 8, 1861.
	April 1	The 1860 United States Census enumerates the population of the Territory of New Mexico, later determined to be 93,516, an increase of 51.9 since the 1850 United States Census. New Mexico becomes the second most populous of the seven U.S. territories.
	February 1	The Territory of New Mexico creates Mora County from parts of Taos County and San Miguel County.[11]

1850s

Year	Date	Event
1857	August 17	U.S. President James Buchanan appoints Abraham Rencher the fourth Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1854	June 8	The Gadsden Purchase goes into effect creating the current United States-Mexico border. The Territory of New Mexico now includes all of the future states of New Mexico and Arizona plus portions of the present-day states Nevada and Colorado.
1853	May 6	U.S. President Franklin Pierce appoints David Meriwether the third Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1852	July 15	U.S. President Millard Fillmore appoints William Carr Lane the second Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1852	January 9	The Territory of New Mexico creates nine original counties: Bernalillo County, Doña Ana County, Rio Arriba County, San Miguel County, Santa Ana County, Santa Fe County, Socorro County, Taos County, and Valencia County.[11]
1851	April 5	The State of Deseret dissolves.
1851	January 9	U.S. President Millard Fillmore appoints James S. Calhoun the first Governor of the Territory of New Mexico.
1850
	September 9	The Territory of New Mexico and the Territory of Utah are established as part of the Compromise of 1850. U.S. President Millard Fillmore signs An Act proposing to the State of Texas the Establishment of her Northern and Western Boundaries, the Relinquishment by the said State of all Territory claimed by her exterior to said Boundaries, and of all her Claims upon the United States, and to establish a territorial Government for New Mexico.[12] The Territory of New Mexico includes all of the future State of New Mexico except the southwestern corner lying south of the 32nd parallel north and west of the Rio Grande which remained a part of Mexico, plus most of the future State of Arizona and portions of the present-day states Nevada and Colorado.
	June 20	In a failed attempt to organize a slave State of New Mexico, a state constitution is adopted by a vote of 6,771 to 39 and Henry Connelly is elected governor. Provisional Governor John Munroe refuses to let those elected take office without the express approval of the United States Congress.
	April 1	The 1850 United States Census makes the first enumeration of the population of the future Territory of New Mexico, later determined to be 61,547.

1840s

Year	Date	Event
1849	October 23	Brevet Colonel John Munroe assumes command as the fourth (and last) U.S. provisional governor of New Mexico.
1849	March 12	The Mormon settlers of the Great Salt Lake Valley create the Provisional Government of the State of Deseret and elect Brigham Young as the first (and only) Governor. The proposed state includes the entire Great Basin and the entire drainage basin of the Colorado River within the United States. Although the proposed State of Deseret includes the northwestern portion of the future State of New Mexico, it has no actual presence in the region.
1848	October 11	Brevet Lieutenant Colonel John M. Washington assumes command as the third U.S. provisional governor of New Mexico.
1848	February 2	The United States and United Mexican States sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to end the Mexican–American War. Mexico relinquishes its northern territories. All land in the future State of New Mexico north of the Mexican border becomes unorganized United States territory.
1847	January 19	U.S. civilian governor Charles Bent is killed by a band of insurgents at his home in Taos. First Secretary Donaciano Vigil assumes office as the second U.S. civilian governor of New Mexico.
1846	September 25	General Stephen W. Kearny and troops depart for California. Colonel Sterling Price assumes command as the second U.S. military governor of New Mexico.
	September 22	Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny appoints Charles Bent as the first U.S. civilian governor of New Mexico.
	August 22	Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny assumes command as the first U.S. military governor of New Mexico.
	August 18	Troops under the command of General Stephen W. Kearny seize Santa Fe for the United States with little resistance.
	August 15	U.S. Army troops under the command of Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny enter Las Vegas, New Mexico. General Kearny proclaims that all of New Mexico is now under United States rule.
	May 13	The United States declares war on the Mexican Republic.
	April 25	The Thornton Affair becomes the first skirmish of the Mexican–American War.
	February 14	The State of Texas cedes the territorial claims of the Republic of Texas to the United States. The boundaries of the State of Texas within that territory remain undefined. The United States now claims the Rio Grande as its border with Mexico.
1845	December 29	The United States admits the Republic of Texas to the Union as the slave State of Texas but declines to define its borders. The Mexican Republic maintains that Texas is still its territory by the Treaty of Limits of 1828 and states that it will fight to regain Texas.
	November 16	Manuel Armijo is appointed Gobernador de Santa Fe de Nuevo México for a third term.
	May 1	José Chavéz y Castillo is appointed Gobernador de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1844	June 17	Santa Fe de Nuevo México is divided into three districts and 21 counties. The population is 67,736.[13]
1844	March 30	Mariano Martínez de Lejanza is appointed Gobernador de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1841	October 5	The Republic of Texas Santa Fe Expedition surrenders to Nuevo México troops under the command of Gobernador Manuel Armijo.

1830s

Year	Date	Event
1837		Manuel Armijo is appointed Gobernador de Santa Fe de Nuevo México for a second term.
1837	March 6	U.S. Secretary of State John Forsyth accepts the credentials of William H. Wharton as Republic of Texas Minister to the United States of America. Mexico protests the United States recognition of the Republic of Texas as a violation of the Treaty of Limits of 1828.
1836	May 14	Texians force captured General Santa Anna to sign the coerced Treaties of Velasco recognizing the independence of the Republic of Texas. Mexico neither acknowledges nor ratifies these treaties. Based upon these treaties, the Republic of Texas claims all land north and east of the Rio Grande del Norte to the United States border and the 45th parallel north. The Republic of Texas never occupies the region west of the 100th meridian west and this western region remains in Mexican hands. The disputed region will later become portions of the future U.S. states of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming.
1836	May 2	Texians (immigrants from the United States living in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas) declare the independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
1835	October 2	The Texian Revolt begins with the Battle of Gonzales.
1835	July	Albino Pérez is appointed Gobernador de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1833		Francisco Sarracino is appointed Gobernador de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1832		Santiago Abreú is appointed Gobernador de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.

1820s

Year	Date	Event
1828	January 12	The United States and Mexico sign the Treaty of Limits affirming the boundaries set by the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819.
1829	September	José Antonio Chaves assumes office as the seventh Géfe político de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1827	May	Manuel Armijo assumes office as the sixth Géfe político de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1825	September	Antonio Narbona assumes office as the fifth Géfe político de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1823	August	Bartolomé Baca assumes office as the fourth Géfe político de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1822	November	José Antonio Vizcarra assumes office as the third Géfe político de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1822	July 5	Francisco Xavier Chávez assumes office as the second Géfe político de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1821	December 26	Spanish Gobernador Facundo Melgares receives orders that Santa Fe de Nuevo México is now an intendance of the Mexican Empire. Melgares swears fealty to the empire and becomes the first Mexican Géfe político de Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
	September 1	William Becknell and a party of frontier traders leave New Franklin, Missouri bound for Santa Fe by way of the upper Arkansas and Purgatoire rivers. The Becknell route will become the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail.
	August 24	Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Treaty of Córdoba recognizing the independence of the Mexican Empire.
	February 22	The Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819 takes effect. The United States relinquishes all land in the future State of New Mexico.

1810s

Year	Date	Event
1819	March 2	U.S. President James Monroe signs An Act establishing a separate territorial government in the southern part of the territory of Missouri, creating the Territory of Arkansaw.
1819	February 22	The United States and the restored Kingdom of Spain sign the Adams–Onís Treaty. The United States relinquishes its claim to land west of the 100th meridian west of Greenwich and south and west of the Arkansas River and south of the 42nd parallel north. Spain relinquishes Florida and all claims to land north of the 42nd parallel in North America.
1818		Capitán Don Facundo Melgares is appointed the (last) Spanish Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1816		Don Pedro Maria de Allande is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1814		Don Alberto Maynez is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico for a second term.
1812	June 4	U.S. President James Madison signs An Act providing for the government of the territory of Missouri. The Territory of Louisiana is renamed the Territory of Missouri.
1810	August 1	Mexican priest Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo-Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (Hidalgo) proclaims the independence of Mexico from the Napoleonic Kingdom of Spain in the village of Dolores.
1810		Zebulon Pike publishes The expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike to Headwaters of the Mississippi River, through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, during the Years 1805-6-7. His journals will become a popular guide to the Upper Mississippi Basin, the Great Plains, and the Southern Rocky Mountains.

1800s

Year	Date	Event
1808		Teniente coronel Don Jose Manrique is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1807		Don Alberto Maynez is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1807	February 26	Spanish cavalrymen arrest the U.S. Army reconnaissance expedition led by Captain Zebulon Pike in the San Luis Valley. The reconnaissance party will be taken to Santa Fe, then Chihuahua, before being expelled from Nueva España on July 1, 1807.
1805	March 3	U.S. President Thomas Jefferson signs An Act further providing for the government of the district of Louisiana. The District of Louisiana is reorganized as the self-governing Territory of Louisiana. The Territory of Louisiana includes the disputed northeastern portion of the future State of New Mexico in the Mississippi River watershed.
1804	October 1	The District of Louisiana is organized under the jurisdiction of the Territory of Indiana.
		Coronel Don Joaquín del Real Alencaster is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
	March 26	U.S. President Thomas Jefferson signs An Act erecting Louisiana into two territories, and providing for the temporary government thereof. The portion of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 33rd parallel north is designated the military District of Louisiana.
1803	December 20	France turns its colony of La Louisiane over to the United States. The United States and Spain disagree over the western boundary of the territory. The United States maintains that Louisiana includes the Mississippi River and its entire western drainage basin. Spain maintains that its territory includes (1) all land west of the Continental Divide of the Americas including Alta California, and (2) all land south of the Arkansas River and west of the Medina River including Santa Fe de Nuevo México, and (3) all land south of the Red River and west of the Calcasieu River including Tejas. The area in dispute includes the northeastern portion of the future State of New Mexico in the Mississippi River watershed.
1803	April 30	The United States and the French Republic sign the Louisiana Purchase Treaty.
1800	October 1	Under pressure from Napoléon Bonaparte, the Kingdom of Spain transfers the colony of la Luisiana back to the French Republic with the secret Third Treaty of San Ildefonso.

1790s

Year	Date	Event
1793	August 16	Teniente coronel Don Fernando Chacón is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1792	October 3	French frontiersman Pierre "Pedro" Vial arrives in Saint-Louis from the Spanish settlement of Santa Fe. The route he followed will become the Cimarron Branch of the Santa Fe Trail.

1780s

Year	Date	Event
1788		Don Fernando de la Concha is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1783	September 3	The Treaty of Paris is signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America. The treaty affirms the independence of the United States and sets the Mississippi River as its western boundary.

1770s

Year	Date	Event
1778		Teniente coronel Don Juan Bautista de Anza is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
		Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco, cartographer for the Dominguez–Escalante Expedition, publishes his map of the expedition across the Colorado Plateau. His map becomes the foundation of a future trade route later known as the Old Spanish Trail.
		Don Francisco Trebol Navarro is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1776	July 29	A Spanish-Franciscan expedition led by Franciscan priests Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante sets out from La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís (Santa Fe) in search of an overland route to the Presidio Reál de San Carlos de Monterey (Monterey). The expedition follows the 1765 route of Juan Rivera northwest across the Colorado Plateau. The expedition fails to reach Las Californias, but reaches the lower Paria River in the future State of Arizona before returning to Santa Fe.
1776	July 4	Representatives of the thirteen United States of America sign the Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

1760s

Year	Date	Event
1767		Capitán Don Pedro Fermín de Mendinueta is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1765	July	Governor Don Tomás Vélez Cachupin dispatches an expedition led by Juan Maria Antonio Rivera to explore the San Juan Mountains and the Colorado Plateau.
1762	November 13	Fearing the loss of its American territories in the Seven Years' War, the Kingdom of France transfers its colony of La Louisiane to the Kingdom of Spain with the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau. This ends the competition between France and Spain on the Great Plains.
1761	March 14	King Charles III of Spain appoints Don Tomás Vélez Cachupin Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico for a second term.
1760	May 10	Don Manuel de Portillo y Urrisola is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1760		King Charles III of Spain appoints Don Mateo Antonio de Mendoza Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1750s

Year	Date	Event
1754		Don Francisco Antonio Marín del Valle is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1740s

Year	Date	Event
1749		Don Tomás Vélez Cachupín is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1743		Don Joaquín Codallos y Rabal is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1730s

Year	Date	Event
1739	July 5	On a voyage up the Arkansas River to the confluence of the Purgatoire River, Pierre Antoine and Paul Mallet encounter an Arikara man who agrees to guide them to Santa Fe. This is the first contact between France and Spain in the Rocky Mountain region.
1739	January	Don Gaspar Domingo de Mendoza is inaugurated as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1737	May 12	King Philip IV of Spain appoints Don Gaspar Domingo de Mendoza as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1736		Don Henrique de Olavide y Michelena is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1731		Don Gervasio Cruzat y Gongora is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1720s

Year	Date	Event
1722	August	Don Juan Domingo de Bustamante is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1710s

Year	Date	Event
1717		Capitán Don Antonio Valverde y Cosío is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1717		Capitán Don Juan Paez Hurtado is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1715	December 1	Capitán Don Félix Martínez de Torrelaguna is inaugurated as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1712	October 5	Don Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollon is inaugurated as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1700s

Year	Date	Event
1707	August	Almirante Don Jose Chacón Medina Salazar y Villaseñor is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1706	April 23	Gobernador Valdez establishes La Villa Real de San Francisco de Alburquerque on the Rio Grande.
1705	June	Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdez is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1704		Capitán Don Don Juan Paez Hurtado is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1703		Diego de Vargas Zapata y Luján Ponce de León y Contreras is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico for a second term.

1690s

Year	Date	Event
1697	July 2	Don Pedro Rodriguez Cubero is inaugurated as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1692	September 14	Diego de Vargas Zapata y Luján Ponce de León y Contreras completes the reconquest of the Spanish colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo Méjico to end the Pueblo Revolt.
1692	June 6	King Charles II of Spain appoints Don Pedro Rodríguez Cubero Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico. Cubero delays his departure from Cuba on grounds of health.
1691	February 22	Diego de Vargas Zapata y Luján Ponce de León y Contreras is inaugurated as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico at El Paso del Norte.

1680s

Year	Date	Event
1689		Capitán Don Domingo Jironza Petriz de Cruzate serves as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico in exile
1688		Diego de Vargas Zapata y Luján Ponce de León y Contreras is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1686		Don Pedro Reneros de Posada is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico in exile.
1683		Capitán Don Domingo Jironza Petriz de Cruzate is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico in exile.
1682	April 9	René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, claims the Mississippi River and its watershed for the Kingdom of France and names the region La Louisiane in honor of King Louis XIV. The Mississippi Basin is later determined to be the fourth most extensive on Earth and includes lands inhabited by hundreds of thousands of native peoples and lands previously claimed by Spain, France, and England. The Louisiane claim includes the northeast portion the future State of New Mexico in the Mississippi River watershed. This will set up a rivalry among native peoples, France, Spain, and eventually the United States in the area.
1680	August 13	Tewa shaman Popé of Ohkay Owingeh leads the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish rulers of Santa Fe de Nuevo Méjico. The Spanish settlers flee down the Rio Grande to El Paso del Norte.

1670s

Year	Date	Event
1677		Capitán Don Antonio de Otermín is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1675		Capitán Don Juan Francisco Treviño is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1671		General Don Juan Durán de Miranda is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico for a second term.

1660s

Year	Date	Event
1668		Capitán Don Juan de Medrano y Mesía is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1665	January 14	Capitán Don Fernando de Villanueva y Armendaris is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1664		Capitán Don Juan Durán de Miranda is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1664		Capitán Don Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1662	March 6	Governor Don Diego Dionisio de Peñalosa Briceño y Berdugo leads a military expedition in search of the legendary Quivira.
1661		Capitán Don Diego Dionisio de Peñalosa Briceño y Berdugo is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1650s

Year	Date	Event
1659	July 11	Capitán Don Bernardo López de Mendizábal is inaugurated as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1656		Capitán Don Juan Manso de Contreras is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1653		Don Juan de Samaniego y Díez de Ulzurrun Xaca y Roncal is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1640s

Year	Date	Event
1649		Capitán Don Hernando de Ugarte y la Concha is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1646	June 18	Capitán Don Luis de Guzmán y Figueroa is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1644		Capitán Don Fernando de Argüello Carvajál is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1642		Capitán Don Alonso de Pacheco de Herédia is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1641	Autumn	Sargento Francisco Gomes assumes office as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico on the death of Gobernador Valdés
1641	March	General Don Juan Flores de Sierra y Valdés is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1630s

Year	Date	Event
1637	April 18	Capitán Don Luís de Rosas is inaugurated as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1634	November	Capitán Don Francisco Martínez de Baeza is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1632	March	Capitán Don Francisco de la Mora y Ceballos is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1620s

Year	Date	Event
1629	May 1	Capitán Don Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto is inaugurated as Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1625		Almirante Don Felipe de Sotelo Osorio is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.

1610s

Year	Date	Event
1618		Juan Álvarez de Eulate y Ladrón de Cegama is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1614		Almirante Don Don Bernardino de Ceballos is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1610		Governor Don Pedro de Peralta moves the capital of Santa Fe de Nuevo Méjico to La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís.

1600s

Year	Date	Event
1609		Don Pedro de Peralta is appointed Gobernador de Nuevo Méjico.
1607		Don Pedro de Peralta establishes La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís at the Tiwa village of Ogapoge on the Santa Fe River.
1606		Don Juan de Oñate y Salazar is recalled to México to answer charges to brutality against indigenous peoples. Don Cristóbal De Oñate assumes his father's office.

1590s

Year	Date	Event
1598	July 12	Don Juan de Oñate y Salazar establishes the Virreinato de Nueva España colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo Méjico at the village of San Juan de los Caballeros adjacent to the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo at the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Río Chama. The colony will eventually encompass most of the future U.S. states of New Mexico and Colorado and portions of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and Utah.

1540s

Year	Date	Event
1541	June 28	A Spanish military expedition led by Hernando de Soto, Governor of Cuba, become the first Europeans to cross the Mississippi River.
	spring	The military expedition led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado leaves the Tiwa pueblos and searches the Great Plains for Quivira.
	winter	The Tiwa resist the occupation by the Coronado expedition but hundreds are killed in the Tiguex War.
1540	autumn	The military expedition lead by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, reaches the Tiwa pueblos along the Río Bravo (Rio Grande). The expedition occupies several of the pueblos.
	July 7	The military expedition lead by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, reaches the Zuni pueblo of Hawikuh. The Zuni resist but are driven off by the Spanish soldiers. Fray Marcos de Niza returns to Compostela in disgrace.
	February 23	Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, Governor of Nueva Galicia, departs Compostela, México commanding a Spanish military expedition of 400 soldiers, 1,300 to 2,000 Mexican Indian allies, four Franciscan friars including Marcos de Niza and Juan de Padilla, and several slaves.

1530s

Year	Date	Event
1539	September	Fray Marcos de Niza returns to San Miguel de Culiacán after a distant view of the Zuni pueblo of Hawikuh. His glowing reports of Hawikuh inspire the 1540-1542 expedition of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado.
1539	March	Mustafa Azemmouri leaves San Miguel de Culiacán followed by Fray Marcos de Niza in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola. Mustafa Azemmouri is murdered at the Zuni pueblo of Hawikuh.
1536	July	The four survivors of the Narváez expedition of 1527 arrive in Mexico City. Reports of their travels inspire stories of the Seven Cities of Cibola.
1535		The four survivors of the Narváez expedition of 1527: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, and Mustafa Azemmouri (slave name: Estevanico), may have traveled through the southwestern portion of the future State of New Mexico.

1510s

Year	Date	Event
1519	Autumn	A Spanish naval expedition along the northeastern coast of Mexico charts the mouths of several rivers including the Río de Nuestra Señora (Rio Grande).
1513	September 29	Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama and arrives on the shore of a sea that he names Mar del Sur (the South Sea, later named the Pacific Ocean). He claims the sea and all adjacent lands for the Queen of Castile. This includes the portion of the future State of New Mexico west of the Continental Divide of the Americas.

1490s

Year	Date	Event
1493	May 5	Pope Alexander VI (born Roderic de Borja in Valencia) issues the papal bull Inter caetera which splits the non-Christian world into two halves. The eastern half goes to the King of Portugal for his exploration, conquest, conversion, and exploitation. The western half (including all of North America) goes to the Queen of Castile and the King of Aragon for their exploration, conquest, conversion, and exploitation. The indigenous peoples of the Americas have no idea that any of these people exist.
1492	October 12	Genoese seaman Cristòffa Cómbo (Christopher Columbus) leading an expedition for Queen Isabella I of Castile lands on the Lucayan island of Guanahani that he renames San Salvador. This begins the Spanish conquest of the Americas.

Before 1492

Era	Event
1300–1525 CE	Jicarilla Apache migrate from Alaska and Northwestern Canada to the southern extent of the Rocky Mountains.
1276–1299 CE	A prolonged drought on the Colorado Plateau forces many Ancestral Puebloans to migrate southeast into the Rio Grande Valley.
c. 9290 BCE	Paleo-Indians of the Clovis culture camp at Blackwater Draw.
c. 12,000 BCE	During a centuries long period of warming, ice-age Paleoamericans from Beringia begin using the ice-free corridor east of the Rocky Mountains to migrate throughout the Americas.