Highlights of Newark's 352-year history

1666 Newark is founded by Puritans from the New Haven colony, led by Robert Treat. They bought the land along the Passaic River from the Hackensack Indians in exchange for gunpowder, lead, axes and other goods. The first four settlers built their homes at what is now the intersection of Broad and Market streets.

1815 Seth Boyden arrives from Massachusetts with new ways to manufacture leather, quickly making Newark the country's top leather producer.

1831 The Morris Canal is built, connecting Newark to sources of Pennsylvania coal and North Jersey iron ore.

1834 Railroads arrive and help boost the city as an industrial and shipping center

1875 Prudential Financial, a Fortune 100 company still based in Newark, is founded by John Dryden to sell burial insurance. It is originally called the Widows and Orphans Friendly Society.

1928 Public Service Electric and Gas Company, or PSE&G, New Jersey's oldest and largest investor-owned utility, is created. In 1985, its parent, Public Service Enterprise Group, a Fortune 500 company, is established and retains headquarters in Newark.

1948 Newark hits its peak population, with close to 450,000 residents. (Today it is still the state's largest city, with 260,000 residents.)

1950s The New Jersey Turnpike, followed later by Interstates 280 and 78, carves up the city and rips apart some historic neighborhoods. It also makes it easier for workers to move to the suburbs and commute each day to the city, speeding middle-class migration out of Newark.

1967 The city erupts in violence after reports that a black cabdriver had been beaten by police. In five days of rioting, 26 people are killed, 1,500 are injured and thousands of businesses and small stores are looted or set on fire, causing $10 million in property damage.

1970 Kenneth Gibson is elected the first African-American mayor of a major Northeast city.

1997 The New Jersey Performing Arts Center opens downtown and is seen as a symbol of hope for the city's resurrection.

2007 The Prudential Center sports and entertainment arena opens and is the home to the New Jersey Devils hockey team and the Seton Hall University men's basketball team in the Big East conference.

October 2017 Newark, with the backing of state officials in the form of state tax breaks, submits a bid to win Amazon's second headquarters. The city and state offer Amazon $7 billion in tax incentives to pick Newark.

January 2018 Newark is chosen as one of 20 finalist cities, from among the 238 cities that submitted bids.