of King County
, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States
. The Seattle metropolitan area
of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area
in the country. The city is a major seaport situated on a narrow isthmus
between Puget Sound
(an arm of the Pacific Ocean
) and Lake Washington
, about 114 miles (183.5 km) south of the Canada–United States border.
The Seattle area had been inhabited by Native Americans
for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent white settlers.
1851 The Denny Party lands at Alki Point, the first settlers in what would become Seattle, Washington.
1861 The University of Washington opens in Seattle, Washington as the Territorial University.
1889 The Great Seattle Fire destroys the entirety of downtown Seattle, Washington.
1916 In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing).
1934 1934 West Coast waterfront strike: In Seattle, police fire tear gas on and club 2,000 striking longshoremen. The governor of Oregon calls out the National Guard to break a strike on the Portland docks.
1970 Protests erupt in Seattle, Washington, following the announcement by U.S. President Richard Nixon that U.S. Forces in Vietnam would pursue enemy troops into Cambodia, a neutral country.
1983 Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee Massacre in Seattle, Washington. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history.
1999 In Seattle, Washington, United States, protests against the WTO meeting by anti-globalization protesters catch police unprepared and force the cancellation of opening ceremonies.