While traveling in service of France, Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano—does the name sound familiar?—spotted the island as he passed through the Narrows.

English explorer Henry Hudson (as in the river) sights the island while seeking a Northwest Passage to Asia. He, along with other Dutch settlers, call the land "Staaten Eyelandt," after the Staten-Generaal in the Netherlands.

After decades of fighting between Dutch settlers and the American Indians who were the island's original residents, the conflict is resolved. The Dutch set up their first permanent colony, called Oude Dorp, near South Beach.

The island gets renamed to honor the Duke of Richmond, son of King Charles II. The island wouldn't officially be named "Staten Island" until 1975.

The simple building known as Voorlezer House was originally a religious structure; it's now part of Historic Richmond Town.

Thomas Stillwell begins a ferry that runs between Staten Island and Bay Ridge. Seven years later, another ferry that goes between the island's North Shore and Manhattan is established.

Benjamin Franklin, Edward Rutledge, and John Adams led a delegation to discuss peace with Lord Richard Howe, Admiral of the British, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to end the Revolutionary War.

Sailors' Snug Harbor is established as "a haven for aged, decrepit and worn out sailors," and houses around 900 residents by the beginning of the 20th century. The complex was converted into a cultural center in the 1970s, and now, it's one of the borough's most popular tourist attractions.

A boiler explosion aboard the Westfield II results in the death of 66 people; 60 more would later die from their injuries.

The consolidation of the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island into the City of Greater New York is completed, turning disparate towns into one unified city. (The boroughs do, however, maintain separate counties—Staten Island, of course, is Richmond County.)

After an accident in 1901, the city's Department of Docks and Ferries decided to assume control of Staten Island's ferry system—and in 1905, it came under the jurisdiction of city government. Five new ferries, named for each of the boroughs, were commissioned. 

Both the Goethals Bridge and the Outerbridge Crossing—named for the first Port Authority chairman, Eugenius H. Outerbridge—open, connecting Elizabeth and Perth Amboy, New Jersey, respectively, to Staten Island.

When the city opened Freshkills Landfill, it was intended to be temporary; but in less than a decade, it has become the largest landfill in the world. After decades of absorbing the city's waste, a plan to turn the former dump into a bucolic park was established, and it received its last shipment of trash in 2001. (It was temporarily reopened following 9/11, but hasn't been used as a dump since those recovery efforts ended.)

The final major project of controversial city planner Robert Moses, this enormous bridge—designed by Othmar Ammann—connected Staten Island to the other four boroughs via roadways. It became the longest suspension bridge in the world, knocking San Francisco's Golden Gate from its perch—. In 2014, the bridge celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Staten Islanders give their overwhelming support to a referendum, initiated by State Senator John J. Marchi (among other lawmakers), to have the borough secede from the city of New York. It passes by a two-to-one margin, but ultimately dies in the Democrat-controlled New York State Assembly, whose approval was needed for secession measures to be put in place. Staten Island lawmakers have regularly proposed secession from the rest of the city in the years since—most recently after the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom—though little has come of those calls.

Then-mayor Rudy Giluiani delivers on a promise made to Staten Islanders during his 1993 campaign by making the Staten Island Ferry free for all. 

The mayor's office approves plans to build a massive ferris wheel on the Staten Island waterfront, billed as a huge boon for the borough's tourism industry. Construction began on the wheel in 2016 and is set for completion in 2018.

Though much of the city bore the brunt of Hurricane Sandy, Staten Island—particularly its waterfront communities—get some of the worst damage. In the years since, some neighborhoods have opted for "managed retreat" as a recovery method, returning coastal areas to nature. Other communities are waiting to rebuild, though the city's Build it Back program has not been without its challenges. 

URBY Staten Island, heralded as a game-changer, opens with 330 apartments opens up on the island's North Shore. The development focuses on encouraging tenant-to-tenant interaction.

Staten Island Arts along with the Design Trust for Public Space outlined strategies for ways in which to revitalize, improve sustainability, and boost economic development within the rapidly changing North Shore.