The first inhabitants of what is now New Jersey were prehistoric Indians of the Algonquian language family who arrived some 7,000 years ago. They called themselves Lenni-Lenape, “Original People.” (Later, they were known as the Delaware Indians.) Three Lenni-Lenape subtribes inhabited the region—the Minsi in the north; the Unami in the central area; and the Unilachtigo in the south. The chief of the Unami was considered the leader of ail the tribes. The descendants of these original inhabitants occupied New Jersey when European exploration of the region began in the 17th century.

Important dates in New Jersey
1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano explored the New Jersey coast.
1609 Henry Hudson explored Sandy Hook Bay and sailed up the Hudson River.
1630? The Dutch established an outpost in Pavonia.
1660 The Dutch established a permanent settlement in Bergen (now part of Jersey City).
1664 The Dutch surrendered New Jersey to England.
1776 New Jersey adopted its first constitution.
1783-1784 Princeton and Trenton each served briefly as the national capital.
1787 New Jersey became the third state when it ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 18.
1844 New Jersey adopted its second constitution.
1858 The first dinosaur skeleton discovered in North America was found buried in Haddonfield.
1869 Rutgers defeated the College of New Jersey (now Princeton), by a score of 6 to 4, in New Brunswick in the world's first intercollegiate football game.
1879 Thomas A. Edison developed the first practical incandescent lamp in Menlo Park.
1911 Many reforms were enacted under Governor Woodrow Wilson.
1947 New Jersey adopted its third constitution.
1952 The New Jersey Turnpike opened.
1969 New Jersey voters approved a state lottery to raise money for the state government and for the schools.
1976 New Jersey adopted an individual income tax.
1978 Casino gambling began in Atlantic City.
1994-2001 Christine Todd Whitman served as New Jersey's first woman governor.