Alternity Timeline

1846

 * June 17 - The Oregon Treaty is signed by the United States and Britain in Washington, DC, ending the Oregon boundary dispute. The 49th parallel is established as the contiguous boundary, the Strait of Georgia as the eastern water boundary, the Waddington Mountain Sub-range as the northeastern boundary, and the final water boundary as just east of Stuart, Maurelle, and Read Islands. Vancouver Island (future state of Columbia) is incorporated as part of the US Oregon Territory as a result.

1853

 * December 31 - The United States signs the treaty resulting in the Gadsden/Baja Purchase, completing the modern-day states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Baja California.

1895

 * March 13 - Diverging from both the real world and Mercury Rising continuities, the fire at 33-35 South 5th Avenue in New York City is brought under control after reducing the building's cellar to charred rubble. Nikola Tesla's lab is spared, and his inventions provide for a massive leap in technology by twenty years as early as 1912.

1920

 * Nineteen year-old Dan Noble invents the first walkie-talkie, later distributing it through the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation (Motorola) in 1924.

1946

 * April 20 - Japan surrenders to the United States and the Allies, ending World War II.

1947

 * September - Peter Burrell is presumed to have been born sometime in this month in Alexandria, Virginia.
 * Charles Byrnes is born sometime this year in Manheim, Louisiana.

1953

 * April 20 - Martin Lynch is born to William and Martha Lynch in Canton, Maine.
 * December 12 - The New York counties of Suffolk and Nassau are partitioned from the State of New York to form the State of Long Island, capital at Riverhead.
 * Canadian-American Alfred J. Gross patents the cordless telephone.

1954

 * March 24 - Jennifer Simmons, (Jenny Lynch) is born to Robert Sr. and Laura Simmons in Joplin, Missouri.

1955

 * May 9 - Art Jeffries is born in Springfield, Illinois.

1959

 * July 1 - Nicholas Kudrow is born in Islip, Long Island.
 * Japanese phone company NTT introduces the first generation (1G) analog telephone system to the entire country this year.

1960

 * June 1 - Tommy Jordan is born in Chicago.

1961

 * The United States is introduced to the 1G network, with mobile analog telephones becoming common within five years.

1964

 * Alfred J. Gross's cordless telephone is introduced to the American public.

1969

 * Finland and Japan launch the first digital phone networks, labeled second generation (2G), revolutionizing global communications.

1970

 * The United States launches its first 2G networks, and the Motorola corporation introduces its MicroTAC flip phone to complement it.

1976

 * Motorola introduces the StarTAC flip phone, a far more compact and lightweight version of the MicroTAC, and a joint venture by IBM and Bell Telephone produces the IBM Simon, the first so-called 'smartphone'. Also, Apple Inc. introduces the first Macintosh (Mac) computer.

1977

 * May 29 - The New York counties of Westchester, Rockland, Richmond, Kings, New York, Queens, and Bronx, in a vote authorized by the US Congress, legally secedes from the State of New York to form the State of Manhattan.

1978

 * May - Thirty-one year-old Charles Byrnes, CEO of United Global Industries, invents and patents NCD, a revolutionary treatment using nanotechnology to destroy cancer tumors.

1980

 * NCD therapy is expanded to include accelerated healing techniques.

1981

 * Apple introduces the Mac PowerBook 100 laptop, a revolution in personal and portable computers by standards of the day.

1984

 * May 9 - Peter Lynch is born at Rush University Medical Center.

1985

 * Finnish company Nokia introduces their 9200 Communicator series, the first mobile device to be labeled a 'smartphone', and Motorola introduces their RAZR flip phone.

1986

 * Korea and Japan introduce the world's first 3G networks.

1988

 * February - Northwestern Memorial Hospital's campus at St. Clair, Huron, and Erie Streets is completed, and the United States adopts the 3G network standard.
 * March 12 - Twins Simon and Benjamin Lynch are born at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
 * September 17 - Six month-old Benjamin Lynch dies of lung cancer at Northwestern Memorial.
 * September 20 - A funeral service is held for Benjamin Lynch - Martin and Jenny Lynch, and both their parents attend, along with Chas and Nita Ohlmeyer.
 * November - Ground is broken for the 125-story, 2000-foot Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle.

1989

 * Flexi and transparent OLED displays are commercially introduced by a cooperative effort of LG, Samsung, and Sony in Japan, Korea, and the United States on a trial basis. The technology rapidly takes and becomes popular throughout distributed countries, and it is soon introduced worldwide, with over two billion sold in the next five years. (Common sizes include the 4"x6", 2"x3", 4"x3", and 5"x3.5"; less common is the 8"x6" and 9"x7" displays, not to mention the 32" and 45" transparent LCD and OLED TVs and the billboard-size displays seen throughout cities by 2000).