• The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in what is now New York City in 1608. In 1626, the Dutch West India Company purchased the island of Manhattan from Native Americans for the equivalent of 24 dollars and named their community New Amsterdam. In 1664, The British captured New Amsterdam and renamed it New York City, in honor of James, the Duke of York, brother of England’s King Charles II.
• By 1760, New York City had a population of 18,000. Fifty years later, it became the largest city in the Western hemisphere with a population of 202,589. It served as the capital of the United States from 1785 to 1790.
• In 1898, the five different independent cities of the area – Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Manhattan – were consolidated into the five-borough “Greater New York” with one new city charter. This changed the area and population of Manhattan from 60 square miles containing 2 million people to New York City with an area of 360 square miles, population 3,350,000.
• The largest borough is Queens, located on Long Island. It was established in 1683 as one of the original 12 counties of the Province of New York, and was named after the English Queen and Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza.
• The borough of Brooklyn, located on the western edge of Long Island bordering Queens, was named after the Dutch town of Breukelen, home of many of the original immigrants.
• Staten Island was known as the Borough of Richmond until 1975. It takes its name from the Parliament of the Republic of Seven United Netherlands, Staten Generaal.
• The name of Manhattan, home of the world’s two largest stock exchanges, translates from the Native American language as “the place where we gather wood to make bows.”
• The Bronx is the city’s only borough not primarily on an island. In 1639, Swedish-born Jonas Bronck established the first settlement in the area, part of the New Netherland colony, and the Bronx is named in his honor.
• New York City’s nickname, “The Big Apple,” dates back to the 1800s. The term was used in the 19th century to describe “something regarded as the most significant of its kind.” The name became common around 1920 at the racetrack. Jockeys and trainers referred to big prize money as “big apple.” New York racetracks were considered a big-time venue, and the horse people aspired to race in the city’s large races. A New York sports reporter overheard stable hands, jockeys, and trainers use the term, and he incorporated it into his newspaper columns, and the name stuck.
• In the 1930s, jazz musicians started using “The Big Apple” to indicate that the city was home to the big-league jazz music clubs.
• A 1971 ad campaign sealed the moniker when “The Big Apple” became the official nickname of the city. But there are others that many people use to refer to New York. “The City That Never Sleeps” is an apt designation, since the Metro operates 24 hours a day, many restaurants never close, and the bright lights of Times Square are never turned off. Frank Sinatra cemented the label with his 1979 hit, “New York, New York,” in which he crooned, “I want to wake up in that city that doesn’t sleep.” Other handles for New York City include “Gotham,” “Empire City,” and “The Melting Pot.”
• More than 40 million tourists visit New York City every year
