- 1732
| Aug 01 | (Zenger) William Crosby arrives in New York and assumes his position as the new governor of New York. | Ref: 87 |
| Oct 15 | (Zenger) (date given as "Fall") New York Governor Cosby demands that Council president Rip Van Dam split his salary with him. When Van Dam refuses, Cosby sues. Cosby appoints Francis Harison to be censor (and effectively editor) of the New York Gazette. | Ref: 87 |
| Dec 15 | (Zenger) (day speculative) New York Governor Cosby creates a new court of equity which he expects to favorably decide his suit against Van Dam. | Ref: 87 |
- 1733
| Apr 15 | (Zenger) (day speculative) The New York Supreme Court hears arguments on the issue of whether Governor Cosby has the power to create a new court. | Ref: 87 |
| Aug 15 | (Zenger) (day speculative) New York Governor Cosby removes from the New York Supreme Court Chief Justice Lewis Morris who, alone among the three justices of the Court, voted against him in the Van Dam case. He replaces Morris with a loyal supporter, James Delancey. | Ref: 87 |
| Oct 29 | (Zenger) Governor Cosby (of New York) attempts (and fails) to rig an election for assembyman of Westchester so as to defeat the Popular Party candidate. | Ref: 87 |
| Nov 05 | (Zenger) The first issue of John Peter Zenger's New York Weekly Journal is published. The Journal is believed to be founded and funded by James Alexander, an outspoken opponent of Cosby and his policies. | Ref: 87 |
- 1734
| Jan 28 | (Zenger) The Weekly Journal accuses New York's Governor Cosby of threatening the "liberties and properties" of the people. | Ref: 87 |
| Feb 04 | (Zenger) An editorial in the [New York Governor William] Cosby-controlled Gazette calls the statement in the January 28th [issue of John Peter Zenger's New York Weekly] Journal "an aggravated libel." | Ref: 87 |
| Sep 15 | (Zenger) (days speculative) In two weekly issues, the New York Weekly Journal accuses New York Governor Cosby of violating the rules of his office. | Ref: 87 |
| Oct 15 | (Zenger) (day speculative) At the instigation of Governor Cosby, Chief Justice Delancey twice puts the issue of the "libels" before a grand jury. In both cases, the grand jury refuses to issue indictments, based on what the grand jury says is a lack of evidence concerning the identity of the author of the libels. | Ref: 87 |
| Nov 02 | (Zenger) Frustrated in his efforts to prosecute James Alexander, the likely author of the "libels," Governor Cosby (of New York) orders that a bench warrant be issued for the printer of the Journal, John Peter Zenger. | Ref: 87 |
| Nov 17 | (Zenger) John Peter Zenger is arrested by the sheriff. He is placed in jail and a very high bail (at Governor Cosby's request) is set. Zenger will spend the next nine months in jail. | Ref: 87 |
| Dec 06 | (Zenger) Governor Cosby (of New York) complains in a letter about "the most virulent libels" contained in the Weekly Journal. He blames John Peter Zenger, James Alexander, and former Council president Rip Van Dam for the libels. | Ref: 87 |
- 1735
| Apr 15 | (Zenger) John Peter Zenger's lawyers challenge the propriety of having two judges selected by Governor Cosby, Delancey and Philipse, presiding over the Zenger case. For their challenge, Zenger's two lawyers are disbarred by Chief Justice Delancey. | Ref: 87 |
| Jul 29 | (Zenger) Jury selection begins in the Zenger trial. Harison attempts to rig the jury, but his efforts are defeated. Zenger is defended by Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia, the best known (and perhaps best) trial lawyer of the day. | Ref: 87 |
| Aug 04 | (Zenger) The Zenger trial opens with the reading of the information against Zenger by prosecutor Bradley, Attorney General of the king for the province of New York. Judges make clear that in order to prove the charge of "seditious libel" prosecutors need only prove that the statements in question were printed. The truth or falsity of the statements, rule the judges, is irrelevant. | Ref: 87 |
| Aug 05 | (Zenger) John Peter Zenger's lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, presents a lengthy and eloquent summation to the jury. The summation is a plea for nullification: a plea that the jury return with a "Not Guilty" verdict despite instructions from the court that the sole issue for the jury to determine is whether the libels were in fact published in Zenger's Journal. The jury acquits Zenger after a short period of deliberation. | Ref: 87 |
| Aug 11 | (Zenger) The New York Weekly Journal (Zenger's newspaper) prints the following, "The Printer, now having got his liberty again, designs God willing to Finish and Publish the Charter of the City of New York next week." Ref | |
| Sep 16 | (Zenger) The Common Council of New York grants Andrew Hamilton (John Peter Zenger's lawyer) "the Freedom of the City" for his "learned and generous defense of the rights of mankind." | Ref: 87 |
- 1736
| Mar 10 | (Zenger) New York Governor Cosby dies in New York. James Alexander publishes his Brief Narrative of the Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger. Andrew Hamilton submits architectual plans for Independence Hall in Philadephia. The building designed by Hamilton will be the site where, fifty-one years later, delegates meet to draft the Constitution of the United States of America. | Ref: 87 |
- 1741
| Aug 04 | (Zenger) Andrew Hamilton (Zenger's lawyer) dies exactly six years after the Zenger trial that would become a landmark on America's path to protection for freedom of speech. | Ref: 87 |
- 1746
| Jul 28 | (Zenger) John Peter Zenger, journalist, involved in first admendment fight, dies. | Ref: 5 |
- 1945
| Oct 22 | (Zenger) Governor Cosby (of New York) orders that copies of Zenger's Journal be "burned by the hands of the common hangman or whipper near the pillory in this city." When magistrates refuse to help carry out the order, the burning is accomplished by Harison and a slave. | Ref: 87 |
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John Peter Zenger Chronology