The following is edited and Excerpted from Asian Pacific American Experience in the United States - A Brief Chronological History: 498 - 1997, published by Leadership Education for Asian Pacific, Inc.

498 A.D. Chinese Priest Hwiu Shan sails down the west coast of Americas and spends 40 years with Native Americans. 1763 First recorded settlement of Filipino Americans.  They escape imprisonment aboard Spanish galleons by jumping ship in New Orleans and fleeing to the bayous. 1790 First recorded arrival of an Asian Indian in the U.S. March 26, 1790 Naturalization Act allows only "free white persons" to become U.S. citizens. 1840  U.S. Census counts eight Chinese. 1848 Gold discovered in California.  Chinese miners begin to arrive. May 7, 1843 First recorded Japanese arrival in the U.S. 1850 California imposes Foreign Miners Tax, which forces Chinese to pay a tax not required from U.S. citizens. 1854 People v. Hall forbids Chinese from testifying in court against whites. 1854 Yung Wing, graduates Yale, becomes the first Chinese to graduate a U.S. college. 1858 California passes a law to bar entry of Chinese and "Mongolians." 1859 Chinese excluded from San Francisco public schools. July 7, 1858 Hamada Hikozo becomes the first Japanese to become an American citizen. 1869 Trancontinental railroad is completed.  Chinese laborers built most of the western section. 1870 People born in Africa and people of African descent become eligible for citizenship through the "Naturalization Act."  Chinese are not eligible for citizenship and the Act also forbids the entry of wives of laborers. 1871 Anti-Chinese riots break out in L.A. and other cities.  In L.A., a mob of whites shoots and hangs 20 Chinese. January 1, 1872 CA law forbidding Chinese from testifying against whites is repealed. 1875 U.S.enacts Page Law which bars entry of Chinese, Japanese, and "Mongolian" prostitutes, felons, and contract laborers. 1880 U.S. Census reports 148 Japanese in the continental U.S.  1882 Chinese Exclusion Act suspends Immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years.  It excludes Chinese from citizenship by naturalization and halts Chinese Immigration for 60 years. 1883 The Japanese replace the Chinese as a source of cheap labor after the Exclusion Act. 1886 Chinese laundry men in Yick Wo v. Hopkins which declares that a law with unequal impact on different groups is discriminatory. 1889 Chae Chan Ping v. U.S. upholds constitutionality of Chinese exclusion laws despite Sino-American Treaty of 1868. 1894 In re Saito: Circuit court in Massachusetts declares that Japanese are ineligible for naturalization because they are "Mongolian," neither white nor black. 1889 Under the Treaty of Paris, ending the Spanish-American War, the Philippines becomes a protectorate of the U.S.; Hawaii is annexed to the U.S.; and the U.S. gains control of American Samao. 1898 Wong Kim Ark v. U.S. decides that Chinese born in U.S. can't be stripped of citizenship. 1898 Hawaii annexed by the U.S. 1901 First Korean Immigrant arrives in Hawaii.  Dr. Jokichi Takamine, a Japanese American, isolates pure epinephrine at John Hopkins. 1904 Chinese exclusion made indefinite and applicable to U.S. insular possessions.  Asian Indians begin to emigrate to the U.S. (7,000 by 1923, primarily on the West Coast). 1905 Section 60 of California's Civil Code amended to forbid marriage between whites and "Mongolians" (anti-miscegenation laws). May 6, 1905 San Francisco Board of Education establishes policy of segregating Asians. May 14, 1905 The Japanese and Korean Exclusion League in San Franciso seeks to restrict immigration via courts, propaganda, and violence. 1907 President Roosevelt enters into Gentleman's Agreement with Japan whereby Japan stops issuing passports to laborers desiring to emigrate to the U.S.; opens up jobs in Hawaii for Filipinos; and bans Korean laborers from immigrating to the U.S.  Aoki v. Deane tests constitutionality of San Francisco school board segregation of Asians.  Roosevelt intervenes to dismiss case and rescind the segregation order (a trade off for the Gentleman's Agreement). 1909 In re Knight: a Eurasian is denied citizenship because he is deemed "insufficiently white." 1910 The U.S. Supreme Court extends the 1870 Naturalization Act to other Asians, making them ineligible for citizenship.  Hawaii-born Arthur Ozawa is admitted to the bar in Michigan and Hawaii becoming the first Japanese American lawyer. 1912 Duke Kahanamoku wins an Olymplic gold medal in the 100 mete freestyle, tying the world record. 1913 California passes alien land law prohibiting "aliens ineligible for citizenship from buying land or leasing it for longer than three years." 1917 Arizona passes "alien land law." February 5, 1917 Asiatic Barred Zone suspends Asian Immigration. 1918 Servicemen of Asian ancestry who served in WWI receive right of naturalization. 1920 U.S. Census: Chinese population declines to 62,000; 111,000 Japanese. 1921 Washington and Louisiana pass alien land laws. 1922 Takao Ozawa v. U.S. declares Japanese ineligible for naturalized citizenship; the U.S. Supreme Court upholds Naturalization Law which means that aliens (directed mainly towards Asians) are ineligible for citizenship.  New Mexico passes alien land law. September 22, 1922 Cable Act passes, which stipulates that any American female citizenship who marries an alien ineligible for citizenship would lose her citizenship. 1923 U.S. v Bhagat Singh Thind declares Asian Indians ineligible fro naturalized citizenship.  Idaho, Montana, and Oregon pass alien land laws. 1924 National Origins Quota Action (Immigration Act) bars any "alien ineligible for citizenship" from immigrating to the U.S.  This act completely ends Asian immigration except for Filipinos who are subjects of the U.S. 1925 Legislative Act makes Filipinos ineligible for citizenship unless they served three years in the U.S. Navy. May 25, 1925 Hidemitsu v. U.S.: Hidemitsu, despite serving in the U.S. Coast Guard for 10 years, is denied naturalization because he is neither white nor black. November 1, 1927 Gong Lum v. Rice: Supreme Court rules that Martha Lum must cease to attend a school for whites and start to attend a school of "colored people" since there is not a specific school for Chinese. 1930 U.S. Census: Filipino population jumps from 6,000 in 1920 to 45,000 in 1930; 139, 000 Japanese 1931 Amendment to Cable Act allows American-born women who lost their citizenship by marrying an alien ineligible for citizenship to regain citizenship. June 24, 1935 FDR grants citizenship to 500 Asian Americans for armed service during WWI. 1936 Cable Act of 1922 repealed. December 1941 2000 Japanese community leaders along Pacific Coast states and Hawaii are rounded up and interned in Justice Department campus.  Massive voluntary enlistment of Asian Americans into U.S. Armed Forces begins. December 7, 1941 Japanese planes attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  U.S. enters WWII.  Japan invades the Philippines.  A third of Filipino men in the U.S. sign up to fight in the U.S. military. 1942 FDR signs Executive Order 9066, putting 111,000 Japanese (primarily U.S. citizens) in ten internment camps. February 1942 18 Caucasians charged with spying for Japan.  10 were convicted.  In contrast, no person of Japanese ancestry was ever charged with espionage. 1943 Magnuson Act finally repeals the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.  Quota of 105 per year set for Chinese immigration.  Chinese granted the right to naturalization. June 21, 1943 Hirabayashi v. U.S. declares curfew law imposed upon persons of Japanese ancestry constitutional. December 1943 Military Order declassifies Koreans in the U.S. as enemy aliens. December 17, 1944 Exclusion order against Japanese Americans revoked, effective January 2, 1945. December 18, 1944 Korematsu v. U.S. rules Japanese American evacuation order (Executive Order 9066) constitutional. 1946 All American internment campus closed.  Philippines become independent. U.S. citizenship offered to all Filipinos, not just servicemen.  Filipino and Indian Naturalization Act: Congress extends naturalization eligibility to "persons of race indigenous to India and the Philippines."  Wing F. Ong becomes the first Asian American to be elected in the state office in the Arizona House of Representatves. 1948 California repeals law banning interracial marriage.  Evacuation Claims Act authorizes payment of settlements to people of Japanese ancestry who suffered economic losses from internment: 10 cents is returned for every $1 lost.  Filipina American Victoria Manalo-Draves and Korean American Sammy Lee win gold medals in diving. 1950 North Korean invades South Korea.  The United Nations sends air and ground troops to support South Korea.  The conflict brings Korean war brides to the U.S.  Many U.S. citizens adopt Korean war orphans. March 16, 1950 Haruye v. The People: the California Supreme Court finds the state's Alien Land Act in violation of the 14th Amendment. 1952 McCarran-Walter Immigration Nationality Act abolishes Asiatic Barred Zone, but limits Asian immigration.  105 immigrants allowed into U.S. per year  Filipinos become subject to new quota system, but approximately 2,000 Filipinos per year enter U.S. up until 1965.  Korean born immigrants and Japanese are now eligible fro U.S. citizenship. April 17, 1952 Fuji Sei v. State of California deems Alien Land Law unconstitutional. 1953 Sammy Lee wins the Sullivan Award (given to an outstanding American athlete), becoming the first non-white to win the award. 1956 Dalip Singh Saund, an Asian Indian from Imperial Valley, California is the first Asian Pacific American elected to the U.S. Congress. 1957 Chen Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee win the Nobel Prize in Physics. 1959 Hiram Fong and Daniel Inouye are elected to Congress form Hawaii.  Fong is the first U.S. Senator of Chinese descent and Innouye is the first congressman of Japanese descent. 1960 Census finds 217,000 Chinese, 11,000 Koreans in U.S. 1962 Korea allows easier emigration and professionals leave for better job and educational opportunities in U.S.  Arrivals from Korea climb to over 2,000 per year.  Many are on student visas.  Daniel K. Innouye becomes a U.S. senator and Spark Matsunaga becomes a U.S. congressman from Hawaii.  Seijij Houriuchi of Brighton, Colorado, becomes the first Japanese American elected to a mainland state legislature. 1964 Patsy Takemoto Mink, Hawaii, becomes the first Asian American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. 1965 National Origins Act raises Asian immigration to 20,000 per year for Asian countries, same as European countries.  Public Law 89-236 permits Chinese from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Latin America to immigrate to U.S.  Immigration Act increases Filipino immigration to above 20,000 per year.  Change in U.S. immigration law allows Korean immigration to over 30,000 per year. 1966 March Fong Eu elected to California Legislature, becoming the first Asian American assembly woman in California history. 1967 Anti-miscegenation laws ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. 1969 Filipino American Roman Gabriel, quarterback for the L.A. Rams, wins the Jim Thorpe Award and the NFL's Most Valuable Player Award. 1970 Census figures for the last decade show a doubling of the population in the U.S. of Chinese to 433,000;  337,000 Filipinos, and 69,000 Koreans.  JACL national convention in Chicago passes first of several resolutions seeking redress for WWII internment of Japanese Americans. June 22, 1970 Voting Rights Act Amendment of 1970. 1971 President Nixon appoints judge Herbet Choy, Korean American, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  He is the first Asian American to be named to a federal court. August 25, 1971 Guey Hung Lee v. Johnson: Supreme Court rules in favor of desegregating all-Chinese public schools. September 25, 1971 Repeal of Emergency Detention Act of 1950. 1972  Between this year and 1893, 11,930 Guamanians migrate to the U.S.  Guam sends its first delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. 1974 Norman Mineta is the first Japanese American to be elected to Congress from one of the contiguous U.S. states. 1975 The fall of Saigon signaled the arrival of large numbers of Vietnamese immigrants in the U.S.  Rising political unrest throughout Southeast Asia forced thousands of Cambodians, Laotians, and other Vietnamese to settle in the U.S.  Over 700,000 of these refugees are estimated to have settled in the U.S. between 1975 and 1985. 1976 President Gerald Ford rescinds Executive Order 9066. June 1, 1976 Hampton v. Wong Mow Sun: Supreme Court rules that Civil Service cannot deny employment on the basis of race. 1978 House Joint Resolution 10007 officially recognizes Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. 1980 U.S. Census lists 805,000 Chinese in U.S., the largest Asian group in American; 775,000 Filipinos: 354,000 Koreans: 262,000 Vietnamese: and 52,000 Kampucheans.  API population: 3,466,421: 1.5% of total population. January 4, 1980 National Convention of American Newspaper Guild decides to stop using the word "jap." 1981 The Texas KKK burns boats symbolizing their opposition to Vietnamese immigration and resettlement programs. 1982 Chinese American Vincent Chin is mistaken for a japanese national and is clubbed to death with a baseball bat by two Anglo-American men in Detroit. 1983 Congress authorizes the admission of Amerasian children from Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand.  Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar wins the Nobel Prize in Physics. 1984 Greg Louganis, Samoan American diver, wins gold medals in platform and springboard diving. January 24, 1985 Lt. Col. Ellison Onizuka dies in the Challenger shuttle explosion. September 1987 South Asian Novroze Mody is killed by a gang of white youths in Hoboken, New Jersey.  Murder charges were not brought against any of the assailants.  Murder charges were not brought against any of the assailants..  Earlier in the month, the Jersey Journal published a letter by a group called the "dot busters," who promised to rid Jersey City of Asian Indians.  Racial incidents against Asian Indians followed, culminating in the murder of Mody. 1988 U.S. Senate votes to support redress reparations for Japanese Americans.  President Reagan signs in to law the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which implements the recommendations of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Interment of Civilians.  The Act apologizes and offers redress and reparations to thousands of Japanese Americans who were denied their civil and constitutional rights by the U.S. government during WWII. 1989 Ming Hai "Jim" Loo, a Chinese American, is mistaken by two Anglo-American men and is murdered.  One of the assailants is found guilty of second degree murder in 1990. 1990 President Bush proclaims May 1990 as Asian Pacific Heritage Month.  Ghang-Lin Tien is the first Asian American to head a major research university when he is appointed chancellor at UC Berkeley. 1992 Kristi Yamaguchi becomes the first Asian American to win the gold medal in women's figure skating. April 29, 1992 After the acquittal of the white LAPD officers who were filmed beating black motorist Rodney King, one of the biggest insurrections begins in Los Angeles.  For days, massive violence, destruction, and looting erupts throughout the city.  Over 2000 Korean-owned businesses are destroyed by looting and fires. 1993 Anna Sui wins the Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent.  Seven Asian Americans are serving in Congress: in the Senate, Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Daniel Akaka (D-HI): and in the U.S. House of Representatives, Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa), Jay Kim (R-CA), Norman Mineta (D-CA), and Patsy Takemoto Mink (D-HI). 1996 Gary Locke is elected governor of Washington State.  He is the first Asian American to be elected governor of one of the contiguous United States.  Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" is renowned AIDS researcher David Ho.  1997 Golfer Tiger Woods, whose mother is Thai and father is African American, wins the Master. 2000 Bill Lann Lee is appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Civil Rights.  Lee was serving under an "acting" capacity while his appointment was stalled for more than three years.  Norm Mineta takes Secretary of Commerce post, becoming the first Asian American Cabinet Member.   2000 Physicist Wen Ho Lee imprisoned for espionage but finally released. 2000 Hon. Sandra Otaka is appointed to a full Circuit judgeship by the Illinois Supreme Court.  She joins, Hon. Kenneth Moy, Hon. Lynne Kawamoto, and Hon. Holly Clemons as one of the only four Asian American judges in Illinois.