1476 - Jan of Kolno, explorer and pilot of a fleet of Christian I of Denmark, sails the coast of Labrador and the Delaware River.

1492 - Franciszek  Warnadowicz, recorded by Christopher Columbus on the ship's roster as Francisco Fernandez, is the first European known to be killed in the New World.

1608 - Polish glassmakers in England are hired by Captain John Smith's London Company to establish a glassmaking industry at Jamestown VA.

1619 - On 30 July 1619, Michal Lowicki, Zbigniew Stefanski, Jur Mata, Jan Bogdan, Karol Zrenica and Stanislaw Sadowski and other Poles conduct the first labor strike at Jamestown VA. When the British crown overturns legislation by Virginia House of Burgesses and  grants them equals voting rights, the work interruption ends.

1662 - Wojciech Zborowski settles on the Hackensack River in New Jersey. His descendents later become well known as the Zabriskie family in New York.

1762 - Franciszek and Genowefa Grodek are married at Saint Anne's Catholic Church in Detroit MI.

1770 - Jakub Sodowski settles in New York. His sons will be among the first Europeans to explore frontier Kentucky. Sandusky OH will be named for him.

1775-1783 Tadeusz Kosciusko, Count Kazimierz  Pulaski, and other Polish noblemen and patriots join American forces in the War of Independence.

1835 - The Polish National Committee in the United States is formed at Philadelphia.

Also, the U.S. Congress grants Poles 36 sections of land and surveys 2 townships for them near Rock River IL.

1842 The Association of Poles in America is organized in New York City by veterans of the Polish Revolution of 1830.

1851 - Antoni Schermann (Smagorzewski) becomes the first permanent Polish resident in Chicago IL.

1852 - The Democratic Society of Poles in America, an anti-slavery group, is organized. 

Also, Gaspar Matoga completes his studies at Fordham University and is the first Polish priest to be ordained in the United States.

1854 - Polish Silesian pioneers, on a historic trek led by Fr. Leopold Moczygemba, found a church at Panna Maria TX, establishing the first truly Polish settlement in North America.

1858 - Polish Kaszubs from Canada lay the foundation of Saint Mary's Church in Parisville MI, establishing it as the second Polish settlement in the United States.

1859 - Polish Kaszubs found Wilno in Renfrew County, Ontario, the oldest Polish settlement in Canada.

1863 - "Echo z Polski", the first Polish periodical in America, appears in New York City.

1866 - The first Polish school is established by Fr. Bakanowski at Panny Maria TX. Peter Kiolbassa is its first teacher.

1870 - The Polish population in the USA approaches 40000. One-quarter of them live in Chicago IL.

1900 - The report of the US Census reveals 668536 persons having both parents born in Poland, 704405 having only fathers born in Poland, 683572 having only mothers born in Poland.
Poles in the History of
North America
1476-1900
Sources include:

Felix Thomas Seroczynski, "Poles in the United States", The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII, 1911.
Dennis Badaczewski, Poles in Michigan, Michigan State University Press, 19xx.
Dennis Benarz & Karen Wisniewski, USA 2003