| 1718 |
弗吉尼亚州长斯波伍德抱怨道to England about the danger of navigation on the Bay, especially at Cape Henry. He asked England to build a lighthouse there. England refused. |
| 1776 |
The United States declared her independence from England. |
| 1789 |
Congress passed a law providing for the construction of a system of navigational aids on United States waters. The Secretary of the Treasury was placed in charge of lighthouses. |
| 1792 |
The first lighthouse built by the United States was completed atCape Henry. |
| 1820 |
The first lightship, theChesapeake, was placed in the Bay. |
| 1822 |
Augustin Fresnel, a French scientist, invented a new kind of lens that made the lights brighter and visible from longer distances. |
| 1840 |
The first tower of brick covered with iron plates was introduced on the Bay. |
| 1852 |
The Lighthouse Board was established as a separate government agency. The Board began toimprove the lighthouses, installing Fresnel lenses and replacing lightships with screwpiles. |
| 1910 |
The Lighthouse Board was dismantled. Supervision of lighthouses and other navigational aids was transferred to the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Lighthouses. |
| 1923 |
Use of radio fog signals and beacons began. |
| 1939 |
President Roosevelt placed the Coast Guard in charge of lighthouses. The Coast Guard began to upgrade and automate the lights, replacing keepers with automatic machinery. |
| 1965 |
The last lighthouse was constructed on the Bay. The Chesapeake lightship was replaced with a "Texas tower," a structure similar to an offshore oil rig. |
| 1984 |
Cape Henry light was automated. |
| 1986 |
Cove Point, Maryland, lighthouse, the last manned lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay, was automated. |
