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United States dollar

official currency of the United States

37 dated entries naming United States dollar, drawn from 27 separate years between 331 BCE and 2023 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as American dollar, U.S. dollar, U.S. dollars, US $, US Dollar, US dollar, US$, USD in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

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4th century BC

  • 331 BCEFor the first time, Alexander encounters war elephants after the battle in Darius' camp. In the capital, Susa, Alexander gains access to huge treasures amounting to 50,000 gold talents (equivalent of today circa 77 billion USD).source

18th century

  • 1785July 6 – The United States dollar is unanimously chosen as the country's money unit, the first time a nation has adopted a decimal currency.source
  • 1792April 2 – The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint and the United States dollar.source

19th century

  • 1864April 22 – The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1864 which mandates that the inscription "In God We Trust" be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.source
  • 1886August 31 – The 6.9–7.3 Mw Charleston earthquake affects southeastern South Carolina with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Sixty people are killed and damage is estimated at $5–6 million.source
  • 1886August 31 – The 7.0 Mw Charleston earthquake affects southeastern South Carolina, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme); 60 people are killed, and damage is estimated at $5–6 million.source
  • 1900March 15 – The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing United States currency on the gold standard.source

20th century

  • 1911Total imports: USD 870,135,289.source
  • 1929August 31 – The Young Plan, which sets the total World War I reparations owed by Germany at US$26,350,000,000 to be paid over a period of 58½ years, is finalized.source
  • 1949September 19 – The United Kingdom government devalues the pound sterling from $4.03 to $2.80, leading to many other currencies being devalued.source
  • 1967November 18 – The UK pound is devalued from £1 = US$2.80 to £1 = US$2.40.source
  • 1970November 3 – The 1970 Bhola cyclone makes landfall in modern-day Bangladesh around high tide, causing $86.4 million in damage (1970 USD, $576 million 2020 USD) and becomes the world's deadliest storm killing over 500,000 people.source
  • 1971May 5 – The U.S. dollar floods the European currency markets and especially threatens the Deutsche Mark; the central banks of Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland stop the currency trading.source
  • 1971December 18 – The U.S. dollar is devalued for the second time in history.source
  • 1979December 3 – The United States dollar exchange rate with the Deutsche Mark falls to 1.7079 DM, the all-time low so far; this record is not broken until November 5, 1987.source
  • 1991June 15 – Mount Pinatubo erupts, the peak of series of major explosions on June 12–16, in what will be the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century; volcano's alert level has been raised to the highest, June 9; Typhoon Yunya further worsens lahar flows and ashfalls causing collapse of roofs on structures that contribute to about 350 of 847 deaths. The eruption costs US$700-million in total damages.source
  • 1995November 7 – Typhoon Angela leaves the Philippines and Vietnam devastated, with 882 deaths and US$315 million in damage. The typhoon is the strongest to strike the Philippines in 25 years, with wind speeds of 130 mph and gusts of 180 mph.source
  • 1996August - The United States announced sanctions on companies with greater than $40 million (USD) annual investments in Libya or Iran, despite objections from Germany, France, Canada, and the European Union.source
  • 199918 January: The Argentine peso continues to decline in value against the U.S. dollar, which is a source of concern for both businesses and individuals. There is talk of abandoning the Argentine peso for the US dollar.source
  • 2000March 13 – The United States dollar becomes the official currency of Ecuador, replacing the Ecuadorian sucre.source
  • 2000April 19 - The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan shut down the money market in Kabul, Afghanistan to stop a freefall of the Afghani currency. Valued at 55,075 to the U.S. dollar on March 31, by April 19 it traded at 75,000.source
  • 20001 November – The privatisation contract of the Petromidia Refinery is approved between Fondul Proprietății de Stat and Rompetrol Group BV Rotterdam for the sum of 615 million USD.source

21st century

  • 2001October 8 – Hurricane Iris hits Belize, causing $250 million (2001 USD) in damage.source
  • 2007March 16: The Inter-American Development Bank forgives US$4.4 billion in debt owed by Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and Guyana, five of the poorest countries in the Americas.source
  • 20077 June 2007 - United States agrees to cancel 100% ($58 million USD) of Sierra Leone's foreign debt.source
  • 2007October 8: 2007 Burmese anti-government protests: Burma's junta announces that Buddhist monasteries have accepted US$8000 as well as food and medicine from its soldiers to signify the armed forces have not left the faith.source
  • 2010May 4 – Nude, Green Leaves and Bust by Pablo Picasso sells in New York for US$106.5 million, setting another new world record for a work of art sold at auction.source
  • 2013November 12 – Three Studies of Lucian Freud, a series of portraits of Lucian Freud by the British painter Francis Bacon, sells for US$142.4 million in a New York City auction, setting a world record for an auctioned work of art.source
  • 2015May 11–12 – Version O of Les Femmes d'Alger by Pablo Picasso sells for US$179.3 million at Christie's auction in New York, while the sculpture L'Homme au doigt by Alberto Giacometti sells for US$141.3 million, setting a new world record for a painting and for a sculpture, respectively.source
  • 2017August 25–30 – Hurricane Harvey strikes the United States as a Category 4 hurricane, causing catastrophic damage to the Houston metropolitan area, mostly due to record-breaking floods. At least 108 deaths are recorded, and total damage reaches $125 billion (2017 USD), making Harvey the costliest natural disaster in United States history, tied with Hurricane Katrina in 2005.source
  • 2020April 20 – The Industrial Bank of Korea agrees to pay US$86 million and will enter a two-year deferred prosecution agreement to settle lawsuits with the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of New York over a 2011 scheme to help transfer US$1 billion to Iran.source
  • 2020June 2 – A US$5 billion class action lawsuit is filed against Alphabet Inc. and Google, alleging the company violates users' right to privacy by tracking them in Chrome's incognito mode.source
  • 2021June 9 – The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador passes legislation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in the country, becoming the first country to adopt the cryptocurrency alongside the U.S. dollar.source
  • 2023March 29 – Brazil and China sign an agreement to trade in their own currencies, ceasing the usage of the United States dollar as an intermediary.source
  • 2023July 3 – Indian oil refiners start payments for Russian oil imports in Chinese yuan as an alternative to the US dollar due to increasing sanctions against Russia.source
  • 202312 October – International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva confirms that Zambia, the first African nation to default following the COVID-19 pandemic, has agreed to a debt agreement with foreign creditors, concerning US$6.3 billion of its debt.source
  • 202321 December - Angola leaves OPEC after disagreements about crude oil production quotas. The price of oil falls by over $1 as a result.source

Named in the same entries