1775: The Continental Congress established the Continental Marines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to serve as landing troops for the Continental Navy. Captain Samuel Nicholas was the first commander of the Continental Marines.

1776: The Marines carried out their first amphibious landing on foreign soil, seizing British supplies and gunpowder on New Providence Island in the Bahamas.

1798: Congress recreated the Marine Corps as a separate military service.

1805: The Marines rescued the crew of the USS Philadelphia from the Barbary pirates in Tripoli, earning them the nickname "Leathernecks".

1834: The Marines came under the jurisdiction of the Navy Department.

1847: The Marines participated in the Mexican-American War, occupying the "Halls of Montezuma" during the Battle of Chapultepec.

1916: President Woodrow Wilson authorized the creation of a Marine Corps Reserve.

1917–1918: The Marine Corps Reserve grew from 35 to 6,440 active duty Marines during World War I.

1941–1945: About 70% of the 589,852 Marines who served in World War II were Reserves.

1948: Reservist Major William Hendricks started the first "Toys for Tots" campaign.

1952: Congress passed the Armed Forces Reserve Act of 1952.

1978: Congress passed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, making women a permanent part of the Marine Corps.