1873

April 18th. Founding of the company

1882.

HAL starts operations from Hoboken. N.J.

1883.

The "dam"suffix is adopted for the names of all passenger liners.

1888.

HAL starts a short- lived service from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires

1890.

HAL purchases it terminal in Hoboken.

1895.

The ss Rotterdam II makes the first HAL cruise - a short cruise to Copenhagen and back - visiting the opening of the Kieler Canal.

1896.

June 15th. NASM officially becomes known as Holland Amerika Lijn.

1898.

At its 25th anniversary, Holland America line owns 6 ships and has carried 90.000 cabin passengers and 400.000 steerage passengers, along with 5 million tons of cargo, mostly flowerbulbs, herring and gin.

1880's-1920's.

The company is a major carrier of immigrants from Europe to the New World, during the massive immigration which takes place from the 1880's to the 1920's, HAL carries more then 10% of all those traveling steerage to the New World. Because of it's quality and the cleanliness of it's ships, HAL becomes known as "The Spotless Fleet".

1900.

The company adopts the "dijk"or "dyk", suffix for the names of its cargo ships.

1908.

Rotterdam IV enters service as the company's new flagship.

1910.

The 10.500-ton ss Statendam I departs from New York,for the second HAL cruise,to the Mediterranean and the Holy Land.

1914-1918.

World War1 sees the loss of six HAL ships and 13 employees. Statendam II is taken over in it's Belfast building dock by the British and finished as the troopship Justicia, wich was torpedoed and sunk in 1918. The company resumed bussiness after the war with 10 ships.

1921.

HAL builds four passenger/cargo ships- Edam IV, Leerdam II, Maasdam III and Spaardam II- for service to Cuba.

1921-1924.

The U.S. governmental restrictions reduce immigration to a trickle, adversely affecting all the transatlantic steamship companies. Though the European liners benefit from Prohibition, since the U.S. liners were "dry".

1926.

The 14.450-ton Veendam II sails HAL's first Caribbian cruise. Rijndam I makes the company's first round the world voyage as a floating university.

1930.

HAL battened down the hatches to weather the great depression. Between 1931 and 1933, 12 ships were sold for scrap. HAL offices throughout Europe, Canada and the U.S. are either closed or consolidated with other Dutch companies. Staff is reduced 34%-from 3.944 to 2.595- with those remaining taking a 9-10% cut in salary.

1938.

HAL's profits began to increase again. Transatlantic business grows one more and 36 vacation cruises sailed. The elegant Nieuw Amsterdam II is built as the company's new flagship.

1939-1945.

At the start of Worldwar II, HAL had 25 ships; nine remained at war's end. 264 employees lost their lives. At the beginning of the war, the Westernland, berthed at Falmouth, England, becomes the seat of the Netherlands government. The Nieuw Amsterdam II sails half a million miles transporting 400.000 military personnel.

1951.

HAL introduces dove grey livery to the hulls of its passenger vessels. The Rijndam II and the Maasdam III- the "Economy Twins" - are the first ships to allow tourist class passengers run of the ship and restrict one upper deck to first class guests only.

1958.

The 24.294-ton ss Statendam IV departs Hoboken, N.J., terminal on the company's first Grand World Voyage.

1959.

The grand new ss Rotterdam V enters service as the company's new flagship.

1950's-1960's.

HAL's advertising slogan is : "It's good to be on a well-run ship".

1963.

HAL ships begin operating from the company's new terminal at pier 40 in New York.

1963-'66.

Hal first operates the Seven seas- owned by HAL's German subsidiary, European Canada line - and then the RindamII, on world-wide cruises for students by the California-based Üniversity of the Seven Seas".

1964.

HAL ships make a record 50 voyages to new York, 11 to Montreal, Quebec.