1805
November 12th, Thomas McKean, Governor of the state of Pennsylvania, appoints Tristram B. Freeman to the office of auctioneer in Philadelphia


1808
Company sells estate of Capt. Stephen Decatur


1822
Auction monopoly lifted in Philadelphia, opening the business up to competition


1824
Company begins book sales as auction legislation changes again

1833
Company enters its second generation as T.W.L. Freeman


1838
T.W.L. Freeman sells remarkable chess-playing automation known as The Turk


1839
Freeman's experiences the silk tree bubble


1844
Company enters its third generation as James A. Freeman


1858
Freeman's moves to 422 Walnut Street


1876
Rival Philadelphia auctioneer M. Thomas & Son conducts auctions in wake of Centennial Exposition


1880's
Among many major real estate agents transactions, Freeman's sells Philadelphia's Post Office building for $425,000, a record for a single piece of real estate sold at auction


1898
Company is renamed Samuel T. Freeman & Co.


1903
Edmund B. Brickley joins company from department store John Wanamaker, introducing new style and fine art to Freeman's galleries


1905
Freeman's celebrates 100th anniversary


1908
Company acquires business of M. Thomas & Son. Stan V. Henkels, a specialist in historical autographs and portraiture, joins firm as a consultant


1919
Freeman's sells celebrated Gilbert Stuart full-length portrait of George Washington


1920
Freeman's purchases the name and goodwill of J. E. Conant Co., Lowell, Mass


1922
Freeman's conducts the Nitro, West Virginia sale - the largest sale in the company's history


1923
The auction house moves to its present location at 1808 Chestnut Street; the first purposely-built auction house, designed by architects: Tilden & Register.

The first major sale here included Penn's Charter of Liberties


1924
Company sells US Navy battleships


1927
Company sells remnants of Philadelphia's Sesquicentennial exhibition


1930's
Company conducts mill sales across New England


1940's
Great estate sales include Eva Stotesbury dispersals


1960
Addison B. Freeman Jr. dies in the Boston Harbor Air Crash


1962
Company sells desk reputed to be Benjamin Franklin's to Independence National Park


1969
Freeman's discovers Dunlap copy of Declaration of Independence at Leary's Book Store. It sells for $404,000


1980
Freeman's celebrates 175 years in business with the sale of Edward Hicks' Peaceable Kingdom for $210,000


1988
Freeman's merges with Fine Arts of Philadelphia and becomes Freeman Fine Arts


1997
Freeman's sells Tucker porcelain urns for record $265,000


1998
Freeman's reverts to name of Samuel T. Freeman & Co.


1999
Paul Roberts of Lyon and Turnbull in Edinburgh joins Freeman's as president


2000
Marketing alliance is formed with Scottish firm Lyon & Turnbull


2001
Alasdair Nichol, head of fine art department, initiates the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts sales and student scholarship


2004
The Old Mill, Washington's Crossing, a winter landscape by Edward Willis Redfield sells for $691,250


2005
Freeman's celebrates 200th Anniversary