Albany, New York is formally chartered as a municipality by Governor Thomas Dongan.

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River about 10 miles (16 km) south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldest city in New York, and the county seat of and most populous city in Albany County. Albany's population was 99,224 at the 2020 census and estimated at 101,317 in 2024. The city is the economic and cultural core of New York State's Capital District, a metropolitan area including the nearby cities and suburbs of Colonie, Troy, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs. With an estimated 913,000 residents, it is the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the state.

Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick was an Irish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New York from 1683 to 1688. He called the first representative legislature in the Province of New York and granted the colony's first charter of liberties. Dongan's negotiations and subsequent alliance with the Iroquois brought a degree of security from attacks by the French and their Indian allies.