BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

• 1600 - 1699
• 1700 - 1799
• 1800 - 1899
• 1900 - 1999
• 2000 -

1900, Jan. 8. Third Courthouse (now Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse) dedicated in Baltimore at Calvert St.

1900, Nov. 20. Theodore R. McKeldin (1900-1974), Governor of Maryland, born in Baltimore.

1903, May 19 - 1904, May 30. Robert M. McLane (Democrat), Mayor.

1904. Maryland Association for the Prevention and Relief of Tuberculosis formed at Baltimore.

1904, Feb. 7-8. Baltimore fire, 70 blocks in heart of business district devastated.

1904, May 31 - 1907, May 21. E. Clay Timanus (Republican), Mayor.

1904, Sept. 24. Western Maryland Railroad's marine terminal facility opened at Port Covington, Baltimore.

1905, July 1 - 1906, Dec. 16. Charles J. Bonaparte (1851-1921) of Baltimore served as U.S. Secretary of the Navy.

1906. Equal Suffrage League organized by Elizabeth King Ellicott at Baltimore.

1906, Feb. 7-13. National American Women's Suffrage Convention held in Baltimore at Lyric Theatre.

1906, March. Maryland Historical Magazine, edited by William Hand Browne, first published by Maryland Historical Society (now Maryland Center for History & Culture).

1906, March 18. Greek Orthodox parish (now Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation), first in State, formed in Baltimore.

1906, Dec. 17 - 1909, March 4. Charles J. Bonaparte (1851-1921) of Baltimore served as U.S. Attorney General.

1907. Baltimore magazine began publication.

1907, May 21 - 1911, May 16. J. Barry Mahool (Democrat), Mayor.

1907, Nov. The Johns Hopkins University accepted women graduate students.

1908, July 2. Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), civil rights attorney and first African-American Supreme Court Justice, born in Baltimore.

1909. Just Government League of Maryland, a women's suffrage organization, founded in Baltimore by Edith Houghton Hooker.

1910. Russian-born population of Baltimore (including Eastern European) peaked (24,798 of 558,485).

Thurgood Marshall statue at Legislative Services Building entrance, Lawyers' Mall, Annapolis, Maryland, August 2010. Photo by Diane F. Evartt

1911. Baltimore completed sewerage system.

1911. Isaac E. Emerson built Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower, the tallest Baltimore building until 1923.

1911, May 16 - 1919, May 20. James H. Preston (Democrat), Mayor.

1912, June 25 - July 2. Democratic Party National Convention met in Baltimore.

1912. Ukrainian Greek Catholics purchased land for St. Michael's Church, South Wolfe St., Baltimore.

1913. Baltimore Chapter, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), formed, second oldest in country.

Bromo-Seltzer Tower, 21 South Eutaw St., Baltimore, Maryland, September 2018. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1914-23. H. L. Mencken was co-editor of Smart Set.

1915. Augusta Chissell formed Progressive Women’s Suffrage Club in Baltimore.

1916. The Johns Hopkins University moved to Homewood, former estate of Charles Carroll, Jr., son of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of Declaration of Independence, in Baltimore.

1916, June 13. The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (now Bloomberg School of Public Health), first independent graduate school of public health in world, founded in Baltimore with a grant from Rockefeller Foundation.

1916, Nov. Vagabond Players, Baltimore, staged first performance.

1917, Oct. U.S. Army General Hospital no. 2 (largest military hospital in nation) established at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, to care for wounded soldiers returning from war in Europe.

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore, Maryland, July 2003. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1918. New Baltimore City Charter approved by voters.

1918, Sept. 26-1919, March 15. Pandemic flu, first diagnosed in Maryland among soldiers at Camp Meade (now Fort Meade), killed 4,125 and sickened at least 24,000 in Baltimore.

1918. University of Maryland Graduate School opened at Baltimore.

1918, Nov. 9. Spiro T. Agnew (1918-1996), Vice-President of the United States, born in Baltimore.

1919. H. L. Mencken published first book of Prejudices.

1919. Baltimore Orioles, minor league baseball team, won first of seven consecutive, nine overall, International League pennants.

1919-1923, May. William F. Broening (Republican), Mayor.

1920. University of Maryland united agricultural college and Baltimore professional schools.

1920, Jan. 14 - 1935, Jan. 9. Albert C. Ritchie (1876-1936) of Baltimore served as Governor of Maryland.

1920, April 19. Marvin Mandel (1920-2001), Governor of Maryland, born in Baltimore.

1921, Jan. 13. Associated Jewish Charities formed in Baltimore.

1921, Nov. 2. William Donald Schaefer, Governor of Maryland, born in Baltimore.

William Donald Schaefer statue, by Rodney Carroll, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, November 2009. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1922. Baltimore Stadium built and opened on East 33rd St.

1922, March 23. WKC, founded by Calman J. Zamoiski, Sr., began broadcasting as first commercial radio station in Baltimore.

1923. First postoperative recovery unit for neurosurgical patients created at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.

1923, May - 1927, May. Howard W. Jackson (Democrat), Mayor.

1923, June 15. University of Maryland School of Dentistry and Baltimore College of Dental Surgery merged.

1924. H. L. Mencken began editing American Mercury.

1926. Baltimore equalized pay for black and white teachers.

1929. New Baltimore Trust Company Building erected, tallest structure in Baltimore.

1929, April 18. Baltimore Museum of Art, designed by John Russell Pope, opened (incorporated 1914, first exhibition at Garrett mansion in Mount Vernon, Feb. 22, 1923), Wyman Park, Baltimore.

Musicians celebrating Matisse exhibition, Baltimore Museum of Art, Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, Maryland, October 2007. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1930, Oct. The Johns Hopkins University opened Walter Hines Page School of International Relations.

1931, Feb. Citizens' Emergency Relief Committee organized in Baltimore.

1931, March 3. "Star-Spangled Banner" adopted as national anthem.

1931, May 19 - 1943. Howard W. Jackson (Democrat), Mayor.

1933, Feb. Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, moved to new building.

1933, Nov. 27. Billie Holiday made her first commercial recording, “Your Mother's Son-In-Law," with Benny Goodman orchestra.

1934. Baltimore Marine Hospital (later United States Public Health Services Hospital) constructed at Wyman Park Drive to care for sick and disabled seamen.

1934, Nov. 3. Walters Art Gallery (now Walters Art Museum) opened in Baltimore (built 1909, bequeathed by Henry Walters to City, 1931).

Walters Arts Museum, 600 North Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland, August 2009. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1935. Baltimore Transit Company formed from United Railways.

1935, Jan. 9 - 1939, Jan. 11. Harry W. Nice (1877-1941) of Baltimore served as Governor of Maryland.

Lillie Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum, 1320 Eutaw Place, Baltimore, Maryland, October 2019. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1935, June 8. Maryland Thoroughbred Omaha won Triple Crown like his father, 1930 winner Gallant Fox, marking first time a father and son won title.

1935, June 18. In Murray v. Pearson et al., Baltimore City Court ordered integration of University of Maryland School of Law. Attorney Thurgood Marshall represented Donald Gaines Murray, who registered Sept. 25, 1935.

1936, Dec. 11. Edward VIII (1894-1972), former King of Great Britain and Ireland, announced via radio that he abdicated throne day before to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson (1896-1986) of Baltimore. Edward, Duke of Windsor, married Wallis Warfield Simpson on June 3, 1937 in Monts, France.

1937, Nov. 15. Pan American Airways and Imperial Airways began using Baltimore's new Harbor Field (now part of Dundalk Marine Terminal). Pan American's flying boat, Bermuda Clipper, inaugurated Baltimore to Bermuda service.

1938, Nov. 1. Seabiscuit, grandson of legendary Man o' War, beat War Admiral, Triple Crown winner and son of Man o' War, in Pimlico Special, known as "Match Race of the Century."

1939. Morgan College (now Morgan State University) became part of State system.

1941, March 29. Maryland ratified 19th Amendment, giving women right to vote (vote not certified until Feb. 25, 1958).

1941, April. Citizens' Planning and Housing Association organized in Baltimore.

1942, April. Baltimore blacks protested police brutality and demanded school board representation.

1943, May - 1947, May. Theodore R. McKeldin (Republican), Mayor.

1944. New Baltimore municipal airport in Anne Arundel County recommended by Baltimore mayoral commission.

1944, July. In Saluda, Virginia, Irene Morgan on route to her Baltimore home was arrested for refusing to yield her bus seat to a white passenger.

1944, Nov. 29. Blue-baby operation developed at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, pioneering heart surgery era.

1945. Slum clearance began in Baltimore by Redevelopment Commission (replaced in 1956 by Baltimore Urban Renewal and Housing Agency).

1946. New Baltimore City Charter approved by voters.

1946, June 3. In Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation on interstate travel violated "Commerce Clause" of U.S. Constitution. Irene Morgan of Baltimore was represented by attorney Thurgood Marshall.

1946, Oct. Maryland Congress against Discrimination met in Baltimore.

1946, Dec. 28. Miami Seahawks of All-America Football Conference moved to Baltimore, and renamed Baltimore Colts, following a fan-naming contest.

1947. "Baltimore Plan" housing court, first in country, a special magistrate's court created by Governor's Executive Order to enforce building, zoning and sanitary codes.

1947. Baltimore Junior College (later Baltimore City Community College) established.

1947. Edmondson Village Shopping Center opened, Baltimore.

1947, May - 1959, May. Thomas J. D'Alesandro, Jr. (Democrat), Mayor.

1947, Sept. 3. Women allowed as jurors in Maryland, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore.

1947, Sept. 7. Baltimore Colts, wearing green and silver uniforms, played and won their first game in Baltimore Stadium.

1947, Oct. 27. WMAR-TV in Baltimore became first commercial television station to broadcast from Maryland.

1948. Baltimore activists tested segregated tennis court policy, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore.

1949-50. Baltimore Stadium renovated, and renamed Memorial Stadium.

1950. Lawsuit opened University of Maryland School of Nursing to blacks.

1950. Juanita Jackson Mitchell (1913-1992), civil rights attorney, graduated from University of Maryland School of Law, the first black woman to do so.

1950. Baltimore Colts became a National Football League (NFL) franchise when AAFC and NFL merged.

1951. University of Maryland Graduate School integrated.

1951. Baltimore inaugurated pilot program to upgrade blighted housing and opened golf courses to blacks.

1951, Jan. 18. After posting a 1-11 record for second consecutive year, Baltimore Colts franchise was dissolved by NFL.

1952, Sept. Baltimore Polytechnic Institute integrated.

1953, Jan. 23. Dallas Texans moved to Baltimore. Renamed as Baltimore Colts, they kept Texans' team colors of blue and white.

1953, April 16. The Johns Hopkins University's Walter Hines Page School of International Relations discontinued.

1953, Sept 29. St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore, became Baltimore Orioles in American League.

1954, April 15. Baltimore Orioles played first game at Memorial Stadium.

1954. Housing Authority of Baltimore City declared integration of public housing.

1954, Sept. Baltimore City and Western Shore counties desegregated schools using freedom of choice.

1954, Oct. Baltimore-Washington Expressway (now Baltimore-Washington Parkway) opened.

1954, Nov. 2. Harry A. Cole (1921-1999) of Baltimore, first African American elected to State Senate.

1954, Nov. 2. Emory R. Cole (1893-1968) of Baltimore, first African American elected to House of Delegates.

1955. Consolidated Gas Company of Baltimore City renamed Baltimore Gas & Electric (now BGE).

1955, Jan. Greater Baltimore Committee organized by business leaders.

1955, Jan. 20. Morgan State College students stage sit-in at Read's drugstore, Howard and Lexington Sts., near Lexington Market, Baltimore.

1956. Maryland Port Authority (now Maryland Port Administration) created.

1956. Baltimore Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created (now Community Relations Commission) (Baltimore City Ordinance no. 379).

1956. Baltimore Regional Planning Council (now Baltimore Metropolitan Council) formed.

1956. I-70 (north) connected Frederick and Baltimore.

1956. I-83, Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway opened.

1956. James W. Rouse opened Mondawmin Mall, Baltimore.

1956, Dec. 31. Baltimore Urban Renewal and Housing Agency established, combining City's urban renewal groups into one unit.

1957. Cone Wing opened at Baltimore Museum of Art.

1957. At Johns Hopkins, first portable, external (closed chest) defibrillator produced.

1957, Aug. 14. Baltimore's last gas streetlamp extinguished.

1957, Nov. 25. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., Governor of Maryland, born in Baltimore.

1957, Nov. 30. Baltimore Harbor Tunnel opened.

1958, March. Greater Baltimore Committee unveiled plans for Charles Center.

1958, Sept. Nation's first stand-alone multi-disciplinary intensive care unit established at Baltimore City Hospital (now Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore.

1958, Nov. Maryland Port Authority purchased Harbor Field with plans for Dundalk Marine Terminal.

1958, Dec. 28 Baltimore Colts defeated New York Giants to win National Football League's 26th Championship Game, "Greatest Game Ever Played."

1959, Dec. 27. Baltimore Colts defeated New York Giants again winning National Football League's 27th Championship Game at Memorial Stadium in only League championship ever played in Baltimore.

1959. I-83 linked Baltimore and Harrisburg.

1959, May - 1962, Dec. 6. J. Harold Grady (Democrat), Mayor.

1960. Johns Hopkins doctors publish first report on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

1960, Feb. 22. An integrated group of Johns Hopkins University students, accompanied by Duke Ellington, attempted a sit-in at Blue Jay Restaurant, Baltimore, and were denied service.

1960, June 17. College and high school students held sit-in at Hooper's Restaurant, Charles and Fayette Sts., Baltimore.

1961. Political appointment of Baltimore magistrates ended.

1961. School of Social Work and Community Planning (now School of Social Work) opened at University of Maryland, Baltimore.

1961, Dec. 16. Jones Falls Expressway (JFX) opened, connecting downtown Baltimore with its northern suburbs.

1962, Jan. 13 & 20. Freedom Rides from Baltimore to Cambridge and Easton organized by Baltimore Civic Interest Group, including Morgan State College students.

1962, June. City Council banned discrimination in establishments with public accommodations, except for restaurants where alcohol sales were a primary part of business.

1962, July. Baltimore Beltway (I-695) opened through Baltimore County, encircling Baltimore City.

1962, Oct. 23. Baltimore Civic Center (now Royal Farms Arena), the City's largest indoor sports and entertainment facility, opened, encompassing two city blocks at corner of Baltimore St. and Hopkins Plaza.

1962, Dec. 6 - 1963, May 21. Philip H. Goodman (Democrat), Mayor.

1963. I-95 connected Baltimore and Wilmington, Delaware.

1963, Feb. 8. William Devereux Zantzinger of Charles County fatally caned Hattie Carroll at a charity ball in the Emerson Hotel, Baltimore. Her death later was memorialized by Bob Dylan in "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll."

1963, March 29. Open accommodations law enacted, effective June 1, 1963, limited to Baltimore City and twelve counties.

1963, May 21 - 1967, Dec. 5. Theodore R. McKeldin (Republican), Mayor.

1964. Dundalk Marine Terminal began handling containerized cargo.

1966, Oct. 9. Baltimore Orioles swept Los Angeles Dodgers to win World Series.

1967, Jan. 16. Morris A. Mechanic Theater opened, Baltimore.

1967, Oct. 2 - 1991, Oct. 1. Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) of Baltimore served on U.S. Supreme Court, first African-American to join Court.

1967, Dec. 5 - 1971, Dec. 7. Thomas J. D'Alesandro III (Democrat), Mayor.

1968. USS Constellation moored permanently at Pier 1, Baltimore.

USS Constellation, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, September 2014. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

1968, April 4, 6-14. Riots in Baltimore followed assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Maryland National Guard and federal troops deployed.

1970, April 30. Baltimore Transit Company replaced by Metropolitan Transit Authority (later renamed Maryland Transit Administration).

1970, Sept. Baltimore staged first City fair.

1970, Oct. 15. Baltimore Orioles defeated Cincinnati Reds to win World Series.

1971. I-95 opened between Baltimore and Washington, DC.

1971, Jan. 17. Baltimore Colts defeated Dallas Cowboys to win National Football League's Super Bowl V.

1971, Dec. 7 - 1986, Dec. William Donald Schaefer (Democrat), Mayor.

1973, Feb. 10. First rechargeable heart pacemaker, developed by Johns Hopkins physicians and scientists, implanted in patient.

1973, Sept. Urban "homesteading" began in Baltimore. To encourage renovation, City sold abandoned houses for $1 each.

1973, Oct. 10. Spiro T. Agnew resigned vice-presidency, pleaded no contest to felony charge of tax evasion in U.S. District Court, Baltimore.

1974. Centre Street Annex Building of Walters Art Gallery (now Walters Art Museum) opened in Baltimore.

1974, April 8 - 1977, Jan. 20. J. William Middendorf II of Baltimore served as U.S. Secretary of the Navy.

1975, Dec. 9. Center Stage, after loss of North Ave. site to arson in 1974, reopened in converted Loyola complex attached to St. Ignatius Church, Baltimore.

1976. Maryland Science Center opened in Baltimore.

Maryland Science Center, 601 Light St., Baltimore, Maryland, June 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1977, Jan. World Trade Center opened, Baltimore.

1977, Feb. 5. "Sugar" Ray Leonard made professional boxing debut at Civic Center, Baltimore; first boxer to win world titles in welterweight, junior middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight.

1977, March. Francis Scott Key Bridge ("Buckle" of the Beltway) opened across Patapsco River.

1977, May 1. Replica clipper Pride of Baltimore, built by William Melbourne Smith, commissioned by Mayor William Donald Schaefer at Inner Harbor, Baltimore, as a Goodwill Ambassador of State of Maryland and Port of Baltimore.

1978. Daniel Nathans (1928-1999) and Hamilton O. Smith (1931-), The Johns Hopkins University, won Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1979, Aug. Baltimore Convention Center opened.

1980, July 2. Harborplace, a 3-acre center of restaurants and shops, opened in Baltimore, signaling revitalization of City's Inner Harbor.

1980, Nov. 29. Baltimore Blast, City's Major Indoor Soccer League team, played its first home game at Baltimore Arena.

1981, Aug. 8. National Aquarium opened in Baltimore.

1981, Oct. U.S. Public Health Service Hospital at Wyman Park Drive closed.

1982, May. Former U.S. Public Health Service Hospital reopened as Wyman Park Health System.

1984, March 27. Senate passed a bill allowing Baltimore City to seize ownership of Baltimore Colts football team by eminent domain (power of a government to take private property for public use), in order to stop Colts' owner, Robert Irsay, from moving team out of Maryland.

1984, March 29. Baltimore Colts left Baltimore in the middle of the night (2:00 am). At Owings Mills practice facilities, their gear and equipment were loaded for move to Indianapolis, Indiana.

1984, March 29. House of Delegates passed Senate bill trying to stop Baltimore Colts from leaving Maryland. Governor Harry R. Hughes signed bill into law at noon.

1984, March 30. Baltimore Mayor and City Council authorized Baltimore Colts team's seizure under eminent domain and prohibited its relocation out of State (emergency ordinance no. 32). Judge Robert L. Karwacki, Baltimore City Circuit Court, issued 10-day injunction, or restraining order, against Colts' owner, Robert Irsay, to prevent him from moving team out of Maryland; case moved to District Court, who ruled for Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 9, 1985.

1985, Nov. 24. Fort McHenry Tunnel opened.

1986. Baltimore Civic Center renamed Baltimore Arena.

1986-1987. Clarence H. (Du) Burns (Democrat), Mayor.

Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse, 111 North Calvert St., Baltimore, Maryland, September 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1986, May 14. Pride of Baltimore, a replica clipper, capsized and sank in a storm north of Puerto Rico, taking her captain and three crew members down with her.

1987. Wyman Park Health System merged with Johns Hopkins (later part of Johns Hopkins Community Physicians until replaced by Remington office in Sept. 2016).

1987, Dec. - 1999, Dec. Kurt L. Schmoke (Democrat), Mayor.

1988, Oct. 23. Pride of Baltimore II commissioned as a memorial to original Pride of Baltimore, and to continue its mission as a goodwill ambassador.

1992. Baltimore Blast ceased operations, along with Major Indoor Soccer League.

1992, May 18. Central Corridor Light Rail Line opened through Baltimore.

1992, July. Baltimore Spirit, a new team in National Professional Soccer League, founded.

1993. Baltimore Gas & Electric (BG&E) renamed BGE.

1994-1995. Baltimore Stallions, a Canadian Football League franchise, played at Memorial Stadium.

1995, May 31. Baltimore Metro extension opened from Charles Center to Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Light Rail train stop, Cultural Center (northbound), Baltimore, Maryland, July 2003. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1996, Feb. 9. Cleveland Browns, National Football League team, moved to Baltimore. Renamed as Baltimore Ravens, team colors were changed to black and purple.

1997, Dec. 14. Memorial Stadium closed.

1998, July 10. Baltimore Spirit, National Professional Soccer League team, renamed Baltimore Blast.

1998, Sept. 6. Ravens Stadium, home to Baltimore Ravens, opened at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

1999. Ravens Stadium renamed PSINet Stadium (now M&T Bank Stadium).

1999, Dec. 7 - 2007, Jan. 17. Martin J. O'Malley (Democrat), Mayor.

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