1608, Aug. Capt. John Smith explored Patuxent River.
1647. At Piscataway Creek, Susquehannocks moved to Susquehannock Fort.
1680. Piscataways abandoned Piscataway Fort on Piscataway Creek, moving to Zekiah Swamp to escape raids of Iroquois and Susquehannocks.
1695. Prince George's County erected from Charles and Calvert counties (Chapter 13, Acts of 1695, May session); named for Prince George of Denmark (1653-1708), husband of Queen Anne (1665-1714), who ruled Great Britain and Ireland from 1702 to 1714.
1698. Courthouse opened at Charles Town.
1721. First Courthouse at Upper Marlboro completed.
1730. Daniel Carroll (1730-1796), signer of U.S. Constitution, born in Upper Marlboro.
1735, Jan. 8. John Carroll (1735-1815), first Catholic archbishop in the United States, founder of Georgetown University, born at Upper Marlboro.
1745, Oct. 29. Thomas Sim Lee (1745-1819), Governor of Maryland, born in Prince George's County.
1750, March. Robert Bowie (1750-1818), Governor of Maryland, born at “Mattaponi”, near Upper Marlboro.
1752, Dec. 6. Gabriel Duvall, who served as first U.S. Comptroller of the Treasury (1802-11), and as Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court (1811-35), born in Prince George's County.
Archbishop John Carroll (1735-1815) Bicentennial Memorial (1976), by Felix de Weldon (1907-2003), on southside of Duvall Wing, Prince George's County Courthouse, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, October 2014. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
1782, June. Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau's French troops camped at Beltsville on their return from Yorktown.
1783. Samuel Sprigg (1783-1855), Governor of Maryland, born in Prince George's County.
1784, June, 24. First manned hot-air balloon flight in United States launched at Baltimore, designed by Peter Carnes of Bladensburg.
1798, June 18 - 1801, March 31. Benjamin Stoddert (1751-1813) of Bladensburg served as U.S. Secretary of the Navy.
1801, May 30. Second Courthouse opened at Upper Marlboro.
1814, Aug. 24. British army led by Maj. Gen. Robert Ross defeated American forces commanded by Gen. William H. Winder at Battle of Bladensburg; American sailors and marines under Commodore Joshua Barney fought rear-guard action.
1814, Aug. 24-25. British burned the White House, the U. S. Capitol, and the Library of Congress and other public buildings in Washington, DC. District residents fled to Maryland and Virginia. President James Madison first retreated to Virginia.
1814, Aug. 27-28. Fort Warburton (now Fort Washington) on Potomac River bombarded by British fleet.
1820, March 22. U.S. Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur (1779-1820) mortally wounded at Bladensburg Dueling Grounds.
1826, Nov. 10. Oden Bowie (1826-1894), Governor of Maryland, born at "Fairview."
1835. Marlboro Academy started.
1842. The Prince George's County Fair started in Upper Marlboro.
1845-1848. Thomas G. Pratt (1804-1869) of Prince George's County served as Governor of Maryland.
1854. Bladensburg incorporated.
1856, March 6. Maryland Agricultural College founded at College Park, first college in nation chartered expressly for agricultural experimentation and instruction.
1859, Oct. 5. Maryland Agricultural College opened at College Park, Prince George's County.
1865, April 14. John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) stopped for weapons at house of Mary E. Surratt (1823-1865) in Clinton.
1865, April 14. John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC, escaped through Prince George's and Charles counties.
1869, Oct.12. Thomas Juricks lynched in Piscataway.
1870. Laurel incorporated.
![[Town Hall, 14211 School Lane, Upper Marlboro, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/37mun/upper/images/1198-1-932.jpg)
1870. Upper Marlboro incorporated.
1875, March 23. John Henry Scott lynched in Upper Marlboro.
1878, Sept. 1. Michael Green lynched near Upper Marlboro.
1881, Sept. Third Courthouse at Upper Marlboro completed.
Town Hall, 14211 School Lane, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, October 2004. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
1886. Hyattsville incorporated.
1888. Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station established at College Park.
1889, Dec. 3. Joseph Vermillion lynched in Upper Marlboro.
1894, May. "Coxey's Army" encamped at Bladensburg and other Maryland sites after first march on Washington, DC.
1894, Oct. 20. Stephen Williams lynched in Upper Marlboro.
1896. Berwyn Heights incorporated.
1910. Capitol Heights incorporated.
1910. Mount Rainier incorporated.
1910. Beltsville Agricultural Research Center founded.
1911. U.S. Army established flying school at College Park.
1911. Normal School no. 3 an institution for education of African-American teachers, moved from Baltimore to Bowie.
1914. Cooperative Extension Service established at College Park.
1914. Normal School No. 3 renamed Maryland Normal and Industrial School at Bowie.
1916. Maryland Agricultural College renamed Maryland State College of Agriculture.
1918. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission created to improve water and sewer service in Prince George's and Montgomery counties.
1920. Maryland State College of Agriculture merged with University of Maryland with its main campus at College Park.
1920. Riverdale Park incorporated.
1922. Brentwood incorporated.
1924. Cottage City incorporated.
1924. Edmonston incorporated.
1924. North Brentwood incorporated.
1927. Colmar Manor incorporated.
1927. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission formed for Prince George's and Montgomery counties.
1929. Eagle Harbor incorporated.
1931. Cheverly incorporated.
1931. Seat Pleasant incorporated.
1932, May. "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans and supporters traveled through Maryland to march on the Capitol in Washington, DC.
1932, July 28. Gen. Douglas MacArthur drove out remnants of "Bonus Army" from Anacostia Flats to Maryland countryside.
1933, Aug. 23-24. Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane flooded Bladensburg.
1935. Fairmount Heights incorporated.
1936. District Heights incorporated.
1936. University Park incorporated.
1937, June 1. Greenbelt chartered, a New Deal model community.
1938. Maryland Normal and Industrial School at Bowie renamed Maryland Teachers College at Bowie.
1939. Glenarden incorporated.
1940. Courthouse at Upper Marlboro extensively enlarged and remodeled.
1942. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered acquisition of land and construction of military airfield at Camp Springs.
1942, Sept. 5. Camp Springs Army Air Field designated by federal government.
1942, Oct. 16-17. Bladensburg flood.
1943, April 19. At Camp Springs Army Air Field, arrived base's first permanent unit: 463rd Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron.
1943, May 3. Camp Springs Army Air Field became operational with arrival of first Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
1945, Feb. 7. Camp Springs Army Air Field renamed Andrews Field after Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews.
1945. College Park incorporated.
1945. Forest Heights incorporated.
1945. Landover Hills incorporated.
1948, June 24. Andrews Field renamed Andrews Air Force Base following creation of separate Air Force in 1947.
1949. Morningside incorporated.
1953. New Carrollton incorporated.
1954, May 17. Thurgood Marshall and NAACP won Brown v. Board decision of U.S. Supreme Court. Following ruling, African Americans were able to apply to undergraduate programs at University of Maryland in Baltimore, University of Maryland at College Park, and at State Teachers Colleges at Frostburg, Salisbury, and Towson.
1954, Oct. 15. Bladensburg flooded during Hurricane Hazel.
1954, Nov. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started Anacostia River Flood Control and Navigation Project.
1958. Prince George's Community College founded.
1959, May. Goddard Space Flight Center opened in Greenbelt.
1960-1968. Levitt and Sons constructed Belair at Bowie "Levittown" housing.
1961, Dec. 28. Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened across Potomac River, connecting Prince George's County, Maryland, with Fairfax County, Virginia.
1962, March. Presidential aircraft, Air Force One, permanently stationed at Andrews Air Force Base.
1963. Maryland Teachers College at Bowie renamed Bowie State College.
1963, Aug. 28. Cars, trains, and busloads of demonstrators entered Maryland on route to March on Washington, DC.
1964, Aug. 16. Capital Beltway (I-495) opened, encircling Washington, DC, by passing through Maryland's Prince George's and Montgomery counties, and Virginia.
1965. Washington Suburban Transit Commission established for Prince George's and Montgomery counties.
1970, May 1-22. Student rebellion, strike, and demonstrations at University of Maryland College Park protesting expansion of Vietnam War into Cambodia. Governor called in National Guard.
1971 - 1974, Dec. William W. Gullett (Republican), County Executive.
1972, May 15. Presidential candidate Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama shot by Arthur Bremer at Laurel Shopping Center.
1974, Dec. - 1978, Dec. Winfield M. Kelly, Jr. (Democrat), County Executive.
1976. Washington Metro, rapid transit system for national capital area, opened to link stations in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia.
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.
1978, Dec. - 1982, Dec. Lawrence J. Hogan, Sr. (Republican), County Executive.
1982, Dec. - 1994, Dec. Parris N. Glendening (Democrat), County Executive.
![[photo, Thurgood Marshall Library, Bowie State University, Bowie, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/25univ/bowie/images/1198-1-305.jpg)
1988. Bowie State College reformed as Bowie State University.
1991. New Courthouse, composed of Marbury and Bourne wings, erected behind existing Courthouse, now designated as Duvall Wing.
1994, Dec. - 2002, Dec. 2. Wayne K. Curry (Democrat), County Executive.
Thurgood Marshall Library, Bowie State University, Bowie, Maryland, February 2003. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, Symons Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/25univ/umcp/images/1198-1-503b.jpg)
1997. University of Maryland reorganized as University of Maryland, College Park, part of University System of Maryland.
2000, April 7. Oil spill at Aquasco extended from Swanson Creek into Patuxent River.
2000, June. Beltsville Agricultural Research Center renamed Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.
2002, Sept. 10. Electronic voting machines first used during primary elections in four counties (Allegany, Dorchester, Montgomery, Prince George's).
College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, Symons Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, August 2003. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
2004, March 2. Electronic voting system used during primary elections at polling places and for absentee ballots in all counties and Baltimore City.
2004, Nov. 4. Fire destroyed second floor of historic Duvall Wing of Courthouse at Upper Marlboro.
2005. Thomas C. Schelling (1921-2016), University of Maryland, College Park, won Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
2006, Jan. 19. NASA spacecraft New Horizons, built, operated, and managed by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on route to Pluto.
2006, July. New Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened across Potomac River.
2006. John C. Mather (1946-), Goddard Space Flight Center, won Nobel Prize in Physics.
2006, Nov. 16. Steny H. Hoyer of Prince George's County elected Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives (first Marylander to hold that office).
2009, March 12. Duvall Wing of Courthouse at Upper Marlboro reopened after restoration.
2009, Oct. 1. Andrews Air Force Base renamed Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington.
2010, Dec. 6 - 2018, Dec. 3. Rushern L. Baker III (Democrat), County Executive.
2011, Feb. 23. First segment of Intercounty Connector (MD Route 200), the State's first all-electronic toll road, opened for Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Covering seven miles, this segment links Gaithersburg with Olney.
2011, Sept. 8-9. Courthouse and County Administration Building closed due to flooding.
2011, Nov. 22. Second segment of Intercounty Connector opened to traffic, linking Olney with Laurel with ten additional miles of highway.
2014, Nov. 9. Intercounty Connector (Maryland Rte. 200) completed for Prince George's and Montgomery counties.
2015, July 14. NASA spacecraft New Horizons, built, operated, and managed by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, flew by Pluto for its exploration of the Kuiper Belt.
2018, Dec. 3-. Angela D. Alsobrooks (Democrat), County Executive.
2020, Dec. 7. Nicholas Jackson of Upper Marlboro, Prince George's County, won 2020 Junior World Finals Bull Riding Championship in Fort Worth, Texas, first person from Maryland to win title.
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