Maryland History Timeline

Important Dates, Events, and Milestones in Maryland History

Offers a chronological timeline of important dates, events, and milestones in Maryland history.

Around 10,000 BCE, the first inhabitants arrive in the geographic area now known as Maryland. Coming upon 1000 BCE, Maryland has more than 8,000 Native Americans from about 40 tribes. And at 1200 CE many permanent Native American villages are established. One of the original 13 colonies, Maryland lies at the center of the Eastern Seaboard, amid the great commercial and population complex that stretches from Maine to Virginia.

17th Century Maryland History Timeline

1608 - Capt. John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay.

1620 - Earliest appearance in Maryland of European objects in archeological context.

1629 - George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore, sails from Newfoundland to Virginia.

1631 - Kent Island trading post and farming settlement established by William Claiborne, member of Virginia council.

1632, June 20 - Maryland Charter granted to Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, by Charles I, King of Great Britain and Ireland.

1633, Nov. 22 - English settlers on Ark and Dove set sail from Cowes, England, for Maryland.

1634, March 25 - Landing of settlers at St. Clement's (now Blakistone) Island (Maryland Day). Calvert party celebrates Feast of Annunciation (March 25); later purchases Indian land, and builds "Fort at St. Mary's City."

1634-1644 - Leonard Calvert, governor.

1634/5, Feb. 26 - First General Assembly (law-making assembly of freemen) met at St. Mary's City.

1635 -

  • Proprietary vessels clash with those of William Claiborne.
  • A Relation of Maryland published by Jerome Hawley and John Lewger (London).

1636 - Leonard Calvert House (later, Country's House), East St. Mary's, serves as state house and governor's residence.

1637 - St. Mary's County first cited in provincial records.

1638 - Assembly claims protectons of English law; Assembly and courts meet at John Lewger's St. John's.

1639 - First elections in province for delegates to Assembly ordered by Governor Calvert on Kent Island, and in hundreds of Mattapanient, St. Michael's, St. Mary's, and St. George's.

1642 - Kent County first cited in records of commissioner appointments.

1643-1644 - Giles Brent, acting provincial governor.

1645 - Ingle's Rebellion: Richard Ingle leads rebellion against proprietary government.

1646-1647 - Leonard Calvert, governor.

1647/8, Jan. 21 - Margaret Brent denied right to vote in General Assembly.

1647-1649 - Thomas Greene, governor.

1649 -

  • Governor Stone invites Virginia Puritans to settle in Maryland.
  • April 21 - Religious toleration law (An Act concerning Religion) enacted.

1649-1652 - William Stone, governor.

1650 -

  • The shipwrecked landing of Colonel Norwood and band near site of present-day Ocean City and their month-long stay with hospitable "Berlin" Indians who feed them and nurse them back to health.
  • April - Anne Arundel County created (Chapter 8, Acts of 1650).
  • April 6 - General Assembly divided into an upper and lower house.

1652, March 29 - Parliamentary commissioners displace proprietary regime.

1654 - Patuxent County (later Calvert County) formed by order in council.

1655, March 25 - Puritans from Virginia defeated Gov. William Stone's forces at Battle of the Severn.

1656 - John Hammond's Leah and Rachel, published (London).

1657 -

  • Lord Baltimore reestablishes proprietary authority.
  • Nov. 30 - Lord Baltimore's claim to Maryland reaffirmed.

1657-1660 - Josias Fendall, governor

1658 -

  • Lower House votes to compose itself of four delegates per county, elected by freemen.
  • Charles County created by order in council.

1659/60, Jan. 12 - Baltimore County known to have been established by this date, when a writ was issued to county sheriff.

1660 - Bohemia Manor established by Augustine Herrman.

1660-1661 - Philip Calvert, governor.

1661-1676 - Charles Calvert, governor.

1661/62, Feb. 18 - Talbot County known to have been established by this date, when a writ was issued to county sheriff.

1663 - Augustine Herrman, first naturalized citizen of Maryland.

1664 -

  • Slavery sanctioned by law; slaves to serve for life.
  • Construction on Secretary's Office or Council Chamber (later van Swearingen Ordinary), St. Mary's probably begun by this date.

1666 -

  • Somerset County established by order in council.
  • Assembly agrees to 1-year "stint" on tobacco growing, but Lord Baltimore vetoes bill.
  • A Character of the Province of Maryland, by George Alsop, published (London)

1667 - St. Mary's City incorporated.

1668/69 Feb 16 - Dorchester County known to have been established by this date, when a writ was issued to county sheriff.

1670 -

  • Voting restricted by Governor to planters with 50-acre freehold or property worth 40 pounds; officeholding restricted to owners of 1,000 acres.
  • Authoritative map of Maryland (engraved, London, 1673) completed by Augustine Herrman.

1672 -

  • George Fox, founder of Religious Society of Friends, preaches in Anne Arundel County. Friends form Maryland Yearly Meeting.
  • Cecil County erected from Baltimore and Kent counties by proclamation of Governor.

1676 -

  • Brick state house completed at St. Mary's City.
  • In Lower House, Proprietor limits delegates to two per county.

1676-1679 - Thomas Notley, governor.

1679 -

  • Philip Calvert begins construction of St. Peter's, largest brick structure in province.
  • Governor grants county courts jurisdiction over civil suits.

1679-1684 - Charles Calvert, 3rd Lord Baltimore, governor.

1681 - Josias Fendall found guilty of conspiracy by Provincial Court, which fines and banishes him.

1682 - Quakers begin building Third Haven Meeting House (completed 1684), Talbot County.

1683 -

  • Assembly passes Act for Advancement of Trade (town act).
  • Labadist community settles at Bohemia Manor.
  • May 15 - Proprietor replaces headright system of land grants with "caution money" or outright purchase.

1684 -

  • Cambridge on Choptank River laid out by commissioners.
  • Presbyterians under Francis Makemie build church at Snow Hill, first in colonies.

1684-1689 - Council of deputy governors rules Maryland in the name of child Benedict Leonard Calvert.

1685, Aug. 31 - Printing press of William Nuthead used at St. Mary's City by this date.

1689, July-1690, May - Maryland Revolution of 1689. Protestant Associators overthrow proprietary officers.

1690, May-1692, April - Interim government of Protestant Associators.

1692 -

  • April-1715 - Crown rule; William and Mary declare Maryland a royal colony and appoint Sir Lionel Copley governor. Maryland governed as a royal colony rather than as a proprietary province.
  • Church of England made the established church. Royal assent to establishment act given in 1702.

1693, Sept - Sir Thomas Lawrence, governor.

1693/94 - Sir Edmund Andros, governor.

1693/94 - Nicholas Greenberry, governor.

1694/5, Feb - Capital moved from St. Mary's City to Anne Arundel Town. Governor Nicholson lays out plan for capital city.

1694, Dec - Anne Arundel Town renamed Annapolis.

1694-1699 - Sir Francis Nicholson, governor.

1695 - Prince George's County erected from Charles and Calvert counties (Chapter 13, Acts of 1695, May session)

1696 -

  • Construction begins on new state house and probably on St. Anne's Church, Annapolis.
  • King William's School (later St. John's College) founded at Annapolis by Governor Nicholson and others.

1698 -

  • Monopoly of slave trade by Royal African Company abolished by Parliament; slave imports markedly increase.
  • Kent County courthouse moves from New Yarmouth to New Town (later Chestertown).

1699-1704 - Nathaniel Blackiston (or his appointee), acting governor.

18th Century Maryland History Timeline

1704 -

  • Construction completed on new state house and St. Anne's Church, Annapolis.
  • Oct - State House burned.

1704-1709 - John Seymour, governor.

1706 -

  • Queen Anne's County formed.
  • Justus Engelhardt Kuhn, portrait painter, arrived in Maryland.

1708 - The Sot-Weed Factor: Or, A Voyage to Maryland, by Ebenezer Cook, published (London).

1709-1714 - Edward Lloyd (president of council), acting governor.

1710 - Talbot Court House (later East Town or Easton).

1714-1720 - John Hart, governor.

1715 -

  • Principio Iron Works, Cecil County, financed by English capital.
  • Feb - Crown restored proprietary rights to Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th Lord Baltimore.
  • April - Charles Calvert succeeded as 5th Lord Baltimore.

1718 - Catholics disenfranchised by Assembly.

1720-1727 - Charles Calvert, governor.

1723 - School and board of visitors in each county mandated by Assembly.

1727, Sept - Maryland Gazette, first newspaper in the Chesapeake, published by William Parks at Annapolis (until 1734).

1727-1731 - Benedict Leonard Calvert, governor.

1729 - Baltimore Town established by charter.

1730 - Sotweed Redivivus, by Ebenezer Cook, published (Annapolis).

1731 - Baltimore Company began ironmaking on Patapsco River.

1731-1732 - Samuel Ogle, governor.

1732 -

  • Salisbury Town laid out by commissioners.
  • Establishment of boundary line with three lower counties of Pennsylvania, which later became Delaware.

1732-1733 - Charles Calvert, governor.

1733-1742 - Samuel Ogle, governor.

1741 - Oldtown on upper Potomac founded by Thomas Cresap.

1742 -

  • First Baptist church in Maryland established at Chestnut Ridge, Baltimore County.
  • Worcester County was created and partitioned from Somerset County.

1742-1747 - Thomas Bladen, governor.

1743 - First Lutheran church in Maryland built under David Candler's leadership, Monocacy River.

1744, June 30 - Native-American chiefs of the Six Nations relinquished by treaty all claims to land in colony. Assembly purchased last Indian land claims in Maryland.

1745 -

  • Tuesday Club formed in Annapolis. Maryland Jockey Club organized first races. Jonas Green revived Maryland Gazette.
  • Daniel Dulany the Elder laid out Frederick Town and invited German settlement.
  • Assembly combined Jones Town and Baltimore Town.

1747 -

  • Tobacco inspection law enabled Maryland to control quality of exports; established multiple inspection points to ensure export of only quality leaf, and set clerical and proprietary officers' fees.
  • May - Reformed Lutheran congregation organized by Michael Schlatter in Frederick.

1747-1752 - Samuel Ogle, governor.

1748 - Frederick County erected from Baltimore and Prince George's counties.

1750 - Ohio Company established trading post at Will's Creek on Potomac River. About same time, John Stevenson shipped cargo of flour to Ireland, first in an export trade that spurred development of Baltimore.

1752 - John Moale sketched Baltimore Town.

1752-1753 - Benjamin Tasker (president of council), acting governor.

1753-1769 - Horatio Sharpe, governor.

1754 - Fort Cumberland constructed by militiamen.

1755 -

  • Gen. Edward Braddock led expedition through Maryland to the west. French and Indians defeated Braddock's forces near Fort Duquesne. Indians attacked western settlers.
  • French-speaking Catholics arrived in Baltimore from Nova Scotia.

1756 - Assembly supplied funds for Fort Frederick, near North Mountain.

1762 - Elizabeth Town (later Hagerstown) laid out by Jonathan Hager.

1763 - First volunteer fire company, later Mechanical Company, formed in Baltimore.

1763-1767 - Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed boundary line with Pennsylvania.

1765 -

  • Daniel Dulany, Jr., denounced Stamp Act in Considerations on the Propriety of Imposing Taxes in the British Colonies (Annapolis).
  • Nov. 23 - Stamp Act resistance at Frederick.

1766 - Sons of Liberty organized in Baltimore County.

1767 - Annapolis merchants sent Charles Willson Peale to London to study painting with Benjamin West.

1768 - Baltimore County seat moved from Joppa to Baltimore Town.

1769 -

  • Maryland merchants adopted policy of nonimportation of British goods.
  • First smallpox hospital in colonies established by Henry Stevenson, Baltimore.

1769-1776 - Robert Eden, governor.

1771 - First brick theater in America opened in Annapolis.

1772 -

  • Ellicott brothers erected largest flour mill in Maryland on Patapsco River.
  • First Methodist house of worship in colonies, the John Evans House, built under leadership of Robert Strawbridge in Frederick (later Carroll) County.
  • March 28 - Cornerstone laid for new State House in Annapolis.

1773 -

  • Assembly united Fells Point and Baltimore Town.
  • Maryland Gazette carried "Antilon" and "First Citizen" debate on officers' fees. William Goddard began printing Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser.
  • Caroline County erected from Dorchester and Queen Anne's counties.
  • Harford County formed from Baltimore County.

1774 -

  • Catoctin Iron Furnace, Frederick County.
  • April 19 - Last colonial General Assembly prorogued.
  • June 22 - First Provincial Convention (an extralegal body) met at Annapolis, and sent delegates to First Continental Congress.
  • Aug - Baltimoreans shipped cargo of corn, rye, and bread to people of Boston.
  • Oct. 19 - Mob burned Peggy Stewart in Annapolis harbor.

Dec - Mordecai Gist formed Baltimore Independent Cadets.

1775 -

  • March 22 - "Bush Declaration" signed, Bush River, Harford County, patriots call for independence.
  • July 18 - Rifle companies under Michael Cresap and Thomas Price depart Frederick Town to join Washington's army at Boston.
  • July 26 - Association of Freemen formed by Maryland Convention.
  • Aug. 29 - Council of Safety organized.
  • Dec - Association of Freemen began recruiting troops.

1776 -

  • Colonel William Smallwood organized First Battalion of Maryland (forerunner of Maryland Line), Captain James Nicholson commanded Maryland sloop Defence.
  • Montgomery County created from Frederick County.
  • Washington County created from Frederick County.
  • March - Whig Club formed in Baltimore.
  • June 26 - Departure of Robert Eden, Maryland's last colonial governor.
  • July 4 - Declaration of Independence adopted in Philadelphia. Engrossed copy signed by Marylanders William Paca, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Thomas Stone, and Samuel Chase.
  • July 6 - Maryland Convention declared independence from Great Britain.
  • Aug. 14-Nov. 11 - Constitutional Convention of 1776 (meeting of Ninth Provincial Convention).
  • Aug. 27 - Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Long Island (under Mordecai Gist fought crucial delaying action at Gowanus Creek); continued to engage the British at later battles, including White Plains, and Harlem Heights.
  • Nov. 3 - Declaration of Rights (Maryland's Bill of Rights) adopted by Ninth Provincial Convention. Church of England disestablished.
  • Nov. 8 - First State Constitution adopted by Ninth Provincial Convention.

1777,

  • Feb. 5 - First General Assembly elected under State Constitution of 1776 met at Annapolis.
  • March 21 - Inauguration of Thomas Johnson, first governor elected by General Assembly. Council of Safety disbanded.
  • Sept. 11 - Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania.

1777-1779 - Thomas Johnson, governor.

1778 - Count Casimir Pulaski raised independent troops, Baltimore.

1779 - Maryland Anglicans referred to themselves as Protestant Episcopal Church.

1779-1782 - Thomas Sim Lee, governor.

1780 -

  • Baltimore became port of entry.
  • Aug. 16 - In South Carolina, Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Camden..

1781 -

  • Jan. 17 - Maryland soldiers fought and, under John Eager Howard, played decisive role at Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina.
  • Feb. 2 - Property of Loyalists and British subjects confiscated.
  •  March 1 - Maryland ratified, and thereby made effective, the Articles of Confederation.
  • March 15 - In North Carolina, Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Guilford Courthouse.
  • Sept. 8 - Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina.
  • Nov. 5 - John Hanson elected President of the United States in Congress Assembled.

1782 - Washington College (formerly Kent Academy) established at Chestertown.

1782-1785 - William Paca, governor.

1783 -

  • Freemasons, meeting at Talbot Court House, formed Maryland Grand Lodge.
  • Nov. 26-1784, June 3 - Annapolis served as capital to newly forming American nation when Continental Congress met at Annapolis.
  • Dec. 23 - George Washington resigned commission as commander in chief of Continental Army at State House in Annapolis.

1784 -

  • Potomac Company chartered by Maryland and Virginia.
  • John Frederick Amelung and party established New Bremen glassworks, Frederick County.
  • Jan. 14 - Treaty of Paris, ending Revolutionary War, ratified by Congress at Annapolis.
  • June - Edward Warren, Baltimore, made first balloon ascension in United States aboard balloon designed by Peter Carnes, Bladensburg.
  • Dec - Methodist Christmas Conference, Baltimore, established Methodist Episcopal Church in America.
  • Dec. 30 - St. John's College established at Annapolis. General Assembly designated it, with Washington College, as University of Maryland.

1785 -

  • German Evangelical Reformed congregation under Philip William Otterbein built United Brethren Church, Baltimore.
  • March 28 - Mt. Vernon Compact, an agreement on navigation and fishing in the tidewaters of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay, negotiated and signed by Maryland Commissioners Thomas Stone, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, and Samuel Chase, and Virginia Commissioners.
  • Aug - China trade began with John O'Donnell's arrival at Baltimore with cargo from Canton, China.

1785-1788 - William Smallwood, governor.

1786 -

  • Matthias Bartgis began newspaper publishing in Frederick.
  • March 12 - Mt. Vernon Compact ratified by Maryland.
  • Sept. 11-14 - Annapolis Convention of delegates from several states met at Mann's Tavern, Annapolis, to discuss revisions to Articles of Confederation. Maryland sent no representatives.

1787 -

  • Toll roads connecting Baltimore with Frederick, Westminster, Hanover, and York authorized by General Assembly.
  • Friends' Yearly Meeting, Baltimore, condemned slavery.
  • Sept. 17 - US Constitution signed by Marylanders Daniel Carroll, James McHenry, and Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, at Philadelphia.
  • Nov. 29 - Luther Martin's report, The Genuine Information, criticized proposed US Constitution, including its omission of a bill of rights.
  • Dec - Cokesbury College, Abingdon, opened by Methodists.
  • Dec - Steamboat launched by James Rumsey on Potomac River near Shepherdstown, Virginia.

1788 -

  • April 28 - Maryland Convention ratified US Constitution, making Maryland the seventh state to do so. Convention adjourned without recommending amendments.
  • May 1 - Parade and festival (following ratification of federal constitution) gave name to Federal Hill, Baltimore.

1788-1791 - John Eager Howard, governor.

1789 -

  • Allegany County created from Washington County.
  • Georgetown College chartered.
  • Maryland Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of Poor Negroes and Others Unlawfully Held in Bondage formed at Baltimore.
  • General meeting of Roman Catholic clergy recommended John Carroll to be pastor of American church.
  • Dec. 19 - Maryland ratified federal Bill of Rights, first ten amendments to US Constitution.

1790 -

  • Easton incorporated. Easton Maryland Herald published by James Cowan.
  • Stewart Herbert began printing Elizabeth Town Washington Spy, first newspaper west of Blue Ridge Mountains.
  • Aug - By papal direction, Bishop Charles Walmsley consecrated John Carroll as bishop of Baltimore, at Ludworth Castle, England.

1791 -

  • Benjamin Banneker published almanac.
  • Dec. 19 - Maryland ceded land for federal District of Columbia.

1791-1792 - George Plater, governor.

1792 -

  • Courthouse opened at Queen Anne's County seat, Centreville.
  • African Americans formed Sharp Street Methodist Church, Baltimore.

1792-1794 - Thomas Sim Lee (Federalist), governor.

1793 - Refugees from Haitian slave uprising arrived in Baltimore.

1794 -

  • First of many yellow fever epidemics struck Baltimore.
  • Baltimore Equitable Society, first fire insurance company in Maryland, formed.

1794-1797 - John H. Stone (Federalist), governor.

1795 - Bank of Baltimore established. Federal government sited post office at Cumberland.

1796 -

  • Maryland law forbade import of slaves for sale, permitted voluntary slave emancipation.
  • Baltimore City incorporated.

1797, Sept - David Stodder's shipyard, Harris Creek, launched US Frigate Constellation.

1797-1798 - John Henry (Federalist), governor.

1798-1801 - Benjamin Ogle (Federalist), governor.

1799 - Construction began on Fort McHenry, Baltimore. Alexander Martin established Baltimore American and Daily Advertiser.

19th Century Maryland History Timeline

1801-1803 - John Francis Mercer (Democratic-Republican), governor.

1802 -

  • Property qualifications for voting removed by constitutional amendment in local and State elections (granting suffrage to adult white males).
  • Daniel Coker ministered to black Methodists, Baltimore.

1803 - Viva voce voting at elections changed to voting by ballot.

1803-1806 - Robert Bowie (Democratic-Republican), governor.

1804 -

  • Baltimore Water Company formed (chartered 1792).
  • Gunpowder Copper Works, a mining operation, established by Levi Hollingsworth.

1806 -

  • Construction started for Basilica of the Assumption, America's first Roman Catholic cathedral. Designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, main section completed 1818.
  • Maximilien Godefroy designed first Gothic Revival structure in United States, St. Mary's Seminary Chapel, Baltimore (completed 1808).

1806-1809 - Robert Wright (Democratic-Republican), governor.

1807, Dec. 18 - University of Maryland chartered at Baltimore as the College of Medicine of Maryland.

1808 -

  • Elizabeth Seton opened female academy, Baltimore.
  • John Dubois established Mount St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg.

1809 -

  • Washington Cotton Manufacturing Company, Mount Washington, first in State, incorporated.
  • Elizabeth Seton adopted modified rule of Sisters of Charity, established order in Emmitsburg.
  • St. Joseph's College, Emmitsburg, founded.

1809-1811 - Edward Lloyd V (Democratic-Republican), governor.

1810 -

  • Adult white male suffrage extended by constitutional amendment to federal elections; property qualification ended in voting for electors for president, vice-president, and congressmen.
  • Property qualifications for State officeholding abolished by constitutional amendment.
  • Free blacks disenfranchised.

1811 -

  • Hezekiah Niles began publishing Niles' Register in Baltimore.
  • Work started on National Road.
  • Alexander Brown & Sons opened as investment banking firm, Baltimore.

1811-1812 - Robert Bowie (Democratic-Republican), governor.

1812 -

  • College of Medicine chartered as University of Maryland, Baltimore.
  • Thomas Kemp, Fells Point, launched Baltimore Clipper Chasseur, later famous under command of Thomas Boyle.
  • July - Mob attacked Alexander Contee Hanson, editor of Baltimore Federal Republican, and party.

1812-1816 - Levin Winder (Federalist), governor.

1813 -

  • Chesapeake, first steamboat, appeared on Chesapeake Bay.
  • British conducted raids on Chesapeake targets, including Havre de Grace.
  • Hagerstown incorporated (Chapter 121, Acts of 1813, Dec. session).

1814 -

  • Aug - Rembrandt Peale opened Baltimore Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts, designed by Robert Cary Long, Sr.
  • Aug. 24 - Battle of Bladensburg, sailors and marines under Joshua Barney fought rear-guard action.
  • Sept. 12 - British repulsed by local militia at Battle of North Point.
  • Sept. 13 - Bombardment of Fort McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to write "Star-Spangled Banner."

1815 -

  • Charles Reeder established steam-engine manufactory and foundry, Federal Hill.
  • Baltimoreans laid cornerstones for Robert Mills's Washington Monument (July; completed 1829) and Godefroy's Battle Monument (Sept.; completed 1825).

1816 -

  • Rembrandt Peale demonstrated gas lighting at his museum.
  • Delphian Club organized, Baltimore.
  • Daniel Coker and other black church leaders formed independent African Methodist Episcopal Church.

1816-1819 - Charles Ridgely (Federalist), governor.

1817 -

  • Maximilien Godefroy, architect, began Unitarian Temple, Baltimore.
  • Maryland auxiliary of American Colonization Society formed, Baltimore.
  • Feb - Gas Light Company incorporated to provide streetlights in Baltimore, first such firm in country.

1818 -

  • National Road completed from Cumberland to Wheeling, now West Virginia.
  • Savings Bank of Baltimore, first of its kind in State.
  • Maryland Agricultural Society organized, Baltimore.

1819 -

  • Charles Goldsborough (Federalist), governor.
  • John Stuart Skinner published American Farmer, Baltimore.
  • Independent Order of Odd Fellows organized in Baltimore.
  • March 6 - In M'Culloch v. Maryland, US Chief Justice John Marshall interpreted Constitution to signify implied powers of federal government.

1819-1822 - Samuel Sprigg (Republican), governor.

1822 - Isaac McKim milled flour with steam power, Baltimore, first such operation in country.

1822-1826 - Samuel Stevens, Jr. (Republican), governor.

1824 - Benjamin Lundy published the Genius of Universal Emancipation, Baltimore.

1824-1829 - Chesapeake and Delaware Canal constructed through Cecil County to link Chesapeake Bay with Delaware River.

1825 -

  • Marquis de Lafayette revisited Baltimore.
  • Maryland Institute held first exhibition.

1826 -

  • Thomas Kensett began canning oysters in Baltimore.
  • Jewish enfranchisement, religious qualification for civil office removed.

1826-1829 - Joseph Kent (Republican), governor.

1827 -

  • Feb. 28 - Baltimore and Ohio Railroad chartered.
  • July - Boonsboro citizens erected monument to George Washington, South Mountain.

1828 -

  • Maryland and Virginia Steam Boat Company offered regular Baltimore to Norfolk service.
  • Maryland Penitentiary directors appointed committee to recommend plans for expansion.
  • June - Baltimore Shot Tower begun.
  • July 4 - First earth turned for construction of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (chartered Feb. 1827) and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

1828-1848 - Chesapeake and Ohio Canal constructed (to Cumberland by 1848).

1829 -

  • Work began on Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad (completed to Pennsylvania line 1832).
  • Oblate Sisters of Providence opened school for black children, Baltimore.
  • Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's Carrollton Viaduct, first masonry railroad bridge in country, crossed Gwynn's Falls.
  • John M. Dyer and twelve others organized State's first Jewish congregation, Nidhei Israel, Baltimore.
  • Chesapeake and Delaware Canal opened.

1829-1830 - Daniel Martin (anti-Jackson), governor.

1830 -

  • Peter Cooper and other investors started earliest planned industrial area in country at Canton, Baltimore.
  • Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station at Mount Clare, first in United States.

1830-1831 - Thomas King Carroll (Democrat), governor.

1831 -

  • Howard heirs donated land for parks to extend north, south, east, and west of Washington Monument, Baltimore.
  • Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, Ellicott's Mills.
  • Feb - Maryland Colonization Society formed in Baltimore.

1831-1833 - George Howard (anti-Jackson), governor.

1832 -

  • Swallow Barn, by John Pendleton Kennedy, published.
  • In aftermath of Nat Turner rebellion in Virginia, Maryland laws enacted to restrict free blacks.
  • Legislation prohibited oyster dredging.
  • First omnibus lines began operating in Baltimore.

1833 -

  • Oct - Baltimore Saturday Morning Visitor published Edgar Allan Poe's "Ms. Found in a Bottle," winner of fifty-dollar prize.
  • Nov - First settlers sail for Cape Palmas, Liberia.

1833-1836 - James Thomas (anti-Jackson), governor.

1834 - Baltimore & Ohio Railroad reaches Harpers Ferry.

1835 -

  • Improved Order of Red Men (secret fraternal society) organized Great Council of Maryland, Baltimore.
  • George's Creek Coal and Iron Company formed.
  • Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's Thomas Viaduct, first multispan masonry railroad bridge in country, crossed Patapsco River at Relay.
  • Aug. 6-8 - Baltimore mobs demonstrated against Bank of Maryland and its directors .
  • Aug. 25 - Baltimore and Washington Railroad opened.

1836-1839 - Thomas W. Veazey (Whig), governor.

1837 -

  • Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney wrote majority opinion in Charles River v. Warren Bridge case.
  • Whig-controlled General Assembly enacted law for popular election of governors and State senators, and rotated geographical districts of successive governors.
  • Carroll County formed from Baltimore and Frederick counties.
  • May 17 - Baltimore Sun began publication under Arunah S. Abell.

1838 -

  • Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery in Baltimore.
  • Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Company formed.
  • Oct. 3 - Governor and State senators first elected by voters rather than by legislature.

1839 -

  • Mercantile Library Association.
  • Baltimore City Council established Central High School (later City College).
  • David Carroll and Horatio Gambrill opened textile mills, Hamden-Woodberry.

1839-1842 - William Grason (Democrat), governor.

1840 -

  • Washington Temperance Society.
  • Baltimore Steam Packet Company (Old Bay Line).
  • Baltimore College of Dental Surgery founded.

1841 - Maryland College of Pharmacy.

1842 -

  • Slaveholders' convention met at Annapolis.
  • Baltimore & Ohio Railroad reached Cumberland.

1842-1845 - Francis Thomas (Democrat), governor.

1844 -

  • Jan - Maryland Historical Society founded.
  • May 24 - Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrated telegraph line, sent first telegraph message from Washington, DC, to Baltimore.

1845 -

  • Lloyd Street Synagogue constructed in Baltimore, first Maryland synagogue, a Robert Cary Long, Jr., design.
  • Frederick Douglass published Narrative of his life in slavery.
  • Baltimore and Cuba Smelting and Mining Company, Baltimore.
  • Oct. 10 - US Naval Academy founded at Annapolis, when Department of the Navy established officers' training school at Fort Severn, Annapolis.

1845-1848 - Thomas G. Pratt (Whig), governor.

1846 - James Corner opened first transatlantic packet line, Baltimore to Liverpool.

1848 -

  • State Agricultural Chemist, first such in country.
  • John Nepomucene Neumann, Redemptorist priest, built Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Baltimore.

1848-1851 - Philip Francis Thomas (Democrat), governor.

1849 -

  • Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in Dorchester County.
  • Josiah Henson, former Charles County slave, published his Life.

1850 -

  • Baltimore railroad stations at President St. (Philadelphia, Wilmington, & Baltimore Railroad) and Calvert St. (Baltimore & Susquehanna Railroad).
  • Sun Iron Building built, Baltimore's first all-iron structure.
  • Oct - Chesapeake & Ohio Canal reached Cumberland.
  • Nov. 4-1851, May 13 - Constitutional Convention of 1850-1851.

1851 -

  • June 14 - Second State Constitution adopted; Howard District recognized as Howard County.
  • Three-masted clipper Seaman, Baltimore, established speed record for sail (94 days) from San Francisco to Cape Henry.

1851-1854 - Enoch Louis Lowe (Democrat), governor.

1852 -

  • Thomas Kerney introduced bill to aid parochial schools.
  • Loyola College, Baltimore, founded.
  • Association of Maryland Pilots formed.
  • Boston Steamship Company (later Merchants and Miners Transportation) began coastal shipping service, Baltimore.
  • July - Statewide convention of free blacks, Baltimore.
  • Nov - Evangelical groups formed Young Men's Christian Association, Baltimore.

Dec - Baltimore & Ohio Railroad lines reached Wheeling, Virginia.

1853 -

  • Henry Sonneborn, Baltimore, began manufacturing clothing.
  • Baltimore, Carroll, and Frederick Railroad organized, later became Western Maryland Railroad.

1854 - Baltimore County seat moved to Towson Town.

1854-1858 - Thomas Watkins Ligon (Democrat), governor.

1854-1859 - Rise of Know Nothing Party. Baltimore riots named city "Mobtown."

1855 -

  • Mary Whitridge, Baltimore-built clipper ship, set transatlantic sailing record (12 1/2 days) never broken.
  • Nov 7 - Know-Nothing Party won elections.

1856 -

  • Camden St. Station (Baltimore & Ohio Railroad), Baltimore.
  • Hebrew Benevolent Society, Baltimore.
  • Oct.-Nov - Election violence, Baltimore.

1857 -

  • Baltimore gentlemen formed Maryland Club.
  • Chief Justice Taney wrote majority opinion in case of Dred Scott v. Sanford.
  • Peabody Institute founded in Baltimore (Institute now affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University).

1858-1862 - Thomas Holliday Hicks (Know-Nothing), governor.

1859 -

  • First horsecar line, Baltimore.
  • Oct. 6 - Maryland Agricultural College opened at College Park, Prince George's County.
  • Oct. 16 - John Brown launched raid from Maryland on federal arsenal in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.

1860 -

  • Druid Hill Park opened, Baltimore.
  • General Assembly passed Jacobs bill to enslave free blacks, but measure failed referendum.
  • Irish-born population of Baltimore City peaked (15,536 of 212,418).
  • May - Constitutional Union party formed in Baltimore.
  • Nov - Maryland voters gave John C. Breckinridge (Southern rights Democrat) 42,482 votes, John Bell (Constitutional Union) 41,760, Stephen A. Douglas (popular sovereignty Democrat) 5,966, and Abraham Lincoln (Republican) 2,294 in presidential election.

1861 -

  • Peabody Institute (later west wing) opened in Baltimore.
  • April - James Ryder Randall wrote "Maryland, My Maryland".
  • April 19 - Sixth Massachusetts Union Regiment attacked by Baltimore mob.
  • April 22 - Federal troops occupied Annapolis.
  • April 26 - General Assembly met in special session at Frederick.
  • April 27 - President Lincoln suspended writ of habeas corpus between Washington and Philadelphia.
  • May 13 - Gen. Benjamin F. Butler's Union forces occupied Baltimore.
  • May 27-28 - Sitting on circuit, Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney called in vain for release of John Merryman.
  • June - Military arrested Baltimore police board members.
  • June 13 - Congressional elections returned Unionist delegation.
  • Sept. 11 - Secretary of War Simon Cameron ordered arrest of secessionist members of General Assembly.
  • Nov - Voters defeated states' rights candidate for governor, Benjamin Chew Howard.

1862,

  • May 23 - Marylanders opposed one another at Battle of Front Royal.
  • June 16 - Confederate cavalry entered Cumberland.
  • Sept. 14 - Battle of South Mountain; Union troops forced Confederates from Crampton's and Turner's gaps.
  • Sept. 17 - Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg), 4,800 dead, 18,000 wounded.
  • Oct. 10-12 - Gen. Jeb Stuart's cavalry rode through Washington, Frederick and Montgomery counties during raid into Pennsylvania.

1862-1866 - Augustus W. Bradford (Unionist), governor.

1863, late June- early July - Lee's army passed through Washington County en route to Gettysburg and in retreat.

1864,

  • April 27-Sept. 6 - Constitutional Convention of 1864 met in Annapolis.
  • July 6 - Hagerstown held for ransom by Confederate forces under Gen. Jubal Early.
  • July 9 - Frederick held for ransom by Confederate forces under Gen. Jubal Early.
  • July 9 - Battle of Monocacy; Confederates defeated Gen. Lew Wallace, and sent cavalry raiders north of Baltimore, then back through Prince George's County.
  • Oct. 12-13, 29 - Gov. Bradford declared Third State Constitution adopted after soldiers' vote was added to election totals. Soldiers' vote assured adoption of 1864 constitution, which abolished slavery (effective Nov. 1) and required strict loyalty oath of voters. A test oath was required of all voters.

Nov. 1 - Maryland slaves emancipated by State Constitution of 1864.

1865 -

  • Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company, first black-owned business in State, established by Isaac Myers.
  • General Assembly permitted oyster dredging, but only under sail.
  • April - John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, escaped through Prince George's and Charles counties.
  • Oct - Frederick Douglass dedicated Douglass Institute named in his honor, Baltimore.

1866 - First library of Peabody Institute opened.

1866-1869 - Thomas Swann (Unionist Democrat), governor.

1867 -

  • Centenary Biblical Institute chartered under auspices of Methodist Episcopal Church; later became Morgan State University.
  • Wicomico County created from Somerset and Worcester counties.
  • Isaac Freeman Rasin won election to clerkship, Baltimore City Court of Common Pleas.
  • Knights of Pythias formed in Baltimore.
  • May 8-Aug. 17 - Constitutional Convention of 1867; Democrats rewrote constitution.
  • Sept. 18 - Fourth State Constitution adopted by voters.

1868 -

  • State Oyster Police authorized.
  • Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) chartered by Methodists (organized 1866).
  • Regular steamship service between Baltimore and Bremen inaugurated by Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and North German Lloyd.

1869 -

  • Arthur Pue Gorman won seat in House of Delegates.
  • Wendel A. Bollman built iron truss bridge for Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at Savage.
  • July - Isaac Myers and black caulkers in Baltimore formed national black labor union.

1869-1872 - Oden Bowie (Democrat), governor.

1870 -

  • University of Maryland School of Law reopened.
  • Maryland Jockey Club sponsored racing at Pimlico track.
  • May - Baltimore African Americans parade to celebrate passage of Fifteenth Amendment to US Constitution.

1872 -

  • Garrett County formed from Allegany County.
  • General Assembly mandated separate but equal white and black schools.
  • Western Maryland Railroad completed line, Hagerstown to Baltimore.

1872-1874 - William Pinkney Whyte (Democrat), governor.

1873 -

  • School Sisters of Notre Dame established College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore, first Catholic women's college in United States.
  • May - Allegany County coal miners established Protective and Benevolent Association.
  • July - Baltimore & Ohio Railroad opens Deer Park Hotel, Garrett County.

1874 - Commissioners of Fisheries authorized.

1874-1876 - James Black Groome (Democrat), governor.

1875 -

  • Ceremonies dedicated Baltimore City Hall, a George Frederick design.
  • Work began on east or library wing, Peabody Institute (completed 1878).
  • Atlantic Hotel constructed, first hotel in Ocean City.

1876 -

  • Railroad/carriage trestle crossed Sinepuxent Bay at Ocean City.
  • Oct. 3 - The Johns Hopkins University opened in Baltimore.

1876-1880 - John Lee Carroll (Democrat), governor.

1877 -

  • Jan. 16 - Maryland-Virginia boundary in lower Chesapeake Bay demarcated by Jenkins-Black Award.
  • July 20-22 - Baltimore and Ohio Railroad strike; workers went on strike along line, demonstrated in Cumberland, struck and rioted at Baltimore.

1878 -

  • William Brooks established Chesapeake Zoological Laboratory, Hampton Roads.
  • Young men returned from Newport, Rhode Island, with lacrosse sticks.
  • Knights of Labor organized, Baltimore.

1879 - Telephone exchange opened in Baltimore, first in State.

1880 -

  • Consolidated Gas Company founded at Baltimore.
  • Electrical energy debuted in Maryland at Sun Building, Baltimore.

1880-1884 - William T. Hamilton (Democrat), governor.

1881, Sept - Oriole Festival celebrated opening of Loch Raven Reservoir.

1882 -

  • Baltimore reformers won "good judges" election.
  • Harry Vonderhorst sponsored Baltimore team in American Association of baseball clubs.
  • Colored High School opened, Baltimore.

1883 -

  • Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company formed.
  • Baltimore & Ohio Railroad opened polygonal Passenger Car Shop, largest such structure in world, Baltimore.

1884 - General Assembly, pressured by Knights of Labor, created Bureau of Industrial Statistics and Information.

1884-1885 - Robert M. McLane (Democrat), governor.

1885 -

  • Baltimore civic leaders established Reform League.
  • African American leaders established Mutual Brotherhood of Liberty.
  • Woman's College of Baltimore chartered by Methodists, later became Goucher College.
  • Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore, founded by M. Carey Thomas.
  • Baltimore-Union Passenger Railway Company, first commercial electric street railway in country.

1885-1888 - Henry Lloyd (Democrat), governor.

1886 -

  • Linotype machine perfected by Ottmar Mergenthaler, Baltimore.
  • Maryland Progressive State Colored Teachers Association formed.
  • Jan. 5 - Enoch Pratt Free Library opened in Baltimore.

1887 -

  • Pennsylvania Steel (Maryland Steel, 1891) built blast furnace at Sparrows Point.
  • Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., designed summer retreat, Sudbrook Park, near Pikesville.

1888 -

  • Voters north and west of Baltimore City agreed to annexation.
  • Oct - Maryland flag of Calvert and Crossland colors flown at monument dedication ceremonies, Gettysburg.

1888-1889 - Oyster Wars; Maryland and Virginia watermen fought on Chesapeake Bay.

1888-1892. Elihu E. Jackson(Democrat), governor.

1889 -

  • Baltimore Federation of Labor.
  • Henrietta Szold opened school for Jewish immigrant children.
  • May - Floodwaters inundated Cumberland.
  • May 7 - The Johns Hopkins Hospital dedicated in Baltimore.

1890 -

  • Morgan College formed from Centenary Biblical Institute.
  • Columbian Iron Works, Baltimore, produced Maverick, first steel tanker ship in United States.
  • German-born population of Baltimore City peaked (41,930 of 365,863).
  • Harry S. Cummings won seat on Baltimore City Council, first black in State to hold major elective office.
  • Australian secret ballot in elections adopted.

1891 - Charles H. Grasty assumed control of Baltimore Evening News.

1892 -

  • State Weather Service started.
  • Baltimore Afro-American founded by John H. Murphy, Sr.
  • Francis G. Newlands developed Chevy Chase.

1892-1896 - Frank Brown (Democrat), governor.

1893 -

  • Women's College of Frederick founded, later became Hood College.
  • Oct - The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine opened in Baltimore, accepting women.

1894 -

  • First child labor law passed; first pure milk law passed.
  • Baltimore women formed Arundell Club.
  • Provident Hospital, Baltimore, founded by William T. Carr and William H. Thompson.
  • "Coxey's army" passed through State.
  • Baltimore Orioles won their first professional baseball championship.
  • June - Frostburg coal strike.

1895 -

  • Maryland Bar Association held first convention.
  • Reformers carried Baltimore City and State elections.
  • Charles County seat moved from Port Tobacco to La Plata.

1896 -

  • Maryland adopted improved "secret" ballot.
  •  General Assembly ended practice of electing one US senator from Eastern Shore, passed law restraining courts from compelling reporters to divulge their sources.
  • Office of Game Warden established.
  •  Columbian Iron Works built Argonaut, path-breaking submarine.

1896-1900 - Lloyd Lowndes (Republican), governor.

1897 -

  • Maryland Public Health Association formed, Baltimore.
  • Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., planned west side of Roland Park (company organized 1891).

1898 - Baltimore obtained reformed city charter.

1899 -

  • William B. Clark issued report on State roads.
  • Baltimore Municipal Art Society formed.
  • Building program began at Naval Academy, Ernest Flagg architect.
  • Nov - Maryland Federation of Women's Clubs organized.

20th Century Maryland History Timeline

1900-1904 - John Walter Smith (Democrat), governor.

1901 -

  • Automobile Club of Maryland.
  • Election law replaced symbols on ballots with words.

1902 -

  • Regulations for miners' work conditions enacted.
  • Child labor under age twelve forbidden by law.
  • Workmen's compensation law enacted (overturned in courts), first such law in US
  • Compulsory school attendance law passed.

1904 -

  • Maryland Woman Suffrage Association led by Emma J. Maddox Funck.
  • Kerbin "Jim Crow" public accommodations law enacted.
  • Maryland Association for the Prevention and Relief of Tuberculosis formed, Baltimore.
  • Sinclair-Scott began making Maryland motorcar.
  • Feb 7-8 - Baltimore fire, 70 blocks in heart of business district devastated.

1904-1908 - Edwin Warfield (Democrat), governor.

1905 - Nov - Voters defeated black-disenfranchising Poe amendment.

1906 -

  • Haman Act enacted, encouraged oyster-bed leasing, established Shell Fish Commission, and provided for survey of Chesapeake Bay bottom.
  • State Board of Forestry created.
  • Equal Suffrage League organized by Elizabeth King Ellicott, Baltimore.
  • March - Maryland Historical Magazine, edited by William Hand Browne, first published by Maryland Historical Society.
  • Nov - "Anchors Aweigh" composed by Charles A. Zimmerman, Naval Academy bandmaster, and midshipman Alfred Hart Miles; performed at Army-Navy football game that year; later dedicated to Class of 1907.

1907 -

  • Washington County experimented successfully with horse-drawn bookmobile.
  • Nov - The Johns Hopkins University accepted women graduate students.

1908 -

  • Primary elections (for some localities) and campaign reform enacted,
  • State Roads Commission created.
  • Board of Agriculture formed.
  • H. L. Mencken became literary editor of Smart Set.

1908-1912 - Austin Lane Crothers (Democrat), governor.

1909 -

  • Voters defeated Straus anti-black voting amendment.
  • Greek Orthodox parish, first in State, formed in Baltimore.
  • April 6 - Matthew Henson, of Charles County, reached North Pole with Robert Peary.

1910 -

  • Workmen's compensation law redrafted and enacted.
  • Pure food and drug laws and anti-prostitution measures enacted.
  • State Commissioner of Motor Vehicles authorized.
  • Public Service Commission established.
  • Russian-born population of Baltimore (including Eastern European) peaked (24,798 of 558,485).
  • Aug. 30 - First statewide primary election in Maryland.
  • Nov - Hubert Latham flew over Baltimore during Halethorpe air meet.

1911 -

  • Baltimore completed sewerage system.
  • Army established flying school at College Park.
  • US Navy used Greenbury Point, Annapolis, as air station.
  • Digges voting amendment defeated.

Isaac E. Emerson built Emerson or "Bromo-Seltzer" Tower, Baltimore.

1912 -

  • Ten-hour work law for women, strengthened child-labor laws enacted.
  • Haman oyster law enacted,
  • Party presidential primaries adopted.
  • Maryland Suffrage News began publication under Edith H. Hooker.
  • Ukrainian Greek Catholics purchased land for St. Michael's Church, South Wolfe St., Baltimore.

1912-1916 - Phillips Lee Goldsborough (Republican), governor.

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

1914 - Babe Ruth pitched for International League Orioles.

1915 -

  • Abraham Flexner and John Backman presented report on State public education.
  • Education reform measures enacted.

Nov. 2 - Referendum and County Home Rule amendments adopted.

1916 -

  • State Board of Motion Picture Censors authorized.
  • State Conservation Commission created from State Fishery Force, Shell Fish Commission, and Game Warden.
  • The Johns Hopkins University moved to Homewood in Baltimore.
  • Feb - Baltimore Symphony Orchestra organized under Gustav Strube.
  • Nov - Vagabond Players, Baltimore, staged first performance.
  • Nov. 7 - Executive budget process, mandating balanced State budgets, established by constitutional amendment.

1916-1920 - Emerson C. Harrington (Democrat), governor.

1917 -

  • Compulsory work law enacted.
  • State Council of Defense named.
  • Federal government established Camp Meade (now Fort Meade).
  • US Army placed Maryland militia units in new 29th Division.
  • Aberdeen Proving Ground, first testing center of US Army, established.

1918 -

  • Edgewood Arsenal formed.
  • Maryland troops fought at Battle of Neuse-Argonne, France.
  • Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission created.
  • Baltimore expanded city limits.
  • Rockefeller Foundation funded School of Hygiene and Public Health at The Johns Hopkins University.

1919 -

  • H. L. Mencken published first book of Prejudices.
  • Baltimore Orioles won first of six International League pennants.

1920 -

  • Merit system established for State employees, replaced many politically filled positions in State government.
  • Central Purchasing Bureau reformed State expenditures.
  • State Athletic Commission formed.
  • Maryland Racing Commission created.
  • University of Maryland united agricultural college and Baltimore professional schools.
  • Logan Field (formerly Dundalk Flying Field) dedicated, Baltimore.
  • State's first Air National Guard unit.
  • Nov. 2 - Women voted for first time in Maryland.

1920-1935 - Albert C. Ritchie (Democrat), governor.

1921 -

  • Eubie Blake staged "Shuffle Along," New York City.
  • Jan - Associated Jewish Charities formed, Baltimore.

1922 -

  • Quadrennial Elections Amendment mandated general elections every four years instead of every two (effective 1926).
  • Equalization of school spending among counties authorized.
  • Ku Klux Klan rallied in Frederick and Baltimore.
  • Commercial radio stations broadcasted in Baltimore.

1924 -

  • Albert C. Ritchie campaigned for Democratic presidential nomination.
  • Edna Ferber gathered material for Showboat aboard James Adams's barge Playhouse.
  • H. L. Mencken began editing American Mercury.
  • Floods destroyed much of Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.

1925 -

  • Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons Island, started as research station by Reginald V. Truitt.
  • Maryland and Virginia passed legislation protecting blue crab.
  • Ammon H. Kreider and Lewis E. Reisner began building single-engine airplanes, Hagerstown.

1926 - Baltimore equalized pay for black and white teachers.

1927 -

  • Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission formed.
  • Interracial Commission created.

1928 - Grammar-school education mandated.

1929 -

  • Glenn L. Martin moved aircraft plant from Ohio to Middle River, Baltimore County.
  • New Baltimore Trust Building erected, tallest structure in Baltimore.
  • Baltimore Museum of Art opened (incorporated 1914, first exhibition at Garrett mansion, 1923), Wyman Park, Baltimore.

1930 -

  • Italian-born population of Baltimore peaked (9,022 of 804,874).
  • The Johns Hopkins University opened Walter Hines Page School of International Relations.

1931 -

  • Baltimore Trust Company, largest Maryland bank, reorganized (formed Maryland National Bank, May 1933).
  • Feb - Citizens' Emergency Relief Committee organized, Baltimore.
  • March 3 - "Star-Spangled Banner" adopted as national anthem.
  • Dec - Mob lynched Negro in Salisbury.

1932 -

  • "Bonus army" traveled through Maryland.
  • June - Albert C. Ritchie lost second bid for presidency.
  • Aug - Governor's Advisory Committee on Unemployment Relief, one of first in country, organized.

1933 -

  • Peoples Unemployment League formed.
  • Storm cut inlet at Ocean City.
  • Billie Holliday auditioned with Benny Goodman orchestra.
  • Abel Wolman chaired new State Planning Commission.
  • Pratt Library, Baltimore, moved to new building.
  • July - State Congress of Farmers and Workers convened in Hagerstown.
  • Nov - Mob lynched black prisoner at Princess Anne.

1934 - Walters Art Gallery opened (built 1909, bequeathed by Henry Walters to city, 1931), Baltimore.

1935 -

  • County welfare boards authorized.
  • Hall of Records opened, Annapolis.
  • In Murray v. Pearson et al., Baltimore City Court orders integration of University of Maryland Law School. Represented in case by Thurgood Marshall, Donald Gaines Murray registered September 1935.
  • Baltimore Chapter, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, revived under leadership of Lillie Carroll Jackson.
  • Baltimore Transit Company formed from United Railways.
  • University of Maryland School of Law opened to blacks after NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall brought suit.
  • Nov - Pan American flew Martin M-130 flying boat, the China Clipper, on first scheduled air-mail flight to Orient.

1935-1939 - Harry W. Nice (Republican), governor.

1936 -

  • Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) strike led to riot, Cumberland.
  • Princess Anne Academy became part of University of Maryland system.
  • March - Floods at Cumberland, National Guard called in.
  • March - Floods at Cumberland, National Guard called in.

1937 -

  • State income tax instituted.
  • Montgomery County equalized pay for black and white teachers.
  • Pan American Airways inaugurated Baltimore to Bermuda service.
  • St. John's College adopted "great books" curriculum.
  • June 1 - Greenbelt chartered, a New Deal model community.

1938 -

  • Maryland courts ordered equal pay to black and white teachers in all counties.
  • Federal government began moving National Institutes of Health to site near Bethesda.
  • Martin Company developed Mariner, most serviceable flying boat ever built.
  • Silver Spring Shopping Center opened.
  • June - National Institutes of Health established in Bethesda.
  • Aug - Franklin D. Roosevelt announced plans to purge US Senator Millard E. Tydings.

1939 -

  • Fairchild Company won competition for Army trainer with PT-19.
  • Ritchie Highway connected Baltimore and Annapolis.
  • Morgan College became part of State system.
  • Feb - Chesapeake & Ohio Canal opened as national park.

1939-1947 - Herbert R. O'Conor (Democrat), governor.

1940 -

  • Aug - Maryland Council of Defense and Resources created.
  • Nov - Martin Marauder bomber underwent first tests.

1941 -

  • Maryland State Guard authorized.
  • Board of Natural Resources created, Tidewater Fisheries Department remaining separate.
  • April - Citizens' Planning and Housing Association organized in Baltimore.
  • April-Sept - Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard produced first Liberty Ship, Patrick Henry.

Dec. 7 - USS. Maryland among naval ships attacked at Pearl Harbor.

1942 -

  • Andrews Field formed by federal government as major air base, Camp Springs, Prince George's County.
  • Commission to Study the Problems Affecting the Colored Population formed.
  • Feb. Patuxent Air Station, St. Mary's County.
  • April - Baltimore blacks protested police brutality and demanded school board representation.
  • Aug - Naval Medical Center dedicated, Bethesda.

Sept - 29th Division embarked for Britain.

1943 -

  • "Work or fight" law enacted.
  • Explosion at Elkton ammunition factory killed fifteen workers.

1944 -

  • Blue-baby operation developed at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, pioneering heart surgery era.
  • June - Troops of 29th Division landed on Omaha Beach.
  • New Baltimore municipal airport in Anne Arundel County recommended by Baltimore mayoral commission.

1945 - Slum clearance began in Baltimore by Redevelopment Commission.

1946 -

Montgomery County Junior College opened, first in State.

Oct - Maryland Congress against Discrimination met in Baltimore.

1947 -

  • New roads program to include bay bridge enacted.
  • Higher income tax legislated.
  • "Baltimore Plan" housing court, first in country, enforced building codes.
  • Commercial television stations broadcasted from Baltimore and Washington, DC.
  • Edmondson Village Shopping Center.

July 1. State sales tax instituted, first in state history.

1947-1951 - William Preston Lane (Democrat), governor.

1948 -

  • Montgomery became first Maryland county to adopt charter form of government ("home rule").
  • Baltimore activists tested segregated tennis court policy, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore.
  • Constitutional amendments limited governor to two terms, mandated annual meetings of Legislature.

1949 -

  • Department of Mental Hygiene established.
  • General Assembly spent heavily on public schools.
  • Ober loyalty law enacted.
  • Slot machines allowed by law in Southern Maryland.

1950 -

  • Law suit opened University of Maryland School of Nursing to blacks.
  • Jan - Alger Hiss sentenced for perjury.
  • June - Friendship International Airport began service.
  • June 24 - Friendship International Airport (now BWI) began operation.

1951 -

  • Commission on Interracial Problems and Relations formed.
  • University of Maryland graduate school integrated.
  • Baltimore inaugurated pilot program to upgrade blighted housing, opened golf courses to blacks.

1951-1959 - Theodore R. McKeldin (Republican), governor.

1952 -

  • Historic Annapolis, Inc., organized.
  • Nation's first intensive care facility established at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
  • Polytechnic High School in Baltimore integrated.
  • July 30 - Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened.

1953 -

  • State highway master plan.
  • State parks open to blacks.

1954 -

  • St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore, became American League Orioles.
  • University of Maryland integrated, first state university below Mason-Dixon Line to do so.
  • Public housing in Baltimore integrated.
  • First black elected to House of Delegates, from Baltimore.
  • Baltimore-Washington Expressway opened.
  • May - Thurgood Marshall and NAACP won Brown v. Board decision (May).
  • Sept - Baltimore City and Western Shore counties desegregated schools using freedom of choice.

1955 -

  • Maryland National Guard units integrated.
  • Jan. Greater Baltimore Committee organized by business leaders.
  • Sept - Desegregation of public schools began.

1956 -

  • Voting machines first used for elections throughout State.
  • Maryland Port Authority (now Maryland Port Administration) created.
  • Equal employment ordinance enacted, Baltimore.
  • Baltimore Regional Planning Council (now Baltimore Metropolitan Council) formed.
  • I-70 (north) connected Frederick and Baltimore.
  • Washington County educational television project began.
  • The Floating Opera, by John Barth, published.
  • James W. Rouse opened Mondawmin Mall, Baltimore.
  • Dec - Baltimore Urban Renewal and Housing Agency established, Baltimore urban renewal began.

1957 -

  • Maryland dissolved 1785 compact with Virginia.
  • I-70 (south) connected Frederick and Washington, DC.
  • Cone Wing opened, Baltimore Museum of Art.
  • Nov. 30 - Baltimore Harbor Tunnel opened.

1958 -

  • James W. Rouse built Harundale Mall, Anne Arundel County, first enclosed shopping center in State.
  • March - Greater Baltimore Committee unveiled plans for Charles Center.
  • Nov - Maryland Port Authority purchased Harbor Field with plans for Dundalk Marine Terminal.
  • Dec - Baltimore Colts, National Football League champions.

1959 -

  • Baltimore Colts again National Football League champions.
  • I-83 linked Baltimore and Harrisburg.
  • May - Goddard Space Flight Center opened in Greenbelt.

1959-1967 - J. Millard Tawes (Democrat), governor.

1960 -

  • Appalachian Regional Development Commission formed at Annapolis governors' meeting.
  • Department of Chesapeake Bay Affairs created.
  • Department of Economic Development formed.

1961 -

  • Political appointment of Baltimore magistrates ended.
  • Maryland Historical Trust authorized.

1962 -

  • House of Delegates reapportioned.
  • Baltimore City and Montgomery County adopted open accommodations.
  • Voters approved Reed Commission fisheries agreement with Virginia.
  • Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, published.
  • Jones Falls Expressway opened.
  • July - Baltimore Beltway (I-695) opened through Baltimore County, encircling Baltimore City.

1963 -

  • Law enacted to phase out slot machines.
  • Open accommodations law enacted, limited to Baltimore City and twelve counties.
  • Advisory Council on Higher Education formed to oversee three-tiered college system.
  • I-95 connected Baltimore and Wilmington.
  • June 11 - Cambridge riots. National Guard remained through May 1965.
  • July - Black and white clergymen forced integration of Gwynn Oak amusement park.

Oct - Rouse announced plan to build Columbia in Howard County.

1964 -

  • Maryland Committee for Fair Representation won court test regarding Maryland senate representation.
  • Governor's Commission on the Status of Women initiated.
  • Eastern Shore leaders established Wye Institute, Queen Anne's County.
  • Dundalk Marine Terminal began handling containerized cargoes.
  • April 7 - Public accommodations law enacted.
  • Aug. 16 - Capital Beltway (I-495) opened, encircling Washington, DC, by passing through Maryland's Prince George's and Montgomery counties, and Virginia.

1965 -

  • Department of Water Resources created.
  • Assateague Island became State park.

1966 -

  • Second bay bridge authorized.
  • Fair employment law enacted.
  • St. Mary's City Commission formed.
  • Oyster law permitted dredging under power, two days a week.
  • University of Maryland campus at Baltimore County opened.
  • Oct - Baltimore Orioles won World Series.

1967 -

  • Voters largely rejected open housing referendum.
  • Morris A. Mechanic Theater opened, Baltimore.
  • Merriweather Post Pavilion opened, Columbia.
  • June 21 - Opening of Columbia, a planned community incorporating one-tenth of Howard County land area.
  • July 25 - Cambridge riots.
  • Sept. 12-1968, Jan. 10 - Constitutional Convention of 1967-1968 met at Annapolis.
  • Nov - Richard A. Henson inaugurated air service between Hagerstown and Baltimore.

1967-1969 - Spiro T. Agnew (Republican), governor.

1968 -

  • Baltimore Urban Renewal and Housing Authority under Robert C. Embry, Jr., established residents' advisory board.
  • Maryland Magazine published.
  • Marshall W. Nirenberg, National Institutes of Health scientist, won Nobel Prize.
  • April - Riots in Baltimore and Washington, DC, followed assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.
  • May 14 - Proposed State Constitution rejected by voters.

1969-1977 - Marvin Mandel (Democrat), governor.

1969 -

  • Jan. Marvin Mandel elected governor by General Assembly to succeed Vice President-elect Sprio T. Agnew. Mandel adopted cabinet system of State government.
  • Maryland Commission on Negro History and Culture authorized.
  • Chesapeake Bay Interagency Planning Committee initiated.
  • Maryland Public Broadcasting aired.
  • Constellation moored permanently at Pier 1, Baltimore.
  • Baltimore Gas and Electric Company began construction of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Solomons.
  • Oct. 5 - Maryland Public Television first broadcasted from Owings Mills (channel 67).

1970 -

  • New environmental legislation enacted.
  • Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies created by University of Maryland Board of Regents.
  • I-70 opened from Frederick to Hancock.
  • Spring - Student rebellion at University of Maryland College Park.
  • Sept - Baltimore staged first city fair.
  • Oct - Baltimore Orioles won World Series.
  • Nov. 3 - Voters approved independent General Assembly salary board.

1971 -

  • Baltimore Colts won Super Bowl.
  • State adopted open housing legislation.
  • First high-rise condominium, Ocean City.
  • I-95 opened between Baltimore and Washington, DC.

1972 -

  • State equal rights amendment enacted, approved women's equal rights amendment to US Constitution.
  • Nov. 7 - First general election in Maryland where lowering of voting age to 18 years of age or older applied.

1973 -

  • Second parallel Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened.
  • State adopted lottery.
  • Friendship Airport reopened as Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport.
  • Johns Hopkins physicians and scientists developed first heart pacemaker.
  • John Barth won National Book Award for Chimera.
  • Sept - Urban "homesteading" began in Baltimore. City sold abandoned houses for $1 each to encourage renovation.
  •  Oct - Spiro T. Agnew resigned vice-presidency, pleaded no contest to felony charge.

1974 -

  • Walters Art Gallery new wing opened, Baltimore.
  • Nov. 5 - Both houses of General Assembly elected, for first time, on basis of equal representation by population.

1975 -

  • Center Stage reopened in converted St. Ignatius Church/Loyola College complex, Baltimore.
  • Mother Elizabeth Seton canonized by Pope Paul VI.
  • May - Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant began operation in Calvert County.

1976 -

  • Maryland Science Center opened in Baltimore.
  • Washington Metro, rapid transit system for national capital area, opened to link stations in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia.
  • State civic and history groups marked national bicentennial.

1977 -

  • Melbourne Smith (builder) and City of Baltimore launched replica clipper Pride of Baltimore, Inner Harbor, Baltimore.
  • World Trade Center opened, Baltimore.
  • Bishop John Nepomucene Neumann canonized by Pope Paul VI.
  • Aug. Marvin Mandel found guilty on mail fraud charges, appealed decision, succeeded by Lt. Governor Blair Lee III.

1977-79 - Blair Lee III (Democrat), acting governor.

1978 -

  • Jim Richardson (builder) launched replica pinnace Maryland Dove, LeCompte Creek, Dorchester County.
  • Sept. 5-17. Camp David Accords negotiated at Camp David, Frederick County, between President Jimmy Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. Signed in Washington, DC, March 26, 1979.

1979 -

  • Daniel Nathans and Hamilton Smith of Johns Hopkins Hospital won Nobel Prizes for medicine.
  • Baltimore Convention Center.

1979-1987 - Harry Hughes (Democrat), governor.

1980 -

  • Maryland and Virginia established Chesapeake Bay Commission to coordinate interstate legislative planning and programs to restore Bay resources.
  • July 2 - Harborplace, a 3-acre center of restaurants and shops, opened in Baltimore, signaling revitalization of City's Inner Harbor.

1981 - National Aquarium opened in Baltimore.

1983 - Dec. 9 - Chesapeake Bay Agreement to improve water quality and living resources of Bay signed by Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, District of Columbia, Chesapeake Bay Commission, and US Environmental Protection Agency.

1985 -

  • Pennsylvania joined Chesapeake Bay Commission.
  • Nov. 24 - Fort McHenry Tunnel opened.

1987 - Dec. 14 - Chesapeake Bay Agreement to restore and protect Bay signed by Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, District of Columbia, Chesapeake Bay Commission, and US Environmental Protection Agency.

1987-1995 - William Donald Schaefer (Democrat), governor.

1992 -

  • April 6 - Orioles Park at Camden Yards, a stadium for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, opened in downtown Baltimore.
  • May 18 - Central Corridor Light Rail Line opened through Baltimore.

1993 - Sept. 10 - Chesapeake Bay Partnership Agreement, to reduce pollution in Bay's tributaries by the year 2000, signed by Governor, Maryland's 23 counties, and Baltimore City.

1995 -

  • Parris N. Glendening (Democrat), governor.
  • May 31 - Baltimore Metro extension opened from Charles Center to Johns Hopkins Hospital.

1998 -

  • Sept. 6 - PSINet Stadium, home to the Baltimore Ravens National Football League team, opened at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
  • Oct. 15-19 - Wye Summit. Middle East Peace Talks between Israel and the Palistine Liberation Organization were held at Aspen Institute's Wye River Conference Centers, Queen Anne's County. The Wye River Memorandum, resulting from the talks, was signed in Washington, DC, Oct. 23, 1998.

21st Century Maryland History Timeline

2000 - June 28 - Chesapeake Bay Agreement, (Chesapeake 2000), established regional standards for Bay restoration, signed by Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, District of Columbia, Chesapeake Bay Commission, and US Environmental Protection Agency.

2004 - Maryland celebrated Flag Centennial

2006 - Maryland had lowest poverty rate in US

2007 -

  • Nation's first Living Wage law enacted in Maryland;
  • Middle East Peace Conference held at U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis

2008 -

  • Walking became official state exercise;
  • Maryland first state to name offical state exercise

2010 - Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon resigned after conviction of embezzlement

2012 - State Senate passed bill legalizing gay marriage


US History Overview
US History Guide
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