MARYLAND AT A GLANCE

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

• 10,000 B.C. - 1599
• 1600 - 1699
• 1700 - 1799
• 1800 - 1899
• 1900 - 1999
• 2000 -

1900 - 1999

1900. Public baths, funded by William T. Walters opened in Baltimore, continued in use until 1954.

1901. Automobile Club of Maryland founded in James E. Hooper's House.

1901, April 1. Election law updated, party emblems banned on ballots.

1902, March 24. Regulations for miners' work conditions enacted.

1902, April 1. Workmen's compensation law enacted (overturned in courts), first such law in U.S.

1902, April 8. Compulsory school attendance law passed.

1902, April 11. Child labor under age fourteen forbidden by law.

1902, May 12. Joe Gans (1874-1910) of Baltimore won boxing's world championship light heavyweight title in Ontario, Canada.

1904. Maryland Woman Suffrage Association formed at Baltimore, led by Emma J. Maddox Funck.

1904, March 17. "Jim Crow" public accommodations laws, introduced by William G. Kerbin, that mandated separate railway cars and steamboat apartments, passed.

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

1904. Sinclair-Scott began making Maryland motorcar in Baltimore.

1904, Feb. 7-8. Baltimore fire, 80 blocks, some 140 acres, in heart of business district devastated, including destruction of 1,500 buildings.

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

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

1905-1909. Walters Art Gallery (now Walters Art Museum) built in Baltimore for Henry Walters to display private art collection to public.

1905, April. Washington County experimented successfully with horse-drawn bookmobile.

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

1905, Nov. Voters defeated amendment, authored by John Prentiss Poe, intended to disenfranchise blacks.

1906. Bloede Dam, the world's first underwater hydroelectric plant, was constructed to supply electricity to Catonsville and Ellicott City.

1906. State Board of Forestry (now Forest Service) created.

1906. Equal Suffrage League organized by Elizabeth King Ellicott, 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, April 2. Haman Act enacted to encourage oyster-bed leasing, establish Shell Fish Commission, and provide for survey of Chesapeake Bay bottom.

1906, Dec. 1. First public performance of "Anchors Aweigh," composed by Charles A. Zimmerman, Naval Academy bandmaster, and midshipman Alfred Hart Miles, at Army-Navy football game; later dedicated to Class of 1907.

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

1908. H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) became literary editor of Smart Set.

1908, March 25. State Roads Commission created.

1908, March 30. Board of Agriculture formed.

1908, April. Primary elections (for some localities) and campaign reform enacted.

1908, May 2. At Still Pond, three women, Maryland's first women voters, cast ballots in municipal election.

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

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

1909. Voters defeated Straus disenfranchisement amendment, which would have limited voting by blacks.

1909, April 6. Matthew Henson (1866-1955), of Charles County, reached North Pole* with Commander Robert E. Peary.
*(recent investigations indicate Peary's team may not have reached actual North Pole).

1909, Oct. 8-Nov. Wilbur Wright conducted flight training for first military pilots at newly-created College Park Airport, the oldest continuously operated airport in the world.

1910. Workmen's compensation law for miners redrafted and enacted.

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

1910, March 23. Pure food and drug law enacted.

1910, April 5. Anti-prostitution measures enacted; Public Service Commission established; State Commissioner of Motor Vehicles authorized.

1910, April 8. Maryland ratified 16th Amendment to U.S. Constitution.

1910, Aug. 30. First statewide primary election held in Maryland.

1910, Nov. 7. Hubert Latham (1883-1912) flew in his monoplane, Antoinette, over Baltimore during Halethorpe Aviation Meet.

1911. Baltimore completed sewerage system.

1911. U.S. Army established flying school at College Park.

1911. U.S. Navy used Greenbury Point, Annapolis, as air station.

1911. Digges voting amendment defeated.

1912, Jan. 10. Party presidential primary elections approved.

1912, April 1. Ten-hour work law for women passed.

1912, April 11. Strengthened child-labor law passed.

1912. Maryland Suffrage News began publication under Edith Houghton Hooker.

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

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

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

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

1913, Nov. 4. Blair Lee (1857-1944) of Montgomery County became Maryland's first directly elected U.S. Senator.

1914. Babe Ruth pitched for Baltimore Orioles minor league team in International League.

1915. Abraham Flexner and John Backman presented report on State public education.

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

1915. Education reform measures enacted.

1915, June 21. In Myers v. Anderson, U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the 1908 Maryland grandfather clause statute (Chapter 525, Acts of 1908) for Annapolis elections, because it violated equal voting rights guaranteed by 15th Amendment.

1915, Nov. 2. Referendum and County Home Rule amendments adopted.

1916. Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, part of Bethlehem Steel, purchased Sparrows Point.

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. Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad acquired Philadelphia & Baltimore Central Railroad.

1916. Frederick W. Besley, Maryland's first State Forester, conducted and published first forest survey of Maryland, the first such survey of a state's forests in the nation.

1916, April 18. State Board of Motion Picture Censors authorized.

1916, April 18. State Conservation Commission created from State Fishery Force, Shell Fish Commission, and Game Warden.

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

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

1916, Nov. 7. Executive budget process, mandating balanced State budgets, established by constitutional amendment.

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

1917, June 23. Federal government selected site for Camp Meade (now Fort Meade), initially known as Camp Annapolis Junction and Camp Admiral.

1917, June 27. State Council of Defense created.

1917, June 28. Compulsory work law passed.

1917, July 18. U.S. Army placed Maryland militia units in new U.S. 29th Infantry Division.

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.

1917, Oct. 20. Aberdeen Proving Ground, first ordinance testing center of U.S. Army, established (opened Dec. 1917).

1917, Dec. 14. President Woodrow Wilson issued proclamation creating chemical weapon research and development facilities at Gunpowder Neck Reservation.

1918. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission created.

1918. Baltimore annexed land from Baltimore County to expand.

1918, Feb. 13. Maryland ratified 18th Amendment to U.S. Constitution.

1918, May. Gunpowder Neck Reservation renamed Edgewood Arsenal.

1918, Sept.-Nov. Maryland troops in U.S. 29th Infantry Division fought at Battle of Meuse-Argonne (Battle of Argonne Forest), France.

World War I Memorial, 19 North Main St., Boonsboro, Maryland, August 2019. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1919. H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) published first book of Prejudices.

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

1920. Merit system established for State employees, replaced many politically filled positions in State government.

1920. Associated Jewish Charities (now The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore) formed, Baltimore.

1920. Central Purchasing Bureau reformed State expenditures.

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

1920, March 31. Maryland Racing Commission created.

1920, April 23. State Athletic Commission formed.

1920, Nov. 2. Women voted for first time in Maryland.

1920, Nov. 15. Logan Field (formerly Dundalk Flying Field) dedicated, Baltimore.

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

1921. Eubie Blake (1887-1983) staged the musical, "Shuffle Along," New York City.

"Vote Against Prohibition" sign, Shakespeare St., Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland, September 2019. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

1921, June 29. State's first Air National Guard unit formed.

1921, Nov. 8. Mary E. W. Risteau (1890-1978) became first woman elected to House of Delegates.

1922. Equalization of school spending among counties authorized.

1922. Ku Klux Klan rallied in Frederick and Baltimore.

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

1922, Oct. 10. Ku Klux Klan rallied in Annapolis.

1922, Nov. 7. Constitutional amendment ratified to make women eligible to hold public office (Chapter 275, Acts of 1922).

1922, Nov. 7. Quadrennial Elections Amendment ratified mandating general elections every four years instead of every two (Chapter 227, Acts of 1922). Effective 1926, all elected State and county office holders were to serve four-year terms.

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

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

1924. Albert C. Ritchie campaigned for Democratic presidential nomination.

1924. H. L. Mencken (1880-1996) began editing American Mercury.

1924. Floods destroyed much of Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.

1924, May 17. Ku Klux Klan rallied in Cumberland.

1925. Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons Island, started as research station by Reginald V. Truitt.

1925. Maryland and Virginia passed legislation protecting blue crab.

1925, April. Edna Ferber gathered material for novel, Show Boat, aboard James Adams Floating Theater, a retrofitted lumber barge pulled by tugs throughout Chesapeake Bay and along southern East Coast.

1926. Ammon H. Kreider and Lewis E. Reisner founded Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company, Hagerstown.

1926. Baltimore equalized pay for black and white teachers.

1927, April 5. Interracial Commission (now Commission on Civil Rights) created.

1927, April 26. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission formed.

1928. Grammar-school education mandated.

1928. Conowingo Hydroelectric Generating Station (Conowingo Dam) began operation on the lower Susquehanna River, spanning the border between Cecil and Harford counties.

1928. Glenn L. Martin Company moved aircraft plant from Ohio to Middle River, Baltimore County.

1928, March 2. Camp Meade redesignated as Fort Leonard Wood.

1929, March 5. Fort Leonard Wood redesignated as Fort George G. Meade.

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 Nov. 16, 1914, first exhibition at Garrett mansion in Mount Vernon, Feb. 22, 1923), Wyman Park, Baltimore.

1929, Oct. 29. Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital dedicated in Baltimore, the first eye hospital in the world to combine patient care with teaching and research.

1930. Italian-born population of Baltimore peaked (9,022 of 804,874).

1930, Oct. 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).

1931. Walters Art Gallery (now Walters Art Museum) bequeathed by Henry Walters to Baltimore City.

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

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

1931, Dec. 4. Mob lynched Matthew Williams, African American, in Salisbury.

1932, May. "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans and supporters, seeking advance payment of cash bonus, marched through Maryland en route to Washington, DC.

1932, June. Albert C. Ritchie lost second bid for presidency.

1932, July 28. Gen. Douglas MacArthur drove out remnants of "Bonus Army" from Anacostia Flats to Maryland countryside.

1932, Aug. Governor's Advisory Committee on Unemployment Relief, one of first in country, organized.

1933. Peoples Unemployment League formed.

1933. Abel Wolman chaired new State Planning Commission, the first such commission in the nation.

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

1933, Feb. 25. Baltimore Trust Company, largest Maryland bank, became insolvent, or bankrupt.

1933, March 24. Maryland ratified 20th Amendment to U.S. Constitution.

1933, July. State Congress of Farmers and Workers convened in Hagerstown.

1933, Aug. 23 Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane cut inlet at Ocean City between Sinepuxent Bay and Atlantic Ocean.

1933, Oct. 18. Maryland ratified 21st Amendment to U.S. Constitution, repealing Prohibition.

1933, Oct. 18. Mob lynched George Armwood, a black prisoner, at Princess Anne.

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

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

1935. Baltimore Transit Company formed from United Railways.

1935. County welfare boards authorized.

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

1935. Baltimore Chapter, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), revived under leadership of Lillie Carroll Jackson.

1935, Jan. 5. Baltimore Trust Company went into receivership under John D. Hospelhorn.

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.

Thurgood Marshall statue before State House, Annapolis, Maryland, June 2000. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

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

1936, Nov. Strike in Cumberland at American Cellulose and Chemical Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Celanese) plant led to recognition of union, Textile Workers of America, affiliated with Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO).

1936. Princess Anne Academy became part of University of Maryland system.

1936, Jan. 15. Court of Appeals Court affirmed Baltimore City Court order allowing Donald Gaines Murray to attend University of Maryland Law School.

1936, March. Floods at Cumberland, National Guard called in.

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. State income tax instituted.

1937. Montgomery County equalized pay for black and white teachers.

1937, June 1. Greenbelt chartered, a New Deal model community.

1937, Sept. St. John's College adopted Great Books curriculum, introduced by Stringfellow Barr and Scott Buchanan.

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.

1937-1939, April 30. Pinball and other coin-operated machines legalized with premium, trophy, or prize paid in merchandise only (Chapter 11, Acts of 1937 Special Session).

1938. Maryland courts ordered equal pay to black and white teachers in all counties.

1938. Federal government began moving National Institutes of Health to site near Bethesda.

1938. Glenn L. Martin Company began construction of PBM Mariner, an armed flying boat used in U-boat patrols, nighttime raids, and rescues, made first flight.

1938. Silver Spring Shopping Center opened.

1938, June. National Institutes of Health established in Bethesda.

1938, Aug. Franklin D. Roosevelt announced plans to "purge" U.S. Senator Millard E. Tydings (1890-1961) from Democratic Party, but Tydings was reelected on Nov. 8, 1938.

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. Ritchie Highway (MD Route 2), first divided highway in Maryland, connected Baltimore and Annapolis.

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

1939, Feb. Chesapeake & Ohio Canal opened as national park.

1939, Feb. 18. Glenn L. Martin Company's PBM Mariner made first flight.

1939, Sept. 22. Fairchild Company received U.S. Army contract for PT-19 training airplane following victory in fly-off competition.

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

1940, April 27. Ritchie Highway (MD Route 2) officially opened with ceremony at Severn River Bridge, Anne Arundel County.

1940, Aug. Maryland Council of Defense and Resources created by Gov. Herbert R. O'Conor.

1940, Sept 1. First PBM Mariners entered U.S. Navy's patrol service.

1940, Nov. Martin Marauder (B-26) bomber underwent first tests.

1940, Dec. Susquehanna River Toll Bridge (now Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge) opened, linking Cecil and Harford counties.

1940, Dec. Potomac River Toll Bridge (now Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge) opened, linking Charles County with Virginia.

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.

1941, April 28. Maryland Council of Defense and Maryland State Guard (now Maryland Defense Force) authorized.

1941, April-Sept. Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard produced first Liberty Ship, Patrick Henry, which was launched on Sept. 27, 1941.

1941, May 26. General Assembly amended and passed natural resources law that created Board of Natural Resources, Tidewater Fisheries Department, Game and Inland Fish Department, State Parks and Forests Department, Geology, Mines and Water Resources Department, Bureau of Mines, and Research and Education Department.

1941, Dec. 7. USS Maryland among naval ships attacked at Pearl Harbor.

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

1942, Aug. 31. National Naval Medical Center (now Walter Reed National Military Medical Center) dedicated, Bethesda.

World War II Memorial overlooking Severn River, Annapolis, Maryland, 1999. Photo by James Hefelfinger (Hefelfinger Collection, MSA SC 1885-783-2, Maryland State Archives).

1942, Oct. 5. U.S. 29th Infantry Division embarked for Britain.

1943. Commission to Study the Problems Affecting the Colored Population (now the Commission on Civil Rights) formed.

1943, April 1. U.S. Naval Air Station Patuxent River opened in St. Mary's County.

1943, April 1. "Work or fight" law enacted.

1943, May 4. Explosions at Elkton ammunition factory, Triumph Explosives, killed fifteen workers and injured scores more.

1944. New Baltimore municipal airport near Linthicum Heights, Anne Arundel County, recommended by Baltimore Aviation Commission.

1944, June 6. U.S. 29th Infantry Division with Maryland and Virginia troops participated in amphibious landings (Operation Neptune) on Omaha Beach during Allied Invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord).

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

1944, July 18. U.S. 29th Infantry Division captured Saint-Lô, France.

1944, Aug. 25-Sept. 18. U.S. 29th Infantry Division took part in Battle for Brest, France.

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 by Baltimore Urban Renewal and Housing Agency in 1956).

1945. Boordy Vineyards, Maryland's first winery, opened in Baltimore County

1945, June 16. Naval Air Test Center established at Patuxent River, St. Mary's County.

1946. Montgomery County Junior College (now Montgomery College), first junior college in State, opened.

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. Edmondson Village Shopping Center opened, Baltimore.

1947, March 29. Higher income tax legislated; went into effect on June 1, 1947.

1947, March 29. State sales tax passed, first in State history; enacted on July 1, 1947.

1947, April 16. New roads program to include bay bridge approved; went into effect on June 1, 1947.

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 (later Memorial Stadium).

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

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

1948. Montgomery became first Maryland county to adopt charter form of government ("home rule").

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

1948. Constitutional amendments limited governor to two terms, mandated annual meetings of Legislature.

1948, Dec. 2. Whittaker Chambers removed several canisters of microfilm containing State Department documents from hollowed-out pumpkin on his Pipe Creek Farm in Carroll County for U.S. House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee in hearing against Alger Hiss.

1949. Department of Mental Hygiene (now Behavioral Health Administration) established.

1949. General Assembly spent heavily on public schools.

1949. Slot machines allowed by law in Southern Maryland.

1949, March 31. Subversive Activities Act (Ober loyalty law), recommended by commission chaired by Frank B. Ober, Esq., passed; went into effect on June 1, 1949.

1950. Law suit 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.

1950, Jan. 21 Alger Hiss (1904-1996) sentenced to five years in prison for perjury after lying to federal grand jury about his role in spying for Soviets.

1950, March 8-June 28. U.S. Senator Millard E. Tydings (1890-1961) chaired subcommittee of Foreign Relations Committee investigating charges of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy alleging disloyalty of Owen Lattimore and others, and found no basis for McCarthy's allegations.

1950, June 24. Friendship International Airport (now BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport) began service in Anne Arundel County; named after Friendship Methodist Church on whose land airport was built.

1951. University of Maryland Graduate School integrated.

1951. Baltimore inaugurated pilot program to upgrade blighted housing, 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.

1951, March 14. Maryland ratified 22nd Amendment to U.S. Constitution, setting term limits for U.S. President.

1951, April 27. General Assembly authorized Commission on Interracial Problems and Relations (now Commission on Civil Rights).

1951, Oct. 4. Henrietta Lacks (born Loretta Pleasant, 1920) died of cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, where her cell lines were cultured to produce the HeLa cell line from which medical research continues to this day.

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

1952. Historic Annapolis, Inc. organized by Anne St. Clair Wright.

1952, July 30. Chesapeake Bay Bridge (now eastbound span) opened.

1952, Sept. Baltimore Polytechnic Institute integrated.

1953. State parks opened to blacks.

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, April 27. State highway master plan adopted (public road 12-year program).

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

1954. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory relocated from Silver Spring to Laurel.

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

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

1954. Baltimore-Washington Parkway opened.

1954, July 1. Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit formed in Suitland through collaboration of U.S. Weather Bureau, U.S. Air Force Weather Service, and U.S. Navy Aerological Service.

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

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

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

1955. Weather Bureau-Air Force-Navy Analysis Center moved to Suitland and renamed National Weather Analysis Center.

1955-1975. Edgewood Arsenal conducted classified chemical agent experiments on soldiers.

1955, Jan. 5. Greater Baltimore Committee organized by business leaders.

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

1955, Sept. Desegregation of public schools began in Maryland.

1956. Voting machines first used for elections throughout State.

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. The Floating Opera, by John Barth (1930-), published.

1956. James W. Rouse (1914-1996) opened Mondawmin Mall, Baltimore.

1956, Sept. Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project (1956-1961) began in eight public elementary schools, first such use of closed-circuit instructional television in nation.

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

1957. I-70 (south) connected Frederick and Washington, DC.

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

1957. Cone Wing opened, Baltimore Museum of Art.

1957, April 15. General Assembly revoked 1785 compact with Virginia.

1957, Nov. 30. Baltimore Harbor Tunnel opened.

1958, Jan. National Weather Analysis Center merged with Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit, forming National Meteorological Center (now Weather Prediction Center), Suitland.

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, Oct. 1. James W. Rouse's Harundale Mall, Glen Burnie, opened; first enclosed shopping center in State.

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. I-83 linked Baltimore with Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

1959, March 11. Department of Economic Development created.

1959, April 4. Maryland ratified 14th Amendment to U.S. Constitution.

1959, May 1. Goddard Space Flight Center opened in Greenbelt.

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.

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

1960. Social Security Administration opened offices at Woodlawn.

1960. Conference of Appalachian Governors formed at Annapolis meeting.

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, Dec. 24, 29. Sit-ins at Crisfield organized by Baltimore Civic Works Group, including Morgan State College students.

1961. Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened across Potomac River, connecting Prince George's County, Maryland, with Fairfax County, Virginia.

1961. Political appointment of Baltimore magistrates ended.

1961, Jan. 30. Maryland ratified 23rd Amendment to U.S. Constitution, permitting Washington, DC, residents to vote for U.S. President and Vice-President.

1961, March - 1966, Feb. R. Sargent Shriver served as founding director of Peace Corps.

1961, May 3. Maryland Historical Trust, the first such state agency in the nation, authorized.

1962. House of Delegates reapportioned.

1962. Baltimore City and Montgomery County adopted open accommodations.

1962. Voters approved Reed Commission fisheries agreement with Virginia.

1962. Jones Falls Expressway opened.

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

1962, March. Presidential aircraft, Air Force One, permanently stationed at Andrews Air Force Base (formerly Camp Springs Air Base, now Joint Base Andrews).

1962, March 6-8. Powerful northeaster, known as Ash Wednesday Storm, flooded and demolished houses and businesses in Ocean City.

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

1962, Sept. 27. Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, published.

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

1963. Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., established Wye Institute (now part of Aspen Institute), Queen Anne's County.

1963. President’s Appalachian Regional Commission formed.

1963, Feb. 6. Maryland ratified 24th Amendment to U.S. Constitution, outlawing poll tax.

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, Feb. 26. Advisory Council on Higher Education formed to oversee three-tiered college system.

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

1963, April 30. Legislation passed to abolish slot-machine gambling by 1968.

1963, May 13. In Brady v. Maryland, argued for petitioner by Baltimore attorney E. Clinton Bamberger, Jr. (1926-2017), U.S. Supreme Court held that prosecution must turn over to the defense all evidence that might exonerate a defendant.

1963, June 14. Cambridge riots; Gov. J. Millard Tawes declared martial law and Maryland National Guard deployed until July 8, 1963.

1963, July 4 & 7. Black and white clergy led protests against segregation of Gwynn Oak Amusement Park, Baltimore County; some 283 persons arrested.

1963, July 12. Violence in Cambridge; Maryland National Guard redeployed and remained nearly a year.

1963, July 23. U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy met with Cambridge officials and civil rights groups to work out and sign "Treaty of Cambridge."

1963, Aug. 28. Baltimore County Executive Spiro T. Agnew negotiated settlement with owners of Gwynn Oak Amusement Park to end segregation.

1963, Aug. 28. Cars, trains, and busloads of demonstrators entered Maryland en route to March on Washington, DC.

1963, Oct. 30. James W. Rouse (1914-1996) announced plan to build Columbia in Howard County.

1963, Nov. 14. I-95 between Baltimore and Wilmington, Delaware, opened.

1964. Governor's Commission on the Status of Women (now Maryland Commission for Women) initiated.

1964. Dundalk Marine Terminal began handling containerized cargoes.

1964, April 7. Public Accommodations Law passed

1964, April 7. Department of Chesapeake Bay Affairs formed; Department of Water Resources created.

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, March 9. Appalachian Regional Commission established.

1965, Sept. 21. Assateague Island National Seashore established under National Park Service by federal law (P.L. 89-195).

1966. University of Maryland campus at Baltimore County opened.

Feral horses [Assateague horses], Assateague Island National Seashore, Berlin, Maryland, May 2018. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

1966, March 25. St. Mary's City Commission approved.

1966, May 6. Oyster law passed, permitting dredging under power on Mondays and Tuesdays, except in Dorchester and Talbot Counties.

1966, April 29. Fair employment law passed.

1966, May 6. Second Chesapeake Bay Bridge authorized.

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

1967. Voters largely rejected open housing referendum.

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

1967, June 21. Opening of Columbia, a planned community incorporating one-tenth of Howard County land area.

1967, July 24. Cambridge riots.

1967, Sept. 12-1968, Jan. 10. Constitutional Convention of 1967-1968 met at Annapolis.

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, Nov. Richard A. Henson's Allegheny Commuter inaugurated air service from Hagerstown to Baltimore.

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

1968. Maryland Magazine published.

1968. Governor's Council for Appalachian Maryland created.

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

1968. Thomas B. Finan Memorial Bridge, also known as Crosstown Bridge, opened at Cumberland.

1968. Marshall W. Nirenberg, National Institutes of Health scientist, won Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

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

1968, May 14. Proposed State Constitution rejected by voters.

1968, May 17. Catonsville Nine, protesting against war in Vietnam, destroyed draft records at Selective Service offices in Catonsville, Baltimore County.

1968, Sept. Housing Authority of Baltimore City under Robert C. Embry, Jr., established Residents Advisory Board.

1969. Maryland Commission on Negro History and Culture (now Commission on African-American History and Culture) authorized.

1969. Chesapeake Bay Interagency Planning Committee initiated.

1969. Baltimore Gas and Electric Company began construction of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Lusby.

1969, Jan. 7. Marvin Mandel elected governor by General Assembly to succeed U.S. Vice President-elect Spiro T. Agnew. Mandel adopted cabinet system of State government.

1969-1979. Marvin Mandel (Democrat), governor.

1969, Jan. 20. Spiro T. Agnew sworn in as U.S. Vice-President.

1969, Oct. 5. Maryland Public Television first broadcasted from Owings Mills (channel 67).

1970. Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies (now Center for Environmental Science) created at Cambridge by University of Maryland Board of Regents.

1970. I-70 opened from Frederick to Hancock.

1970, April 22. Maryland Environmental Service created; other environmental legislation enacted.

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

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.

1970, Sept. Baltimore staged first City fair.

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

1970, Nov. 3. Voters approved independent General Assembly salary board (General Assembly Compensation Commission).

1971. State adopted open housing legislation.

1971. First high-rise condominium, Ocean City.

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, April 18. Maryland ratified 26th Amendment to U.S. Constitution, allowing 18-year olds to vote.

1971, July 1. Edgewood Arsenal merged with Aberdeen Proving Ground.

1972, May 15. Presidential candidate Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama shot by Arthur Bremer at Laurel Shopping Center.

1972, May 26. Maryland ratified Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to U.S. Constitution (because ratification of thirty-eight states was required & not received before 1982 deadline, ERA remains a proposed amendment).

1972, Nov. 7. First general election in Maryland where lowering of voting age to 18 years of age or older applied.

1973. John Barth (1930-) won National Book Award for Chimera.

1973. Maryland joined Interstate Mining Compact Commission.

1973, Jan. 2. State Lottery Agency (now State Lottery & Gaming Control Agency) began operation.

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

1973, May 7. Maryland ratified 15th Amendment to U.S. Constitution.

1973, June 28. Second parallel Chesapeake Bay Bridge (now westbound span) opened.

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.

1973, Nov. 16. Friendship Airport renamed Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport.

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

1974, July 7. Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary, order of Roman Catholic nuns, founded in Baltimore by Sr. Mary Elizabeth Gintling (1914-2004).

1974, Nov. 5. Both houses of General Assembly elected, for first time, on basis of equal representation by population.

1975, Jan. National Meteorological Center relocated to Camp Springs.

1975, May. Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant began operation in Calvert County.

1975, Sept. 14. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) canonized by Pope Paul VI.

1975, Sept. 20. Martin State Airport opened at Middle River, Baltimore County.

1976. Washington Metro, rapid transit system for national capital area, opened to link stations in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia.

1976. Maryland Science Center opened in Baltimore.

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

1976, July 6. Carol Simpson, first woman admitted to U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis.

1977. Harry A. Cole (1921-1999), first African American appointed to Court of Appeals.

1977, Jan. World Trade Center opened, Baltimore.

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.

World Trade Center Baltimore, 401 East Pratt St., Baltimore, Maryland, July 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1977, June 4. Gov. Marvin Mandel named Lt. Gov. Blair Lee III as Acting Governor.

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

1977, June 19. Bishop John Nepomucene Neumann (1811-1860) canonized by Pope Paul VI.

Key Bridge over Patapsco River, linking Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland, October 2003. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1977, Oct. 8. Marvin Mandel sentenced to four years in prison; served at Eglin Air Force Base prison camp, Florida, May 1980 to Dec. 3, 1981, when President Ronald Reagan commuted sentence. Mandel's conviction overturned by U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 7, 1988.

1978. Jim Richardson (builder) launched replica pinnace Maryland Dove, LeCompte Creek, Dorchester County.

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

1978. Sept. 5-17. Camp David Accords negotiated at Camp David, Frederick County, between President Jimmy Carter, President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. Signed in Washington, DC, March 26, 1979.

1979, Aug. Baltimore Convention Center opened.

1979, Aug. 16-1981, Jan. 19. Benjamin R. Civiletti (1935-2022) served as U.S. Attorney General.

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

1980, May 20. Law approved enacting Bistate Agreement on Chesapeake Bay between Maryland and Virginia to coordinate interstate legislative planning and programs to restore resources and to create Chesapeake Bay Commission.

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.

1983, Oct. 16. Baltimore Orioles defeated Philadelphia Phillies to win World Series.

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 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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 U.S. District Court, who ruled for Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 9, 1985.

1985. Pennsylvania joined Chesapeake Bay Commission.

1985, Nov. 24. Fort McHenry Tunnel opened.

1986, March 17. Baltimore City and Indianapolis Colts reached settlement that included dismissal of City's lawsuits to bring Colts back to Baltimore and endorsement of Indianapolis organization for a new Baltimore National Football League team.

1987, Jan. 3. Barbara A. Mikulski sworn in as Maryland's first woman U.S. Senator.

Pride of Baltimore memorial inscription reads:
On May 14, 1986, the Pride of Baltimore, her captain, and three members of her crew were lost at sea. The Pride now rests at the end of a goodwill journey that covered 150,000 miles and touched 125 cities around the world. Yet her precious cargo - the spirit of the people who sent her forth and of those who received her - will never be lost.

Pride of Baltimore memorial, Rash Field, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, June 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

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

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.

Pride of Baltimore II, Baltimore, Maryland, July 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

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

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

1992, April 6. Orioles Park at Camden Yards, a stadium for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, opened in downtown Baltimore.

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

1993. Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority created.

1994, Jan. 3. National Archives at College Park opened to public.

1995, Jan. 18-2003, Jan. 15. Parris N. Glendening (Democrat), governor.

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.

1995, Oct. National Meteorological Center, Suitland, renamed National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

1996, Jan. 13-July. After signing of Dayton Peace Accords, Maryland National Guard's 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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

1996, Dec. Maryland Manual On-Line placed on the web by State Archives.

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

1998, Sept. 6. Ravens Stadium (now M&T Bank Stadium, formerly PSINet Stadium), home to Baltimore Ravens, opened at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

1998, Oct. 15-19. Wye Summit. Middle East Peace Talks between Israel and the Palestine 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.

1999. General Assembly deregulated electric industry.

Maryland Archives
Maryland Historical Societies
Maryland Constitutional Offices & Agencies
Maryland Departments
Maryland Independent Agencies
Maryland Executive Commissions, Committees, Task Forces, & Advisory Boards
Maryland Universities & Colleges
Maryland Counties
Maryland Municipalities
Maryland at a Glance

Maryland Manual On-Line

© Copyright Maryland State Archives