BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

1900-1999


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

1900, Jan. 8. Fourth Courthouse dedicated in Baltimore at Calvert St..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1906, March. Maryland Historical Magazine, edited by William Hand Browne, first published by Maryland Historical Society.

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


[photo, Thurgood Marshall statue at Legislative Services Building entrance, Lawyers' Mall, Annapolis, Maryland] 1907, May 21 - 1911, May 16. J. Barry Mahool (Democrat), Mayor.

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

1908. H. L. Mencken became literary editor of Smart Set.

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

1909. Greek Orthodox parish (now Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation), first in State, formed in Baltimore.

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


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

1910, Nov. Hubert Latham flew over Baltimore during Halethorpe air meet.

1911. Baltimore completed sewerage system.

1911. Isaac E. Emerson built Emerson (Bromo-Seltzer) Tower in Baltimore.

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

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

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

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

1914. Babe Ruth pitched for International League Orioles.

1916. The Johns Hopkins University moved to Homewood in Baltimore.


[photo, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore, Maryland] 1916, Feb. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra organized under Gustav Strube.

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

1918. Baltimore expanded city limits.

1918. New Baltimore City Charter approved by voters.

1918. Rockefeller Foundation funded School of Hygiene and Public Health (now Bloomberg School of Public Health) at The Johns Hopkins University.

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

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


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

1919. Baltimore Orioles won first of six International League pennants.

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

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

1920. Logan Field (formerly Dundalk Flying Field) dedicated at Baltimore.

1920. Union Protestant Infirmary renamed Union Memorial Hospital.

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

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

1921, Jan. Associated Jewish Charities formed in Baltimore.


[photo, William Donald Schaefer statue (2009), by Rodney Carroll, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland 1921, Nov. 2. William Donald Schaefer, Governor of Maryland, born in Baltimore.

1922. Ku Klux Klan rallied in Frederick and Baltimore.

1922. Commercial radio stations broadcasted in Baltimore.

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

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

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

1926. Baltimore equalized pay for black and white teachers.

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


[photo, Musicians celebrating Matisse exhibition, Baltimore Museum of Art, Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, Maryland] 1927, May - 1931, May 19. William F. Broening (Republican), Mayor.

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

1929. Baltimore Museum of Art opened (incorporated 1914, first exhibition at Garrett mansion, 1923), Wyman Park, Baltimore.

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


1930. 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.

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

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


[photo, Walters Arts Museum, 600 North Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland] 1933. Pratt Library, Baltimore, moved to new building.

1933, May. Baltimore Trust Company reformed as Maryland National Bank.

1933, Nov. Billie Holliday auditioned with Benny Goodman orchestra.

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

1935. 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. 1935.

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


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

1935. Baltimore Transit Company formed from United Railways.

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

1936, Dec. 11. Edward VIII (1894-1972), King of Great Britain and Ireland, abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson (1896-1986) of Baltimore.

1937. Pan American Airways inaugurated Baltimore to Bermuda service.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1945. Slum clearance began in Baltimore by Redevelopment Commission.

1946. New Baltimore City Charter approved by voters.

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

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

1946, Dec. 28. Miami Seahawks of the All-America Football Conference relocated to Baltimore.

1947. "Baltimore Plan" housing court, first in country, enforced building codes.

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

1947. Commercial television stations broadcasted from Baltimore and Washington, DC.

1947. Edmondson Village Shopping Center opened, Baltimore.

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

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

1947, Sept. 7. Baltimore Seahawks renamed the Baltimore Colts, wearing green and silver uniforms.

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

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

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 women to do so.

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

1951. University of Maryland graduate school integrated.

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

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

1952. Nation's first intensive care facility established at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

1952. Polytechnic High School in Baltimore integrated.

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

1954. St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore, became American League Orioles.

1954. Public housing in Baltimore integrated.

1954. Baltimore-Washington Expressway opened.

1954, Sept. Baltimore City and Western Shore counties began to desegregate schools using freedom of choice.

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

1954, Nov. 2. Emory R. Cole, first African American elected to House of Delegates, from Baltimore.

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

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

1956. Equal employment ordinance enacted in Baltimore.

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

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

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

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

1956, Dec. Baltimore Urban Renewal and Housing Agency established, Baltimore urban renewal began.

1957. Cone Wing opened at Baltimore Museum of Art.

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

1957, Nov. 30. Baltimore Harbor Tunnel opened.

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

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

1958, Dec. Baltimore Colts, National Football League champions.

1959. Baltimore Colts again National Football League champions.

1959. I-83 linked Baltimore and Harrisburg.

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

1961. Political appointment of Baltimore magistrates ended.

1961, Dec. 16. Jones Falls Expressway opened.

1962. Baltimore City and Montgomery County adopted open accommodation laws.

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

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

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

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

1963. Open accommodations law enacted by General Assembly, limited to Baltimore City and twelve counties.

1963. I-95 connected Baltimore and Wilmington.

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

1964. Dundalk Marine Terminal began handling containerized cargoes.

1966, Oct. Baltimore Orioles won World Series.

1967. Morris A. Mechanic Theater opened in Baltimore.

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

1967, Nov. Richard A. Henson inaugurated air service between Hagerstown and Baltimore.

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

1968. Baltimore Urban Renewal and Housing Authority, under Robert C. Embry, Jr., established residents' advisory board.

1968, April. Riots in Baltimore and Washington, DC, followed assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.


[photo, USS Constellation, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland] 1969. USS Constellation moored permanently at Pier 1, Baltimore.

1970, Sept. Baltimore staged first City fair.

1970, Oct. Baltimore Orioles won World Series.

1971. Baltimore Colts won Super Bowl.

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

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


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

1973. Johns Hopkins physicians and scientists developed first heart pacemaker.

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

1974. Walters Art Gallery new wing opened in Baltimore.

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

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

1975. Center Stage reopened in converted St. Ignatius Church/Loyola College complex, Baltimore.


[photo, Maryland Science Center, 601 Light St., Baltimore, Maryland] 1976. Maryland Science Center opened in Baltimore.

1977, Jan. World Trade Center opened, Baltimore.

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

1977, May 1. Melbourne Smith (builder) and City of Baltimore launched replica clipper Pride of Baltimore, Inner Harbor, Baltimore.

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


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

1979, Aug. Baltimore Convention Center opened.

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

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

1981. National Aquarium opened in Baltimore.

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

1984, March 29 (2:00 am) Baltimore Colts (NFL franchise) moved out of Baltimore. 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 Hughes signed the bill into law.


[photo, Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse, 111 North Calvert St., Baltimore, Maryland] 1985, March 8. Courthouse rededicated as Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr., Courthouse.

1985, Nov. 24. Fort McHenry Tunnel opened.

1986. Baltimore Civic Center renamed Baltimore Arena.

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

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


[photo, Light Rail train stop, Cultural Center (northbound), Baltimore, Maryland] 1987, Dec. - 1999, Dec. Kurt L. Schmoke (Democrat), Mayor.

1988, Oct. 23. The Pride of Baltimore II was launched as a memorial to the original Pride, which sank in a squall off Puerto Rico on May 14, 1986, taking the captain and three crew members down with her.

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.

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

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


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

1996. Lafayette Market reopened as Avenue Market at Pennsylvania Ave.

1996. Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore. Renamed as the Baltimore Ravens, the team colors were changed to black and purple.

1997, Dec. 14. Memorial Stadium closed.

1998, Sept. 6. Ravens Stadium at Camden Yards, home to the Baltimore Ravens, National Football League team, opened in Baltimore.

1999. Ravens Stadium renamed PSINet Stadium.

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

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