The following is a timeline of the
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
of the city of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, USA.
18th century
* 1729 - Town of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
founded.
* 1752 - 25 houses and 200 inhabitants.
* 1763 - Mechanical Fire Company organized.
* 1767 - Baltimore designated
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
seat.
* 1770 -
Henry Fite House
The "Henry Fite House", located on West Baltimore Street (then known as Market Street), between South Sharp and North Liberty Streets (also later known as Hopkins Place), in Baltimore, Maryland, was the meeting site of the Second Continental Con ...
built.
* 1773 - ''Maryland Journal, and the Baltimore Advertiser'' newspaper begins publication.
* 1776 - December -
Second Continental Congress meeting begins.
* 1782 -
Lexington Market
Lexington Market is a historic market in Downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The market is now housed in a 60,000-square-foot market shed building completed in 2022 that is home to 50 merchants and kiosks. The market has occupied many market buildings ...
founded.
* 1784 -
Christmas Conference (Methodism)
The Christmas Conference was an historic founding conference of the newly independent Methodists within the United States held just after the American Revolution at Lovely Lane Chapel in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1784.
Prior to the revolution, ...
* 1787 - 1,955 dwellings in town.
* 1790 - Population: 13,503 people.
* 1794 -
James Calhoun becomes mayor.
* 1795 -
Holliday Street Theater opens.
* 1796
** City of Baltimore incorporated.
** Library Company of Baltimore founded.
19th century
* 1800 - Population: 26,504 people.
* 1803
**
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack ...
built.
** Dispensary incorporated.
* 1806 -
St. Mary's College and Theological Seminary incorporated.
* 1807
**
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
founded.
** Baltimore Museum established.
** Baltimore Circulating Library in business.
* 1809 - Joseph Robinson's Circulating Library in business.
* 1810
** Population: 46,535 people.
**
Alex. Brown & Sons incorporated.
* 1814
** September -
Battle of Baltimore
The Battle of Baltimore (September 12–15, 1814) was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders in the War of 1812. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland ...
**
Peale Museum
The Peale, located in Baltimore, Maryland, is Baltimore's Community Museum. Its mission is to evolve the role of museums in society by providing local creators and storytellers with the space and support the need to realize a complete and accessi ...
opens.
* 1815
**
Battle Monument
The Battle Monument, located in Battle Monument Square on North Calvert Street between East Fayette and East Lexington Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, commemorates the Battle of Baltimore with the British fleet of the Royal Navy's bombardment ...
erected.
** Baltimore Exchange opens.
* 1816
**
Asbury College founded.
**
Delphian Club
The Delphian Club was an early American literary club active between 1816 and 1825. The focal point of Baltimore's literary community, Delphians like John Neal were prodigious authors and editors. The group of mostly lawyers and doctors gath ...
founded.
* 1819 -
Independent Order of Odd Fellows founded.
* 1821
** Maryland Academy of Science and Literature established.
**
Basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
consecrated.
* 1822 - Adelphi Theatre opens.
* 1823 - Athenaeum founded.
* 1826 -
Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts founded.
* 1827
**
Washington Medical College established.
** Franklin Lyceum active.
* 1829
**
Mount Clare Station built.
**
George Washington monument erected.
** Circus building constructed.
* 1830 -
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad begins operating.
* 1832
** Cholera epidemic.
**
1832 Democratic National Convention
* 1835
**
1835 Democratic National Convention
The 1835 Democratic National Convention was held from May 20 to May 22, 1835, in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the second presidential nominating convention held in the history of the Democratic Party, following the 1832 Democratic National Conven ...
**
Bank riot.
* 1837
** ''
Baltimore Sun'' newspaper begins publication.
** Washington Hall opens.
**
Orchard Street United Methodist Church
Orchard Street United Methodist Church, formerly known as Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, is a historic Methodist Episcopal church located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is a church built in a mixture of revival styles. It wa ...
built.
* 1839
**
High School
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
opens.
** Mercantile Library Association established.
[
** ]Green Mount Cemetery
Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as man ...
dedicated.
** Municipal Record Office of Baltimore built.
* 1840
** Madison Lyceum active.1840 Democratic National Convention
The 1840 Democratic National Convention was held in Baltimore, Maryland, from May 5 to May 6. The Democratic Party re-nominated President Martin Van Buren, but failed to select a nominee for vice president. Van Buren is the only major party presi ...
* 1844
** Maryland Historical Society
The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), . founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and inte ...
incorporated.
** Western High School (Baltimore)
Western High School is the oldest Public school (government funded), public Single-sex education, all-girls High school#United States, high school remaining in the United States. It is the third-oldest public high school in the state of Maryland ...
opens.
** 1844 Democratic National Convention
The 1844 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held in Baltimore, Maryland from May 27 through 30. The convention nominated former Governor James K. Polk of Tennessee for president and former Senator George M. D ...
** 1844 Whig National Convention
The 1844 Whig National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held on May 1, 1844 at Universalist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. It nominated the Whig Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1844 election. The ...
** Baltimore-Washington telegraph line
Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...
opens.
* 1845 - Newton University established.1848 Democratic National Convention
The 1848 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from Monday May 22 to Thursday May 25 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for President and Vice president i ...
* 1849 - Baltimore Female College in operation.President Street Station
The President Street Station in Baltimore, Maryland, is a former train station and railroad terminal. Built in 1849 and opened in February 1850, the station saw some of the earliest bloodshed of the American Civil War (1861-1865), and was an impo ...
built.
* 1851
** Baltimore becomes independent city
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province).
Historical precursors
In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
.
** New Assembly-Rooms open.1852 Democratic National Convention
The 1852 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from June 1 to June 5 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1852 electi ...
** 1852 Whig National Convention
The 1852 Whig National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held from June 17 to June 20, in Baltimore, Maryland. It nominated the Whig Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1852 election. The convention sel ...
* 1853 - Baltimore Police Department established.
* 1856
** Know-Nothing Riot.
** 1856 Whig National Convention
The 1856 Whig National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held from September 17 to September 18, in Baltimore, Maryland. Attended by a rump group of Whigs who had not yet left the declining party, the 1856 convention was the l ...
* 1857 - Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...
founded.
* 1859 - City Fire Department formed.
* 1860 - 1860 Constitutional Union Convention
The 1860 Constitutional Union National Convention met on May 9, 1860 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the only national convention ever held by the Constitutional Union Party, which was organized largely by former Whig Party
members from the Sou ...
* 1861 - Pratt Street Riot.
* 1864
** St. Francis Xavier Church dedicated.
** 1864 Republican National Convention
* 1865 - Concordia Opera House opens.Concordia Hall
Concordia Hall was a music venue in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1866 by Germans from the largest immigrant community in that city. It was the location for readings by Charles Dickens in 1868, during his second visit to America., and o ...
is founded.
** Morgan College
Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...
established.
** Normal school opens.Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
founded.
** The Maryland Zoo
The Maryland Zoo — also known as The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore and formerly known as The Baltimore City Zoo or the Baltimore Zoo — is a 135-acre park located in historic Druid Hill Park in the northwestern area of the City of Baltimore, Ma ...
opens.
* 1877 - Railroad Strike.
* 1878 - George Peabody Library
The George Peabody Library is a library connected to the Johns Hopkins University, focused on research into the 19th century. It was formerly the Library of the Peabody Institute of music in the City of Baltimore, and is located on the Peabody c ...
opens.
* 1880
** Woman's Industrial Exchange founded.
** Celebration of 150th anniversary of city.
* 1881 - Faultless Pajama Company in business.
* 1882 - Enoch Pratt Free Library
The Enoch Pratt Free Library is the free public library system of Baltimore, Maryland. Its Central Library and office headquarters are located on 400 Cathedral Street (southbound) and occupy the northeastern three quarters of a city block bounded ...
established.
* 1883
** Baltimore Manual Training School founded.
** Colored High and Training School founded.
** Baltimore Young Women's Christian Association
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
founded.
* 1885 - Goucher College
Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...
established.Baltimore Afro-American
The ''Baltimore Afro-American'', commonly known as ''The Afro'' or ''Afro News'', is a weekly African-American newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the flagship newspaper of the ''AFRO-American'' chain and the longest-running Africa ...
'' begins publication.
* 1894 - Lyric Opera House
The Lyric Performing Arts Center is a music venue in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, located close to the University of Baltimore law school. The building was modeled after the Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam, and it was inaugurate ...
opens.
* 1895 - Clifton Park opens (approximate date).Electric Park
Electric Park was a name shared by dozens of amusement parks in the United States that were constructed as trolley parks and owned by electric companies and streetcar companies. After 1903, the success of Coney Island inspired a proliferation of ...
opens.
** Colored Young Women's Christian Association founded.
* 1898 - built.
20th century
* 1900
** Population: 508,957 people.Belvedere Hotel
The Belvedere is a Beaux Arts style building in Baltimore, Maryland. Designed by the Boston architectural firm of Parker and Thomas and built in 1902–1903, the Belvedere is a Baltimore City Landmark at the southeast corner of North Charles St ...
opens.
* 1904 - Great Baltimore Fire
The Great Baltimore Fire raged in Baltimore, Maryland from Sunday, February 7, to Monday, February 8, 1904. More than 1,500 buildings were completely leveled, and some 1,000 severely damaged, bringing property loss from the disaster to an estimate ...
.
* 1908 - Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway
The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A) was an American railroad of central Maryland and Washington, D.C., built in the 19th and 20th century. The WB&A absorbed two older railroads, the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad an ...
begins operating.
* 1911 - Pennsylvania Station (Baltimore)
Baltimore Penn Station, formally named Baltimore Pennsylvania Station in full, is the main inter-city passenger rail hub in Baltimore, Maryland. Designed by New York architect Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison (1872–1938), it was constructed in 191 ...
built.
* 1912
** Arch Social Club founded.
** 1912 Democratic National Convention
The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory off North Howard Street in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912.
The Convention
The convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore from June 25 t ...
* 1914
** Baltimore Museum of Art
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of ...
founded.
** Hippodrome Theatre built.
* 1916
** Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...
formed.
** Baltimore Black Sox
The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team active between 1913 and 1936, based in Baltimore, Maryland.
Founding
The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six ...
baseball team formed.
* 1917
** Fort Holabird
Fort Holabird was a United States Army post in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, active from 1918 to 1973.
History
Fort Holabird was located in the southeast corner of Baltimore and northwest of the suburban developments of Dundalk, Maryland, in s ...
established.
** Lithuanian Hall opens.
* 1918
** William Frederick Broening
William Frederick Broening (1870–1953) was a Maryland politician and twice Mayor of Baltimore (1919–1923, 1927–1931).
Background
William Frederick Broening was born in Baltimore, Maryland on 2 June 1870, the son of Henry Jacob Broening an ...
was elected mayor.
* 1922
** Memorial Stadium built.
** Royal Theatre opens.
* 1923 - Howard W. Jackson
Howard Wilkinson Jackson (August 4, 1877August 31, 1960) was the Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland for two separate mayoral administrations, the first of four years from 1923 to 1927 and the second administration of three terms of four years each (12 ye ...
becomes mayor.
* 1925 - University of Baltimore
The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt's schools and colleges provide education in business, law, public affairs, and the applied arts and sc ...
founded.
* 1930
** Baltimore Colored Symphony Orchestra organized.
** U.S. Post Office and Courthouse built.
* 1934 - Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
established.
* 1949 - Edgar Allan Poe House opens.
* 1950
** Baltimore Civic Opera Company established.
** Population: 950,000 people (approximate).
* 1953 - B&O Railroad Museum
The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic railway station exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Balt ...
opens.
* 1954
** Orioles
Oriole or Orioles may refer to:
Animals
* Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae
* New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae
Music
* The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...
baseball team relocates to Baltimore.
** Cylburn Wildflower Preserve and Garden Center formed.
* 1955 - Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
protest at Read's Drug Store.
* 1956 - Desegregation of the Baltimore City Public School System
* 1962 - CFG Bank Arena
CFG Bank Arena (originally the Baltimore Civic Center and formerly Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore Arena and 1st Mariner Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This venue is located about one block away from the Baltimore Convention ...
opens.
* 1963 - Center Stage (theater)
Center Stage is the state theater of Maryland, and Baltimore's largest professional producing theater.
Center Stage began in a converted gymnasium in 1963 as a full arena theatre that seated 240 people. Today, Center Stage houses two performing ...
opens.
* 1964 - ''Baltimore News-American
The ''Baltimore News-American'' was a broadsheet newspaper published in downtown Baltimore, Maryland until May 27, 1986. It had a continuous lineage (in various forms) of more than 200 years. For much of the mid-20th century, it had the largest ...
'' newspaper begins publication.
* 1968
** Baltimore riot of 1968
The Baltimore riot of 1968 was a period of civil unrest that lasted from April 6 to April 14, 1968, in Baltimore. The uprising included crowds filling the streets, burning and looting local businesses, and confronting the police and national gua ...
** Baltimore American Indian Center
The Baltimore American Indian Center, Inc. (BAIC) is a center for American Indians that is located in Upper Fell's Point, Baltimore, Maryland. The center was founded in 1968 as the "American Indian Study Center" to serve the growing Native Amer ...
is established.
* 1971 - William Donald Schaefer
William Donald Schaefer (November 2, 1921 – April 18, 2011) was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. As a Democrat, he was the 45th mayor of Baltimore from December 1 ...
becomes mayor.
* 1974 - Baltimore municipal strike of 1974
* 1976 - Maryland Science Center
The Maryland Science Center, located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, opened to the public in 1976. It includes three levels of exhibits, a planetarium, and an observatory. It was one of the original structures that drove the revitalization of the ...
opens.
* 1977 - Baltimore World Trade Center
Located on the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, the Baltimore World Trade Center is the world's tallest regular pentagonal-based skyscraper (the pentagonal-based JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston is taller, but is not regular). It was designed ...
opens.
* 1979
** Baltimore Convention Center
The Baltimore Convention Center is a convention and exhibition hall located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The center is a municipal building owned and operated by the City of Baltimore.
The facility was constructed in two separate phases: th ...
opens.
** Baltimore School for the Arts
The Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) is a public performing arts high school located in Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Maryland, United States and is part of the Baltimore City Public Schools system. Established in 1979, The Baltimore School for the ...
founded.
* 1980
** Harborplace
Harborplace is a shopping complex on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland.
Description
The property is composed of 2 two-story pavilions: the Pratt Street Pavilion and the Light Street Pavilion. Each of these buildings contains many stores an ...
opens.
** Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association formed.
** Population: 787,000 people (approximate).
* 1981
** National Aquarium in Baltimore
The National Aquarium – also known as National Aquarium in Baltimore and formerly known as Baltimore Aquarium – is a non-profit public aquarium located at 501 East Pratt Street on Pier 3 in the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore, Maryl ...
opens.
** Baltimore Museum of Industry opens.
* 1982 - Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, often referred to simply as the Meyerhoff, is a music venue that opened September 16, 1982, at 1212 Cathedral Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The main auditorium ...
opens.
* 1983
** Baltimore Metro Subway
The Metro SubwayLink is a rapid transit line serving the greater area of Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, and is operated by the Maryland Transit Administration. The segment in Downtown Baltimore is underground, and most of the line outs ...
begins operating.
** Great Blacks in Wax Museum
The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum is a wax museum in Baltimore, Maryland featuring prominent African-American and other black historical figures. It was established in 1983, in a downtown storefront on Saratoga Street.
The museum is currentl ...
established.
* 1986 - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...
headquarters relocates to Baltimore.
21st century
* 2000 - National Katyń Memorial is constructed.
* 2002 - The Portal (community center) opens.
* 2005 - Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture opens.
* 2006 - ''The Baltimore Examiner'' begins publication.
* 2008 - Hilton Baltimore built.
* 2009 - Sheila Dixon trial.
* 2010
** Stephanie Rawlings-Blake becomes mayor.
** Population: 620,961 people.
* 2011
** Occupy Baltimore begins.
** Lyric Opera Baltimore established.
* 2015 - 2015 Baltimore protests, Freddie Gray protests
* 2016 - Catherine Pugh becomes mayor.
* 2019 - Jack Young (politician), Jack Young become mayor.
* 2020 - Brandon Scott becomes mayor.
See also
* History of Baltimore
* List of mayors of Baltimore
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Baltimore, Maryland
* List of museums in Baltimore
* ''''
* ''''
References
Bibliography
;Published in the 19th c.
*
*
*
*
;Published in the 20th c.
*
*
External links
{{commons category, Baltimore, Maryland
* New York Public Library
Images related to Baltimore
various dates.
History of Baltimore,
Timelines of cities in the United States, Baltimore