MARYLAND AT A GLANCE

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

Aided by Robert J. Brugger, Maryland: A Middle Temperament, 1634-1980 (Baltimore & London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988).

1900 - 1999


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

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. Election law replaced symbols on ballots with words.

1902. Regulations for miners' work conditions enacted.

1902. Child labor under age twelve forbidden by law.

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

1902. Compulsory school attendance law passed.

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. "Jim Crow" public accommodations law, introduced by William G. Kerbin, enacted.

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

1904. Sinclair-Scott began making Maryland motorcar.

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

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

1905-1909. Walters Art Gallery 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. Haman Act enacted, encouraged oyster-bed leasing, established Shell Fish Commission, and provided for survey of Chesapeake Bay bottom.

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

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

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

1906, Nov. "Anchors Aweigh" composed by Charles A. Zimmerman, Naval Academy bandmaster, and midshipman Alfred Hart Miles; performed at Army-Navy football game that year; later dedicated to Class of 1907.

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

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

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

1908. State Roads Commission created.

1908. Board of Agriculture formed.

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

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

1909. Just Government League of Maryland founded by Edith Houghton Hooker.

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

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

1909, April 6. Matthew Henson (1866-1955) of Charles County, reached North Pole with Robert Peary.

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 redrafted and enacted.

1910. Pure food and drug laws and anti-prostitution measures enacted.

1910. State Commissioner of Motor Vehicles authorized.

1910. Public Service Commission established.

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

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 over Baltimore during Halethorpe air meet.

1911. Baltimore completed sewerage system.

1911. Army established flying school at College Park.

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

1911. Digges voting amendment defeated.


[photo, Bromo-Seltzer Tower, 21 South Eutaw St., Baltimore, Maryland] 1911. Isaac E. Emerson (1859-1931) built Emerson "Bromo-Seltzer" Tower, the tallest Baltimore building until 1923.

1912. Ten-hour work law for women, strengthened child-labor laws enacted.

1912. Haman oyster law enacted.

1912. Party presidential primary elections adopted.

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

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

1914. Babe Ruth (1895-1948) pitched for International League Orioles.

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

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 in Baltimore.

1916. The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (now Bloomberg School of Public Health) founded in Baltimore, the oldest and largest school of public health in the world.

1916. State Board of Motion Picture Censors authorized.

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

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.


[photo, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore, Maryland] 1916, Feb. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra organized under Gustav Strube (1867-1953).

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

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

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


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

1917. Compulsory work law enacted.

1917. State Council of Defense named.

1917. Federal government established Camp Meade (now Fort Meade).

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 Europe.


[photo, World War I Memorial, 19 North Main St., Boonsboro, Maryland] 1917, Oct. 20. Aberdeen Proving Ground, first testing center of U.S. Army, established (opened Dec. 1917).

1918. Edgewood Arsenal formed.

1918. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission created.

1918. Baltimore expanded city limits.

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

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

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.


1918, Sept.-Nov. Influenza epidemic throughout Maryland.

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

1919. Baltimore Orioles won first of six 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. State Athletic Commission formed.

1920. Maryland Racing Commission created.

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


[photo, 1920, Jan. 17. Authorized by 18th Amendment, Prohibition made it illegal to manufacture, sell, or transport alcohol. Ended Dec. 5, 1933.

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.

1921. League of Women Voters of Maryland founded.

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

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


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. Commercial radio stations broadcasted 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.

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

1924. Edna Ferber gathered material for Showboat aboard James Adams's barge Playhouse.

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. Ammon H. Kreider and Lewis E. Reisner began building single-engine airplanes, Hagerstown.

1926. Baltimore equalized pay for black and white teachers.

1927. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission formed.

1927. Interracial Commission (now Commission on Civil Rights) created.

1928. Grammar-school education mandated.

1928. Conowingo Hydroelectric Generating Station (Conowingo Dam) began operation at border of Cecil and Harford counties.

1929. Glenn L. Martin Company moved aircraft plant from Ohio to Middle River, Baltimore County.

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.

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 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 traveled through Maryland.

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

1933, April. Billie Holliday (1915-1959) auditioned with Benny Goodman orchestra.

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.


[photo, Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland] 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.

1934, Dec. 5. Prohibition ended.

1934, Nov. 3. Walters Art Gallery (now Walters Art Museum), Baltimore, opened as a public museum.

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


[photo, Thurgood Marshall statue before State House, Annapolis, Maryland] 1935. Baltimore Transit Company formed from United Railways.

1935. County welfare boards authorized.

1935. Hall of Records opened on the campus of St. John's College in Annapolis.

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

1935. University of Maryland School of Law opened to blacks after NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall brought suit (Murray v. Pearson et al.). Donald Gaines Murray registered Sept. 1935.

  • From Segregation to Integration: The Donald Murray Case, 1935-1937
  • Thurgood Marshall statue before State House, Annapolis, Maryland, June 2000. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.


    1935, Nov. 22. Pan American Airways flew Martin M-130 flying boat, the China Clipper, on first scheduled air-mail flight to Orient.

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

    1936. Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) strike led to riot, Cumberland.

    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), King of Great Britain and Ireland, abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson (1896-1986) of Baltimore.

    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. Pan American Airways 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 developed Mariner, most serviceable flying boat ever built.

    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.

    1939. Fairchild Company won competition for Army trainer with PT-19.

    1939. Ritchie Highway (MD Route 2) connected Baltimore and Annapolis.

    1939. Morgan College became part of State system.

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

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

    1940, April 27. First divided highway in Maryland dedicated (MD Route 2 from Annapolis to Baltimore).

    1940, Aug. Maryland Council of Defense and Resources created.

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

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

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

    1941. Maryland State Guard (now Maryland Defense Force) authorized.

    1941. Board of Natural Resources created, Tidewater Fisheries Department remaining separate.

    1941, March 29. Maryland ratified 19th Amendment to U.S. Constitution, on women's suffrage.

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

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

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


    [photo, World War II Memorial overlooking Severn River, Annapolis, Maryland] 1942, March 10. A U.S. government project tasked with protecting Navy vessels from air attacks, the Applied Physics Laboratory began operations in Silver Spring.

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

    1942, Aug. 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, Sept. 5. Camp Springs Air Base (now Joint Base Andrews) designated by federal government in Prince George's County.

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

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

    1943. "Work or fight" law enacted.

    1943. Explosion at Elkton ammunition factory killed fifteen workers.

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

    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. New airport named Friendship International Airport after Friendship Methodist Church on whose land airport was built.

    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 on 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.

    1945. Slum clearance began in Baltimore by Redevelopment Commission.

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

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

    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.

    1947. New roads program to include bay bridge enacted.

    1947. Higher income tax legislated.

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

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

    1947. Edmondson Village Shopping Center opened, Baltimore.

    1947, July 1. State sales tax instituted, first in State history.

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

    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.

    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. Ober loyalty law enacted, recommended by commission chaired by Frank B. Ober, Esq.

    1950. Law suit opened University of Maryland School of Nursing to blacks.

    1950, Jan. Alger Hiss (1904-1996) sentenced for perjury.

    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.

    1951. Commission on Interracial Problems and Relations (now Commission on Civil Rights) formed.

    1951. University of Maryland Graduate School integrated.

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

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

    1951, Oct. 4. Henrietta Lacks (born Loretta Pleasant, 1920) died 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. Nation's first intensive care facility established at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

    1952, July 30. Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened.

    1952, Sept. Baltimore Polytechnic Institute integrated.

    1953. State highway master plan.

    1953. Walter Hines Page School of International Relations disbanded, ending Owen Lattimore's time as director.

    1953. State parks opened to blacks.

    1954. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory relocated to Laurel.

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

    1954. University of Maryland integrated, first state university below Mason-Dixon Line to do so.

    1954. Public housing in Baltimore integrated.

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

    1954. Baltimore-Washington Parkway opened.


    [photo, Thurgood Marshall statue at Legislative Services Building entrance, Lawyers' Mall, Annapolis, Maryland] 1954, May 17. Thurgood Marshall and NAACP won Brown v. Board decision of U.S. Supreme Court.

    1954, July 1. Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit formed in Suitland through collaboration of MIT's Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chicago, U.S. Air Force, and Weather Bureau.

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

    1955. Maryland National Guard units integrated.

    1955. The National Weather Analysis Center began operation in Suitland.

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


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

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

    1955, Jan. 13. Morgan State College students stage 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 Baltimore 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. Washington County educational television project began.

    1956. The Floating Opera, by John Barth (1930-), published.

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

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

    1957. Maryland dissolved 1785 compact with Virginia.

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

    1957. Cone Wing opened, Baltimore Museum of Art.

    1957, Nov. 30. Baltimore Harbor Tunnel opened.

    1958. James W. Rouse (1914-1996) built Harundale Mall, Anne Arundel County, first enclosed shopping center in State.

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

    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. 28 Baltimore Colts, National Football League champions.

    1959, Dec. 27. Baltimore Colts again National Football League champions.

    1959. I-83 linked Baltimore with Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

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

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

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

    1960. Conference of Appalachian Govenors formed at Annapolis meeting.

    1960. Department of Chesapeake Bay Affairs created.

    1960. Department of Economic Development formed.

    1960, Feb. 22. An integrated group of Johns Hopkins University students, accompanied by Duke Ellington, briefly conducted 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. 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. Maryland Historical Trust authorized, the first such state agency in the nation.

    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.

    1962. House of Delegates reapportioned.

    1962. Baltimore City and Montgomery County adopted open accommodations.

    1962. Voters approved Reed Commission fisheries agreement with Virginia.

    1962. Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, published.

    1962. Jones Falls Expressway opened.

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

    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.

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

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

    1963. Advisory Council on Higher Education formed to oversee three-tiered college system.

    1963. I-95 connected Baltimore and Wilmington.

    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 in Baltimore. Her death later was memorialized by Bob Dylan in "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll."

    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 11. Cambridge riots. Maryland National Guard remained through May 1965.

    1963, July. Black and white clergy forced integration of Gwynn Oak Park, Baltimore County.

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

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

    1964. Maryland Committee for Fair Representation won court test regarding Maryland senate representation.

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

    1964. Eastern Shore leaders established Wye Institute, Queen Anne's County.

    1964. Dundalk Marine Terminal began handling containerized cargoes.


    [photo, Feral horses [Assateague horses], Assateague Island National Seashore, Berlin, Maryland] 1964, April 7. Public accommodations law enacted.

    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. Appalachian Regional Commission formed.

    1965. Department of Water Resources created.

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


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


    1966. Second Chesapeake Bay Bridge authorized.

    1966. Fair employment law enacted.

    1966. St. Mary's City Commission formed.

    1966. Oyster law permitted dredging under power, two days a week.

    1966. University of Maryland campus at Baltimore County opened.

    1966, March 23. Maryland ratified 25th Amendment to U.S. Constitution, providing for succession to Presidency.

    1966, Oct. 9. Baltimore Orioles won World Series.

    1967. Voters largely rejected open housing referendum.

    1967. Morris A. Mechanic Theater opened, Baltimore.

    1967. Merriweather Post Pavilion opened, Columbia.

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

    1967, July 25. Cambridge riots.

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

    1967, Oct. 2. Thurgood Marshall sworn in as U.S. Supreme Court Justice, first African-American to join Court.

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

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

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

    1968. Maryland Magazine published.

    1968. Marshall W. Nirenberg, National Institutes of Health scientist, won Nobel Prize.

    1968, April. Riots in Baltimore followed assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Maryland National Guard 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.

    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. Maryland Public Broadcasting aired.

    1969. USS Constellation moored permanently at Pier 1, Baltimore.

    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, 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).

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

    1970. New environmental legislation enacted.

    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, 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. Baltimore Orioles won World Series.

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

    1971. Baltimore Colts won Super Bowl V.

    1971. State adopted open housing legislation.

    1971. First high-rise condominium, Ocean City.

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

    1971, April 18. Maryland ratified 26th Amendment to U.S. Constitution, allowing 18-year olds to vote.

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

    1972. State equal rights amendment enacted, approved women's equal rights amendment to U.S. Constitution.

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

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

    1973. Friendship Airport reopened as Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport.

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

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

    1973, Feb. 10. Johns Hopkins physicians and scientists developed first rechargeable heart pacemaker.

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

    1973, June 28. Second parallel Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened.

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

    1973, Oct. 10. Spiro T. Agnew resigned vice-presidency, pleaded no contest to felony charge.

    1974. Walters Art Gallery (now Walters Art Museum) new wing opened, 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. Center Stage reopened in converted St. Ignatius Church/Loyola College complex, Baltimore.


    [photo, Maryland Science Center, 601 Light St., Baltimore, Maryland] 1975, Jan. National Meteorological Center relocated to Camp Springs.

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

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

    1976. Maryland Science Center opened in Baltimore.

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


    [photo, World Trade Center Baltimore, 401 East Pratt St, Baltimore, Maryland] 1976. Washington Metro, rapid transit system for national capital area, opened to link stations in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia.

    1976. State civic and history groups marked national bicentennial.

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

    1977. World Trade Center opened, Baltimore.

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


    [photo, Key Bridge over Patapsco River, linking Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland] 1977. Francis Scott Key Bridge ("Buckle" of the Beltway) opened across Patapsco River.

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

    1977. Aug. Marvin Mandel found guilty on mail fraud charges, appealed decision, succeeded by Lt. Governor Blair Lee III.

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


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

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

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

    1979. Daniel Nathans and Hamilton Smith of Johns Hopkins Hospital won Nobel Prizes for medicine.

    1979, Aug. Baltimore Convention Center opened.

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

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

    1980. Maryland and Virginia established Chesapeake Bay Commission to coordinate interstate legislative planning and programs to restore Bay resources.

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

    1981, Aug. National Aquarium opened in Baltimore.

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

    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 R. Hughes signed the bill into law.


    [photo, Pride of Baltimore memorial, Rash Field, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland] 1985. Pennsylvania joined Chesapeake Bay Commission.

    1985, Nov. 24. Fort McHenry Tunnel opened.

    1986, May 14. Pride of Baltimore, a replica clipper ship, sank in a storm north of Puerto Rico, taking her captain and three crew members down with her.

    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.


    [photo, Pride of Baltimore II, Baltimore, Maryland] 1987, Dec. 14. Chesapeake Bay Agreement to restore and protect Bay signed by Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, District of Columbia, Chesapeake Bay Commission, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

    1988. Pride of Baltimore II commissioned as a sailing memorial to the original Pride of Baltimore, and as a Goodwill Ambassador of State of Maryland and Port of Baltimore.

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


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

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

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

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

    1998, Oct. 15-19. Wye Summit. Middle East Peace Talks between Israel and the Palistine Liberation Organization were held at Aspen Institute's Wye River Conference Centers, Queen Anne's County. The Wye River Memorandum, resulting from the talks, was signed in Washington, DC, Oct. 23, 1998.

    1999. General Assembly deregulated electric industry.

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