Maryland History Timeline

1600's

1608 - Captain John Smith explores the Chesapeake Bay

1631 - English trading post established on Kent Island

1632 - Maryland Charter granted to Cecilius Calvert by King Charles I

1633 - Ark and Dove sail from the Isle of Wight, England

1634 - Ark and Dove arrive at St. Clements Island; St. Mary's City founded

1649 - "An Act Concerning Religion" passed; Puritans founded Providence (now Annapolis)

1664 - Slavery allowed by law in Maryland

1695 - Annapolis becomes the capital of Maryland

 

 

1700's

 

1727 - Maryland Gazette founded - the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States

1729 - Baltimore founded

1767 - Mason-Dixon Line established as Maryland's northern boundary

1776 - Four Marylanders sign the Declaration of Independence

1783 - Annapolis became the nation's capital from November 1783 until August 1784; George Washington resigned his commission in the State House

1784 - Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris in the State House

1786 - Annapolis Convention called for meeting to discuss new form of government

1788 - Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the U. S. Constitution

1791 - Maryland donates land for the new capital, Washington D.C.

 

 

1800's

 

1813 - British raid Havre de Grace during the War of 1812

1814 - British burn Washington and bomb Fort McHenry; Francis Scott Key writes the "Star- Spangled Banner"

1826 - Public schools established by law; Jews given right to vote and to hold public office

1828 - Building begun on the C&O Canal and the B&O Railroad

1829 - C&D Canal opened

1830 - B&O Railroad establishes first passenger rail service

1837 - Baltimore Sun begins publication

1844 - World's first telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington established

1845 - U. S. Naval Academy established in Annapolis

1850 - C&O Canal completed from Georgetown to Cumberland

1861 - First bloodshed of Civil War occurs in Baltimore

1862 - Confederate forces defeated at Antietam

1864 - Maryland abolishes slavery

1867 - Present Maryland Constitution adopted

1876 - Johns Hopkins University founded

1886 - Enoch Pratt Free Library opens in Baltimore

 

 

1900's

 

1904 - Downtown Baltimore destroyed by fire

1936 - University of Maryland School of Law admits first African-American

1952 - William Preston Lane, Jr., Memorial Bridge (Chesapeake Bay Bridge) opens

1967 - Thurgood Marshall becomes first African-American Justice of the Supreme Court

1980 - Baltimore's Harborplace opens

1985 - Maryland begins an environmental program to clean up the Chesapeake Bay

1992 - Oriole Park at Camden Yards officially opened

1995 - Annapolis celebrates its 300-year anniversary as the capital of Maryland