Maryland Manual On-Line - www.mdmanual.net

MARYLAND AT A GLANCE

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

Aided by Robert J. Brugger, Maryland: A Middle Temperment, 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.

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 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. Kerbin "Jim Crow" public accommodations law 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, April. Washington County experimented successfully with horse-drawn bookmobile.

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

1905, Nov. Voters defeated black-disenfranchising Poe amendment.

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 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) 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 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 anti-black voting amendment.

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

1909, April 6. Matthew Henson, of Charles County, reached North Pole with Robert Peary.

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. Hubert Latham 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.

1911. Isaac E. Emerson built Emerson or "Bromo-Seltzer" Tower, Baltimore.

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.

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

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.

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

1915. Education reform measures enacted.

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

1916. State Board of Motion Picture Censors authorized.

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


[photo, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore, Maryland] 1916. The Johns Hopkins University moved to Homewood in Baltimore.

1916, Feb. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra organized under Gustav Strube.

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.

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


1917. Compulsory work law enacted.

1917. State Council of Defense named.

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

1917. Aberdeen Proving Ground, first testing center of U.S. Army, established.

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

1918. Edgewood Arsenal formed.

1918. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission created.

1918. Baltimore expanded city limits.

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

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.

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

1919. H. L. Mencken 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. 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.

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

1920. State's first Air National Guard unit.

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

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

1921. Eubie Blake staged "Shuffle Along," New York City.

1921, Jan. Associated Jewish Charities formed, Baltimore.

1921, Nov. 8. Mary E. W. Risteau became first woman elected to House of Delegates.

1922. Quadrennial Elections Amendment mandated general elections every four years instead of every two (effective 1926).

1922. Equalization of school spending among counties authorized.

1922. Ku Klux Klan rallied in Frederick and Baltimore.

1922. Commercial radio stations broadcasted in Baltimore.

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 began editing American Mercury.

1924. Floods destroyed much of Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.

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 created.

1928. Grammar-school education mandated.

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, 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. "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans traveled through Maryland.

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

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

1933. Peoples Unemployment League formed.

1933. Storm cut inlet at Ocean City.

1933. Billie Holliday auditioned with Benny Goodman orchestra.

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

1933. Pratt Library, Baltimore, moved to new building.

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

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

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.


[photo, Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland] 1934. Walters Art Gallery opened (built 1909, bequeathed by Henry Walters to city, 1931), Baltimore.

1935. County welfare boards authorized.

1935. Hall of Records opened, Annapolis.

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. In Murray v. Pearson et al., Baltimore City Court ordered integration of University of Maryland Law School. Represented in case by Thurgood Marshall, Donald Gaines Murray registered September 1935.

  • "From Segregation to Integration: The Donald Murray Case, 1935-1937"
  • 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. University of Maryland School of Law opened to blacks after NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall brought suit.

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


    1935, Nov. Pan American 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, March. Floods at Cumberland, National Guard called in.

    1937. State income tax instituted.

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

    1937. Pan American Airways inaugurated Baltimore to Bermuda service.

    1937. St. John's College adopted "great books" curriculum.

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

    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.

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

    1939. Ritchie Highway 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 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 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.

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

    1942. Andrews Field formed by federal government as major air base, Camp Springs, Prince George's County.

    1942. Commission to Study the Problems Affecting the Colored Population formed.


    [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. Naval Medical Center dedicated, Bethesda.

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

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


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

    1943. "Work or fight" law enacted.

    1943. Explosion at Elkton ammunition factory killed fifteen workers.

    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, June 6. Troops of U.S. 29th Infantry Division with Maryland and Virginia troops landed at Normandy on Omaha Beach.

    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-Lo, 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.

    1946. Montgomery County Junior College (now Montgomery College) opened, first 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, 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 Mental Hygiene Administration) established.

    1949. General Assembly spent heavily on public schools.

    1949. Ober loyalty law enacted.

    1949. Slot machines allowed by law in Southern Maryland.

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

    1950, Jan. Alger Hiss sentenced for perjury.

    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.

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

    1952. Historic Annapolis, Inc., organized.

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

    1952. Polytechnic High School in Baltimore integrated.

    1952, July 30. Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened.

    1953. State highway master plan.

    1953. State parks opened to blacks.

    1954. 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. First African American elected to House of Delegates, Harry A. Cole (1921-1999) from Baltimore.

    1954. Baltimore-Washington Expressway opened.


    [photo, Thurgood Marshall statue at Legislative Services Building entrance, Lawyers' Mall, Annapolis, Maryland] 1954, May. 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.

    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. Baltimore.

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


    1955, Sept. Desegregation of public schools began.

    1956. Voting machines first used for elections throughout State.

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

    1956. Equal employment ordinance enacted, 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. Washington County educational television project began.

    1956. The Floating Opera, by John Barth, published.

    1956. James W. Rouse 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 built Harundale Mall, Anne Arundel County, first enclosed shopping center in State.

    1958, Jan. The National Weather Analysis Center merged with the Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit, forming the 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. Baltimore Colts, National Football League champions.

    1959. Baltimore Colts again National Football League champions.

    1959. I-83 linked Baltimore and Harrisburg.

    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. Appalachian Regional Development Commission formed at Annapolis governors' meeting.

    1960. Department of Chesapeake Bay Affairs created.

    1960. Department of Economic Development formed.

    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. 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. Law enacted to phase out slot machines.

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

    1963. I-95 connected Baltimore and Wilmington.

    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, Oct. James W. Rouse announced plan to build Columbia in Howard County.

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

    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.

    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. Department of Water Resources created.

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

    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. 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, 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.

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

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

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

    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, Spring. Student rebellion at University of Maryland College Park.

    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.

    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.

    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 won National Book Award for Chimera.

    1973, Jan. 2. State Lottery 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. Spiro T. Agnew resigned vice-presidency, pleaded no contest to felony charge.

    1974. Walters Art Gallery 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 (Dec. 31, 1914 - Oct. 27, 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.

    1975. Mother Elizabeth Seton canonized by Pope Paul VI.

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

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


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

    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.


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


    [photo, Key Bridge over Patapsco River, linking Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland] 1977. Harry A. Cole (1921-1999), first African American appointed to Court of Appeals.

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

    1977. World Trade Center opened, Baltimore.

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

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


    1977, June 19. Bishop John Nepomucene Neumann canonized by Pope Paul VI.

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

    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 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 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.

    1985. Pennsylvania joined Chesapeake Bay Commission.

    1985, Nov. 24. Fort McHenry Tunnel opened.

    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.

    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, Sept. 10. Chesapeake Bay Partnership Agreement, to reduce pollution in Bay's tributaries by the year 2000, signed by Governor, Maryland's 23 counties, and Baltimore City.

    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 (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.

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