| 17th Century |
| 1608 |
Capt. John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay. |
| 1629 |
George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore, left Avalon in Newfoundland, visited Virginia. |
| 1631 |
Kent Island settled by Virginians under William Claiborne. |
| 1632, June 20 |
Maryland Charter granted to Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, by Charles I, King of Great Britain and Ireland. |
| 1633, Nov. 22. |
The Ark and the Dove set sail from Cowes, England, for Maryland. |
| 1634, March 25 |
Landing of settlers at St. Clement's Island. |
| 1634/5, Feb. 26 |
First General Assembly met at St. Mary's City . |
| 1647/8, Jan. 21 |
Margaret Brent denied right to vote in General Assembly. |
| 1649, April 21 |
A law was made to give everyone religious freedom in Maryland. |
| 1664 |
Slavery permitted by law; slaves to serve for life. |
| 1694/5, Feb |
Capital moved from St. Mary's City to Annapolis . |
| 18th Century |
| 1727, Sept. |
Maryland Gazette began publication at Annapolis. |
| 1729 |
Baltimore Town established. |
| 1763-1767 |
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed boundary line with Pennsylvania. |
| 1772, March 28 |
Cornerstone laid for State House in Annapolis. |
| 1774, Oct. 19 |
Burning of the Peggy Stewart in Annapolis harbor. |
| 1776, July 4 |
Declaration of Independence adopted in Philadelphia. Engrossed copy signed by Marylanders W illiam Paca, Ch arles Carroll of Carrollton, Thomas Stone, and Samuel Chase . |
| 1776, July 6 |
Maryland Convention declared independence from Great Britain. |
| 1776, Aug. 14-Nov. 11 |
Constitutional Convention of 1776 (meeting of Ninth Provincial Convention). |
| 1776, Aug. 27 |
Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Long Island and continued to engage the British at later battles, including White Plains, and Harlem HEIGHTs. |
| 1776, Dec. 20 to 1997 March 4. |
Continental Congress met at Baltimore. |
| 1777, Feb. 5 |
First General Assembly elected under State Constitution of 1776 met at Annapolis. |
| 1777, March 21 |
Inauguration of Thomas Johnson, first governor elected by General Assembly. Council of Safety disbands. |
| 1777, Sept. 11 |
Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania. |
| 1780, Aug. 16 |
In South Carolina, Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Camden. |
| 1781, Jan. 17 |
Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina. |
| 1781, March 1 |
Maryland ratified, and thereby made effective, the Articles of Confederation. |
| 1781, March 15 |
In North Carolina, Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Guilford Courthouse. |
| 1781, Sept. 8 |
Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina. |
| 1781, Nov. 5 |
John Hanson elected President of the United States in Congress Assembled. |
| 1782 |
Washington College established at Chestertown. |
| 1783, Nov. 26-, June 3 |
Continental Congress met at Annapolis. |
| 1783, Dec. 23 |
George Washington resigned commission as commander in chief of Continental Army at State House in Annapolis. |
| 1784 |
St. John's College established at Annapolis. |
| 1784, Jan. 14 |
Treaty of Paris, ending Revolutionary War, ratified by Congress at Annapolis. |
| 1787, Sept. 17 |
U.S. Constitution signed by Marylanders Daniel Carroll, James McHenry, and Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, at Philadelphia. |
| 1788, April 28 |
Maryland, the seventh state, ratified U.S. Constitution. |
| 1789, Dec. 19 |
Maryland ratified federal Bill of Rights, first ten amendments to U.S. Constitution. |
| 1791, Dec. 19 |
Maryland gave land for District of Columbia. |
| 1796 |
Baltimore City incorporated. |
| 19th Century |
| 1802 |
It was made unnecessary to own property in order to vote. |
| 1803 |
Voting by voice at elections changed to voting by ballot. |
| 1810 |
Vote taken from free blacks. |
| 1814, Aug. 24 |
Battle of Bladensburg . |
| 1814, Sept. 12 |
British repulsed at Battle of North Point . |
| 1814, Sept. 13 |
Bombardment of Fort McHenry, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write " Star-Spangled Banner ." |
| 1818 |
National Road completed from Cumberland to Wheeling, West Virginia. |
| 1824-1829 |
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal constructed through Cecil County to link Chesapeake Bay with Delaware River. |
| 1827, Feb. 28 |
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad chartered. |
| 1828-1848 |
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal constructed (to Cumberland by 1848). |
| 1844, May 24 |
Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrated telegraph line from Washington, DC, to Baltimore. |
| 1845, Oct. 10 |
U.S. Naval Academy founded at Annapolis. |
| 1859, Oct. 6 |
Ma ryland Agricultural College opened at College Park. |
| 1859, Oct. 16 |
John Brown launched raid from Maryland on federal arsenal in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. |
| 1861, April 26 |
General Assembly met in special session at Frederick while federal troops occupied Annapolis. |
| 1861, May 13 |
Gen. Benjamin F. Butler's Union forces occupied Baltimore. |
| 1862, Sept. 17 |
Battle of Antietam . |
| 1863, June |
Confederates invaded Maryland on their way to Gettysburg . |
| 1864, July 6 |
Hagerstown held for ransom by Confederates. |
| 1864, July 9 |
Frederick held for ransom by Confederates. |
| 1864, July 9 |
Battle of Monocacy. |
| 1864, Nov. 1 |
Maryland slaves emancipated by State Constitution of 1864. |
| 1886, Jan. 5 |
Enoch Pratt Free Library opened in Baltimore. |
| 1888-1889 |
Oyster Wars; Maryland and Virginia watermen fought on Chesapeake Bay. |
| 1890 |
Vote by secret ballot in elections adopted. |
| 1893, Oct |
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine opened in Baltimore. |
| 1894 |
First child labor law passed. |
| 20th Century |
| 1902 |
Compulsory school attendance law passed. |
| 1904, Feb. 7 |
Baltimore fire. Seventy blocks in heart of business district devastated. |
| 1909, April 6 |
Matthew Henson, of Charles County, reached North Pole with Robert Peary. |
| 1917 |
Aberdeen Proving Ground, first testing center of U.S. Army, established. |
| 1920, Nov. 2 |
Women voted for the first time in Maryland. |
| 1931, March 3 |
" Star-Spangled Banner " adopted as national anthem. |
| 1937, June 1 |
City of Greenbelt chartered, a New Deal model community. |
| 1938, June |
National Institutes of Health established in Bethesda. |
| 1941, Dec. 7 |
U.S.S. Maryland among naval ships attacked at Pearl Harbor. |
| 1944 |
Blue-baby operation developed at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, pioneering heart surgery era. |
| 1947, July 1 |
State sales tax instituted. |
| 1950, June 24 |
Friendship International Airport - now Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) began operation. (Click on the suitcase after you use this link.) |
| 1952, July 31 |
Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened. |
| 1955, Sept |
Desegregation of public schools begun. |
| 1956 |
Voting machines used for elections throughout State. |
| 1957, Nov. 30 |
Baltimore Harbor Tunnel opened. |
| 1959, May |
Goddard Space Flight Center opened in Greenbelt. |
| 1972, Nov 7 |
First general election in Maryland where lowering of voting age to 18 years of age or older applied. |
| 1973 |
Second parallel Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened. |
| 1973 |
Urban "homesteading" begun in Baltimore. City sold abandoned houses for $1 each to encourage renovation. |
| 1975, May |
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant began operation in Calvert County. |
| 1976 |
Maryland Science Center opened in Baltimore. |
| 1980 |
Maryland and Virginia established Chesapeake Bay Commission to coordinate work to restore Bay resources. |
| 1981 |
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. |
| 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. |
| 1992, April 6 |
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a stadium for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, opened in downtown Baltimore City. |
| 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 |
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