Oblate Sisters of Providence is founded as the first order of Black nuns.

July 2, 1829

The Oblate Sisters of Providence is founded in Baltimore as the first community of Black Roman Catholic sisters in the U.S. The Order’s first mission is the education of girls of African descent. The Oblate Sisters are founded by French-born Sulpician priest James Nicholas Joubert (1777-1834) who flees from Haiti during its revolution, and Mary Elizabeth Lange (1789-1882), the Order’s first Mother Superior.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Oblate Sisters of Providence

View Other Mosaic Pieces

Ice Cream industry begins

Dairyman and abolitionist Jacob Fussell invents the ice cream industry in 1851 in Baltimore. Looking for ways to use the extra cream in his dairy business, he sells ice cream to Baltimore. Fussell’s original ice cream wagon is in the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

Read More »

Alex Haley finds his roots

Alex Haley publishes a popular book, Roots, in 1967 and, with a TV Miniseries, creates a new national interest in enslavement in America. He launches the book from the Annapolis wharf where his ancestor Kunta Kinte was brought in chains 200 years ago.

Read More »

Land Recognition

We acknowledge the enduring presence of many American Indian tribes who once lived in Maryland and who now, having lost their lands, live in a diaspora. Read more.

© 2023 MARYLAND 400

Scroll to Top