Four letter carriers, including Joshua Corbin and his horse “Harry”, begin free daily delivery of the mail from Westminster to the rest of Carroll County. They are the first government-sponsored “guinea pigs” to test Rural Free Delivery county-wide in the U.S.
Corbin delivers about 30 pieces of mail a day. He and his colleagues are so successful that U.S. Post Office makes RFD official in 1899.
William Lloyd Garrison begins his abolitionist career, writing and coediting the newspaper, The Genius of Universal Emancipation in Baltimore in 1829. He is the most famous white American to devote his life to freeing the slaves. Photo shows Garrison (center) with two other abolitionists, Wendell Phillips and Englishman George Thompson.
Wilbur Wright gives flying lessons at the College Park airstrip and civilian planes begin regular use. The airfield, opened in 1909, becomes the longest continuously used airport in the US. Photo shows a Wright airplane headed for reassembly after a crash.
Congress declares 1812 War. Large Baltimore mob attacks publisher of strong anti-war newspaper. Revolutionary war vet and 2 rioters are killed; many injured including Robert E. Lee’s father. Baltimore becomes known as “Mobtown.”
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.
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