Thomas Smallwood coins the expression “underground railroad,” in a newspaper column in 1842. Born a slave in PG county he teams up with Charles Torrey (pictured), a white clergyman, to help over 400 slaves escape through DC.
“Underground railroad” term coined Read More »
James W.C. Pennington, born enslaved in Queen Anne’s County, publishes the first history of African Americans in the US in 1841.
James C. Pennington, publishes “The Origins and History of Colored People” Read More »
Frederick Douglass, born in Talbot County, escapes enslavement by train in 1838. He becomes a powerful speaker for abolition and the most photographed American in the 19th Century.
Frederick Douglass escapes by train from Baltimore Read More »
Georgetown College, originally located in MD, arranges sale of 272 enslaved people in 1838 from its Southern MD plantations to Louisiana buyer for $115,000. It is among the largest and best documented slave sales in US history.
Georgetown College sells 272 enslaved individuals from Southern Maryland plantations Read More »
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.
Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison begins his career in Baltimore Read More »
Patty Cannon, female head of a notorious gang of slave catchers, is arrested in 1829 and indicted for the murder of four Black men. She dies in jail awaiting trial.
Patty Cannon, notorious slave catcher Read More »
Oblate Sisters of Providence is founded as first community of black Catholic sisters in US in 1829.
Oblate Sisters of Providence is founded as the first order of Black nuns. Read More »
David Acheson Woodward invents an enlarging camera in 1857 that focuses sunlight through a lens onto sensitized photographic paper. Woodward is principal of what becomes Maryland Institute College of Art. MICA produces two prominent Maryland artists, Joyce J. Scott and Amy Sherald.
The Maryland Colonization Society is formed in 1827 to encourage free Blacks to emigrate to Africa. The Maryland General Assembly funds a separate republic in Liberia for 20 years. Map shows Maryland colony in lower right.
Maryland Colonization Society creates a republic in Africa Read More »
The oldest Unitarian Church in the country, designed by Maximilian Godefroy, is opened in 1818, and is dedicated to “Unitarians” who “cherish the liberal sentiments on the subject of religion”.
Oldest Unitarian Church Read More »
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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