Enoch Pratt Free Library opens
In 1886 the Pratt Library is the first public library to open for all “without distinction of race or color”. The Pratt inspires the nationwide Carnegie Library system.
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American Innovation
Johns Hopkins University opens
Johns Hopkins University opens its doors in 1876 as the first US institution of higher education based on a German model emphasizing graduate education. It has produced many firsts, notably the sanitation work of Abel Wolman.
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Clara Barton volunteers as nurse in the Civil War.
Clara Barton, volunteer, goes to the front at Antietam battlefield in 1862, risking her life to treat the wounded with much success. After the War she founds the American Red Cross and settles in Glen Echo.
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Battle of Antietam is the single bloodiest day of the Civil War
The Battle of Antietam in September 1862 has soldiers of both sides falling for 12 straight hours. It is the single bloodiest day of the War (23,000 casualties of 132,00 engaged). Lincoln uses the battle to release the Emancipation Proclamation.
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Hospital No.1 in Frederick sees action every day of the Civil War
Hospital No. 1 in Frederick becomes most innovative hospital in caring for large numbers of wounded during the duration of Civil War, 1861-5.
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Poole and Hunt Foundry becomes an industrial hub
The Poole and Hunt Foundry and Machine Works, opened in 1854, makes construction in the US Capitol possible, specifically the dome and the House and Senate wings. Poole and Hunt becomes an industrial hub with 700 employees on the Jones Falls after the Civil War.
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Abolitionist Martha Ellicott Tyson publishes first biography of Benjamin Banneker
Quaker abolitionist Martha Ellicott Tyson knew Benjamin Banneker when she was a child. She publishes the biography in 1854.
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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.
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Baltimore City is unique in the U.S. at 1850
In 1850 Baltimore, America’s third largest city, is a singular urban mix of immigrants, free and enslaved Blacks, white leadership and energetic industry. As a border state it is an example of the country’s divisions and challenges before the Civil War.
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First American College of Dentistry chartered
The first American college of dentistry is chartered in 1840 by the Maryland Assembly. Prior to its founding there is no successful effort to turn dentistry into a formal profession.
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