Theophilus Thompson, African American chess master
An African American teen, born enslaved, becomes a nationally recognized chess champion in 1872 in Frederick.
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Arts
First bookmobile is in Washington County
Progressive leadership at the Washington County Free Library sends out the first bookmobile in 1905 to great acclaim.
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The Water’s Edge Museum opens
The Water’s Edge Museum opens in 2021, featuring works of white painter Ruth Starr Rose who chronicles an African American Eastern Shore maritime community in the 1930s.
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American Visionary Art Musuem
The American Visionary Art Museum opens its doors in 1995. It is unique, the first of its kind, bringing work from untrained artists to the public in a new an engaging way.
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Maryland Board of Censors goes out of business
Maryland closes the country’s longest surviving state censorship board (1916-1981) as a cost cutting measure. Board member Mary Avara (on right) becomes well known for policing violence, language and sex content in films and for admonishing John Waters.
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John Waters releases “Multiple Maniacs”
John Waters releases “Multiple Maniacs,” in 1970, becoming the national leader in the production of “transgressive” cheap cult films featuring shock value and black humor.
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Sophie Kerr Literary Prize created
Popular early 20th century author Sophie Kerr creates the largest U.S. literary prize for an undergraduate at Washington College in 1965.
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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.
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Rachel Carson publishes “Silent Spring”
Rachel Carson publishes a controversial environmental book in 1962 that leads to the banning of DDT and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.
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Claire McCardell, fashion designer of modern women’s sportwear
Fashion designer Claire McCardell, featured on the cover of Time in 1955, is the successful creator everyday easy-to-wear clothing for women.
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