The Booth Family, stained by one event
The Booth Brothers were well known American actors. Here they are costumed for Julius Caesar; John Wilkes is on the left.
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1861 – 1899
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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A Gaithersburg observatory measures the earth’s wobble.
Edwin Smith opens an observatory in 1899 in Gaithersburg to measure the earth’s wobble as part of a six observatory worldwide survey.
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Rural Free Delivery begins
Carroll County inaugurates Rural Free Delivery of the mail. Four letter carriers and their horses begin free daily delivery from Westminster in 1896.
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America’s first drag queen is born enslaved in Hancock
William Dorsey Swann, born enslaved in Hancock, becomes America’s first drag queen, sponsoring “drag balls” in DC. He is arrested in 1896 and serves 10 months in jail.
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Babe Ruth born in Baltimore
George Herman “Babe” Ruth is born in Baltimore in 1895 to working class German parents, During 22 seasons of major league baseball he becomes baseball’s most famous player and a cultural icon. His home runs are the longest ever recorded.
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John Murphy founds Afro-American newspaper
The Afro-American is the oldest family-owned newspaper in the U.S. Founded in 1892 by John Henry Murphy, born a slave and a Civil War veteran, the newspaper becomes the most successful weekly on the East Coast. It is still run by the Murphy family
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Johns Hopkins Hospital opens
Johns Hopkins Hospital opens in 1889, creating the first modern medical school. Local women donate funds, provided it agrees to admit women. The Hospital accepts African American patients in segregated wards. Many medical firsts follow.
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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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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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