Baltimore invents red lining
Baltimore City Council enacts the first racial zoning ordinance explicitly barring African Americans from moving into majority-white blocks.
Baltimore City Council enacts the first racial zoning ordinance explicitly barring African Americans from moving into majority-white blocks.
Alexander Brown (1764-1834), an Irish linen merchant, settles in Baltimore and creates the first investment bank in the United States. In 1808, the company organizes the first nationwide public offering for the Baltimore Water Company.
John O’Donnell brings the first Asian immigrants to the US in 1785 as sailors on his ship that carries a cargo of Chinese goods. His statue in O’Donnell Square has been recently removed.
Carla Hayden heads country’s oldest federal institution, the Library of Congress. She is the first professional librarian, first woman and first African American in the post. She directed the Enoch Pratt in Baltimore for 13 prior years.
Nancy Pelosi, is sworn in as the first woman and 52nd Speaker of the House in Congress. Born and raised in Baltimore she has deep political roots in the Italian American community.
The American Visionary Art Museum opens its doors. It is unique and the first of its kind, bringing art to the public in a new an engaging way.
Baltimore native Reginald Lewis, first African American to build a $1billion corporation, creates foundation in 1987. In 2002 it provides major support to create the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture.
Barbara Mikulski, Baltimore social worker, is elected to US House of Representatives, then Senate, becoming longest-serving female member of Congress.
John Waters releases Multiple Maniacs, becoming the national leader in the production of “transgressive” cheap cult films featuring shock value and black humor.
Thurgood Marshall, Maryland’s most famous lawyer, wins Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954 to desegregate public schools. Appointed the first African American to the Supreme Court in 1976, Marshall serves 24 years.