Seven Morgan State College students stage the first sit-in at Read’s Drugstore in Baltimore in 1955. It ends peacefully and occurs 5 years prior to more famous Greensboro, NC sit-in.
Morgan State students stage first sit-in Read More »
Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman living in Baltimore, unknowingly becomes a major contributor to medical research after her death in 1951.
Henrietta Lacks creates medical history Read More »
Gustav Brunn, German immigrant, rescued from a concentration camp, arrives in Baltimore in 1939 with a spice grinder. He develops a popular seafood seasoning mix, names it after a Chespeake Bay steamer, and sells the formula for Old Bay to McCormick & Co.
Gustav Brunn, German immigrant, develops Old Bay seasoning Read More »
William “Judy” Johnson finishing his 17th baseball season with the Negro League in 1937, is named the League’s best 3rd baseman. Brooks Robinson, born in 1937, finishing 23 seasons with the Orioles, is named the best 3rd baseman in Major League history.
Marylanders dominate baseball’s third base Read More »
Billie Holliday (born Eleanora Fagan and raised in Baltimore) revolutionizes the style and approach to jazz singing. She releases her first hit at 17, “Riffin’ the Scotch”, recorded with Benny Goodman in 1933.
Billie Holiday, iconic jazz vocalist Read More »
Lillie Mae Carroll Jackson, Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, with daughter Juanita, begins “Buy Where You Work” Campaign in 1931. She makes the Baltimore branch of the NAACP the largest and most effective.
Lillie May Carroll Jackson is the mother of the Civil Rights Movement Read More »
WEAR, Maryland’s first radio station to go on the air, broadcasts the first public address of a US president, Warren G. Harding in 1922. He speaks to thousands in a 600 mile radius of Ft. McHenry using a new technology.
First Presidential Radio Address delivered Read More »
Eubie Blake creates a landmark in the history of Broadway musical theatre in 1921. Blake teams up with Noble Sissle to launch the first All African American Broadway production, Shuffle Along, which runs for 504 performances. President Reagan presents Eubie Blake with a national award.
Eubie Blake, musical pioneer in jazz and ragtime Read More »
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.
Babe Ruth born in Baltimore Read More »
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
John Murphy founds Afro-American newspaper 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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