Timeline of Montgomery, Alabama facts for kids

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Montgomery, Alabama, USA.

19th century

• 1819 - Montgomery incorporated.
• 1821
  • Montgomery Republican newspaper begins publication.
  • Franklin Society founded.
• 1824 - Presbyterian church and Montgomery Light Infantry established.
• 1828 - Alabama State Library headquartered in Montgomery.
• 1833 - Montgomery Advertiser newspaper in publication.
• 1847 - Sons of Temperance formed.
• 1850 - Lehman Brothers in business.
• 1851 - Alabama State Capitol built.
• 1861
  • February: Montgomery becomes capital of the Confederate States of America; First White House of the Confederacy established; Jefferson Davis sworn in as president.
  • May 21: Confederate capitol relocated from Montgomery to Richmond, Virginia.
• 1864 - Atlanta-Montgomery railroad destroyed by Union forces.
• 1867 - Swayne School built.
• 1870 - Population: 10,588.
• 1873 - Chamber of Commerce established.
• 1877 - Second Colored Baptist Church established.
• 1887 - Normal School for Colored Students opens.
• 1889 - Hale Infirmary founded.
• 1898 - Confederate monument dedicated.
• 1899 - Montgomery Library Association organized.

20th century

• 1900 - Population: 30,346.
• 1901 - Alabama Department of Archives and History headquartered in Montgomery.
• 1902 - St. Margaret's Hospital founded.
• 1907 - Bell Building constructed.
• 1910
  • Wright Flying School begins operating.
  • William Gunter becomes mayor.
• 1913 - Rotary Club of Montgomery organized.
• 1914 - Empire Theater built.
• 1916 - Commission form of government adopted.
• 1926
  • Junior League of Montgomery organized.
  • Scottish Rite Temple constructed.
• 1927 - Jefferson Davis Hotel built.
• 1929
  • Municipal airport begins operating.
  • State Teachers College active.
• 1930 - Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts established.
• 1938 - Coca-Cola bottling facility in operation.
• 1940
  • Population: 78,084.
  • Veterans hospital begins operating.
• 1941 - Mayor William Gunter dies.
• 1942 - Montgomery Bible College founded.
• 1947 - Alabama Historical Association headquartered in city.
• 1948 - U.S. Maxwell Air Force Base established.
• 1949 - City of Montgomery Library established.
• 1950 - Population: 106,525.
• 1954 - WSFA television begins broadcasting.
• 1955 - December 1: Rosa Parks arrested; Montgomery Bus Boycott begins.
• 1956 - December 20: Racial segregration lawsuit Browder v. Gayle verdict takes effect; bus boycott ends.
• 1960 - Population: 134,393.
• 1961 - May 20: Freedom Riders attacked.
• 1964 - WKAB-TV begins broadcasting.
• 1965
  • Selma to Montgomery marches for civil rights.
  • March 25: Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers "How Long, Not Long" speech.
• 1967
  • February 7: Dale's Penthouse fire.
  • Auburn University at Montgomery established.
  • Alabama Historical Commission headquartered in city.
• 1968 - Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery established.
• 1971 - Southern Poverty Law Center founded.
• 1972 - Montgomery Zoo opens.
• 1977
  • Wynnsong 10 cinema in business.
  • Emory Folmar becomes mayor.
• 1978 - Montgomery Genealogical Society established.
• 1980 - Population: 177,857.
• 1984 - Masjid Qasim Bilal El-Amin established.
• 1985 - Alabama Shakespeare Festival active.
• 1986 - Montgomery Area Food Bank established.
• 1989 - Civil Rights Memorial dedicated.
• 1990 - Population: 187,106.
• 1992 - Montgomery County Historical Society organized.
• 1995 - Equal Justice Initiative and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum established.
• 1996 - RSA Tower built.
• 1997 - City website online (approximate date).
• 1999 - Bobby Bright becomes mayor.
• 2000 - Population: 201,568 .

21st century

• 2005 - Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama factory begins operating.
• 2009
  • Todd Strange becomes mayor.
  • Sister city agreement established with Pietrasanta, Italy.
• 2010 - Population: 205,764.
• 2011 - Martha Roby becomes U.S. representative for Alabama's 2nd congressional district and Terri Sewell becomes U.S. representative for Alabama's 7th congressional district.
• 2018 - April: National Memorial for Peace and Justice unveiled.
• 2019 - Steven Reed becomes mayor.
• 2020 - Population: 200,603.
  • Montgomery records highest homicides total.
• 2021 - Montgomery records highest homicide rate in history. At 77 homicides.
• 2023 - On August 6, 2023, a violent brawl largely along racial lines occurs when three White men attack a Black co-captain of the Harriott II riverboat on a dock in Riverfront Park.