Timeline of Washington, D.C. explained

The following is a timeline of the history of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States.

18th century

• 1751: Georgetown founded
• 1752 – February: First survey of Georgetown completed.^[1]
• 1784 – October 7: Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts motions “that buildings for the use of Congress be erected on the banks of the Delaware near Trenton, or of the Potomac, near Georgetown, provided a suitable district can be procured on one of the rivers as aforesaid, for a federal town”.^[2]
• 1789 – Town of Georgetown, Maryland, chartered and incorporated; Georgetown University founded.^[3]
• 1790 - July 16: Residence Act enacted, selecting a site along the Potomac River as the future location of the permanent seat of the federal government of the United States.^[4]
• 1791
  • January 24: Federal District proclamation issued by President George Washington.^[5]
  • Team led by Andrew Ellicott begins survey of the future boundaries of the original District of Columbia.^[6]
  • L'Enfant Plan for design of the City of Washington introduced.
  • September 9: Commissioners appointed by President Washington name the federal district as "The Territory of Columbia," and the federal city as the "City of Washington."^[7]
• 1792 – Construction of White House (presidential residence) begins.
• 1794 – Tudor Place (residence) built in Georgetown.
• 1797 – "Bridge at Little Falls" crossing the upper Potomac River several miles northwest of Georgetown, opens at the future site of 19th century Chain Bridge.^[8]
• 1800
  • May 14 – November 1: Seat of Federal government of the United States relocated after ten years from second federal capital of Philadelphia (centered at Independence Hall (old Pennsylvania State House) to constitutionally designated ten mile square federal district entitled District of Columbia (on both sides of Potomac River). Originally called the "Federal City", it soon acquires namesake after President Washington, (especially after his recent death a few months earlier at nearby Mount Vernon in December 1799), known in 19th century as Washington city.
  • Second President John Adams travels south from former second national capital at Philadelphia and is the first chief executive to occupy the President's House (future White House) in November with his wife Abigail to the unfinished mansion. The Adamses occupy the house for only the last four months of his term, having been defeated for reelection by incumbent Vice President Thomas Jefferson in the Election of 1800 until Jefferson's inauguration the following year on March 4, 1801.
  • United States Capitol building construction continues with partial completion of the north Senate wing where the United States Congress meets for its first sessions in Washington. Construction continues on south House of Representatives south wing. The Senate wing, completed first temporarily provides spaces to be used by both houses of the Congress, the beginnings of the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court for several years of continued construction work.
  • Washington Navy Yard established on the Eastern Branch (later known as Anacostia River) of the Potomac River waterfront south of the under-construction Capitol.
  • Population: 14,093.

19th century

1800s–1850s

• 1801
  • February 24: US Congress establishes the District of Columbia (comprising Washington County, Alexandria, and Alexandria County).
  • March 4: US president Jefferson inaugurated.
• 1802
  • "City of Washington" incorporated; mayor-council government established.
  • Jail built.
• 1806 – Public school opens.
• 1809 – May 20: Long Bridge crossing the Potomac River near 14th Street SW opens.^[9]
• 1814 – August 24: Burning of Washington by British forces.
• 1815 – Washington City Canal begins operating.
• 1816 – St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square built.
• 1818 – Central heating system installed in the U.S. Capitol building.^[10]
• 1835
  • Baltimore and Ohio Railroad begins operating.^[11]
  • Labor strike by federal navy yard workers.^[12]
• 1836 - December 15: 1836 U.S. Patent Office fire.
• 1840 - Population: 23,364 in city; 43,712 in district.
• 1842 – United States Naval Observatory established.
• 1844 – Baltimore-Washington telegraph begins operating.
• 1846
  • District of Columbia retrocession of Alexandria and Alexandria County to Virginia.
  • National Smithsonian Institution established.
• 1848
  • Cornerstone of the Washington Monument placed.^[13]
  • Washington Gas Light Company established.
• 1850
  • District of Columbia's stone for the Washington Monument dedicated.^[14]
  • Congress abolishes slave trade in the District of Columbia.
• 1851
  • University of the District of Columbia founded (formerly known as Miner Normal School).
• 1855 - Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle) completed.^[15]

1860s–1890s

See also: Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War.

• 1860 – Population: 61,122.
• 1862 – Slavery abolished. Congress requires city to provide schooling for black students.
• 1863 – National Academy of Sciences headquartered in city.
• 1864 – July: Battle of Fort Stevens.
• 1865
  • April 14: Assassination of president Lincoln.
  • first black school opens at 2nd and C, SE
• 1867
  • Howard University founded.^{[16] [17]}
  • "Blacks given right of suffrage."
• 1869
  • National Convention of the Colored Men of America held in city.^[18]
  • American Equal Rights Association meets in city.
• 1870
  • Children's Hospital established.
  • Population: 109,199.
• 1871
  • District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 effected.
  • Norton P. Chipman becomes delegate to the US House of Representatives from the District of Columbia.
• 1877 – Washington Post newspaper begins publication.^[19]
• 1878 – Telephone begins operating.
• 1880 – Population: 147,293 in city; 177,624 in district.
• 1881
  • February: Flood.
  • "Tiber Canal filled in to become Constitution Avenue."
  • American National Red Cross headquartered in city.
  • July 2: Assassination of James A. Garfield; he would die two months of complications in Elberon, New Jersey^[20]
• 1885 – Washington Monument dedicated.
• 1888 – Electric streetcar begins operating.
• 1889 – National Zoo opens.
• 1890
  • Rock Creek Park established.
  • Population: 230,392.
• 1893 – American University founded.
• 1897 – American Negro Academy founded.
• 1899 – Height of Buildings Act of 1899 legislated.
• 1900 – Population: 278,718.

20th century

1900s–1940s

• 1902 – McMillan Plan for design of city introduced.
• 1906 – District Building (city hall) constructed.
• 1907
  • Union Station built.
  • Washington National Cathedral construction begins.https://web.archive.org/web/20160105071133/http://www.cathedral.org/about/timeline.shtml
• 1910 – Population: 331,069.
• 1912 – "Cherry trees planted around the Tidal Basin."
• 1913 ^[21]
• 1915 – Association for the Study of Negro Life and History established.
• 1917 – National Sylvan Theater opens.
• 1919 – July: Racial unrest.
• 1920
  • Population: 437,571.
  • Dedication of the 16th Street World War I Memorial Trees
• 1922
  • January 28: Storm crushes Knickerbocker Theatre.
  • May 30: Lincoln Memorial dedicated.
• 1923 – Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art opens.
• 1924
  • National Capital Park Commission established.
  • Washington Senators baseball team wins 1924 World Series.
• 1925 – WMAL radio begins broadcasting.
  • Ku Klux Klan marches on Pennsylvania Ave.^[22]
• 1926 – Federal Triangle construction begins.
• 1930 – Population: 486,869.
• 1931 – National Symphony Orchestra formed.^[23]
• 1932
  • May: "Bonus Army" demonstration.^[24]
  • Arlington Memorial Bridge opens.
  • Folger Shakespeare Library built.
• 1935 – National Cherry Blossom Festival begins.
• 1937 – Washington Redskins football team active.
• 1940 – Population: 663,091.
• 1941
  • National Airport built.
  • National Gallery of Art opens.
• 1942 – Declaration by United Nations signed in city.
• 1944 – International Dumbarton Oaks Conference held in city.^[25]
• 1946 - International Monetary Fund headquartered in city.https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/chron/chron.asp
• 1947 - WMAL-TV, WRC-TV, and WTTG (television) begin broadcasting.
• 1949
  • Whitehurst Freeway begins operating.
  • WTOP-TV (television) begins broadcasting.

1950s–1990s

• 1950 – Population: 802,178.
• 1953 – January 15: 1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck.
• 1954
  • March 1: United States Capitol shooting incident (1954).
  • Bolling v. Sharpe decided, schools integrated in 54–55 school year
• 1957 – May 17: National Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom civil rights demonstration takes place in D.C.^[26]
• 1959 – International Antarctic Treaty signed in city.
• 1960
  • Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan signed in city.
  • Population: 763,956.
• 1962 – Streetcar stops operating.
• 1963 – August 28: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; Martin Luther King Jr. gives "I Have a Dream" speech.
• 1964
  • November: "D.C. residents are able to vote for president for the first time."^[27]
  • Capital Beltway constructed.
• 1965
  • April 17: March Against the Vietnam War.^[28]
  • Washingtonian magazine begins publication.
• 1967
  • Mayor-council form of government implemented; Walter Washington becomes mayor.
  • Smithsonian Folklife Festival begins.
  • Biograph cinema opens.^[29]
• 1968
  • April: 1968 Washington, D.C. riots occur.
  • American Association of Retired Persons headquartered in city (approximate date).
• 1969
  • November 15: Protest against Vietnam War.
  • Gay Blade newspaper begins publication.
  • Key Theatre in business.
• 1970 – Population: 756,510.
• 1971
  • April: Antiwar protest.^[30]
  • May: 1971 May Day protests against war.
  • June 30: New York Times Co. v. United States decided; allows Washington Post to publish Pentagon Papers about Vietnam.
  • Walter E. Fauntroy becomes delegate to the US House of Representatives from the District of Columbia.
  • National Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opens.
  • Center for Science in the Public Interest headquartered in city.^[31]
• 1972 - Watergate scandal discovered.
• 1973 - Mayoral election established, per US Congress' District of Columbia Home Rule Act.^[27]
• 1974
  • 1974 White House helicopter incident^[32]
  • Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum opens.
• 1976
  • March: Washington Metro begins operating.
  • May: Concorde supersonic airplane begins operating.
  • US Bicentennial held.
• 1979
  • Marion Barry becomes mayor.
  • C-SPAN begins televising federal government proceedings.
• 1980
  • Western Plaza (later renamed to "Freedom Plaza") containing a raised marble inlay depicting parts of the L'Enfant Plan for the city of Washington opens along Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. between the White House and the United States Capitol.^[33]
• 1981
  • March 30: Attempted assassination of president Reagan.
  • Washington City Paper begins publication.
• 1982
  • January 13: Crash of Air Florida Flight 90.
  • Washington Convention Center built.
  • National Vietnam Veterans Memorial erected.
  • Washington Times newspaper begins publication.
• 1983
  • 1983 U.S. Senate bombing
• 1985
  • Federal News Service in business.
  • National Building Museum opens
  • Washington Printmakers Gallery opens.
• 1987
  • Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery and National Museum of African Art open.
  • Dupont Circle 5 cinema in business.
• 1990
  • Population: 606,900.
  • October 27: Mayor Marion Barry receives six-month prison sentence for cocaine possession.^[34]
  • November 6: Sharon Pratt Dixon wins mayoral election.^[35]
• 1991
  • Eleanor Holmes Norton becomes delegate to the US House of Representatives from the District of Columbia.
  • City bicentennial.
• 1993
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum opens
  • National Postal Museum opens
• 1994 – November 8: Marion Barry wins mayoral election.^[36]
• 1995
  • April 17: President William J. Clinton signs the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995, establishing the District of Columbia Financial Control Board.^[37]
  • October 16: National Million Man March held in city.
• 1996 – City website online (approximate date).^[38]
• 1997 – July 7: Starbucks triple homicide in Georgetown
• 1998 – United States Capitol shooting incident
• 1999 – Anthony A. Williams becomes mayor.
• 2000 – May 14: Million Mom March held.^[39]

21st century

• 2001 - September: 2001 anthrax attacks.
• 2002 - International Spy Museum opens
• 2003 – Washington Convention Center rebuilt.
• 2007 – Adrian Fenty becomes mayor.
• 2008
  • Nationals Park opens.
  • Newseum opens in D.C..
• 2009
  • January 20: Inauguration of U.S. president Obama.
  • is released, taking place in D.C.
  • The District survives Snowmageddon
• 2010 – Population: 601,723.^[40]
• 2011
  • Vincent C. Gray becomes mayor.
  • CityCenterDC construction begins.
• 2014
  • Initiative 71 approved by voters, leading to the legalization of cannabis
• 2015 – Muriel Bowser becomes mayor.
• 2016
  • January 2016 United States winter storm.
  • DC Streetcar begins operating.
  • March–April: 2016 Nuclear Security Summit.
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture opens to the public.
  • District of Columbia statehood referendum, 2016
• 2017
  • • • January 20: Inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump January 21: National Women's March on Washington scheduled.
• 2018 – The Washington Capitals win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
• 2019 – The Washington Nationals win the World Series.
• 2020 – The coronavirus disease 2019 causes the District to lock down for the first time in history.
• 2021
  • January 6: Storming of the United States Capitol.
  • January 20: Inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden
  • April 2: Vehicle-ramming attack outside the United States Capitol.

See also

• History of Washington, D.C.
• List of mayors of Washington, D.C.
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington, D.C.
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
• List of United States Congresses
• List of US presidential inaugural ceremonies
• Timeline of Alexandria, Virginia
• List of rallies and protest marches in Washington, D.C.
• Architecture of Washington, D.C.

Bibliography

• Book: Washington and Georgetown Directory. Alfred Hunter. Printed by Kirkwood & McGill. Washington DC. 1853. 9781425540517. HathiTrust.
• Book: Boyd's Washington and Georgetown Directory. Andrew Boyd. Taylor and Maury. Washington DC. 1860. Internet Archive.
  • 1864
    • Book: Boyd's Directory for the District of Columbia. Wm. H. Boyd. Washington DC. 1887. 2027/mdp.39015074642748. Boyd. Elizabeth S.. Boyd. Andrew. Boyd. William Henry.
• Washington (1.) . 24 . Gannett . Henry . Henry Gannett . 1.
• Book: Wilhelmus Bogart Bryan . Bibliography of the District of Columbia. 1900. Government Printing Office . Washington.
  • 1901
• Book: Frederick L. Harvey. History of the Washington National Monument and Washington National Monument Society. 1902. Washington, D.C.. Norman K Elliott Printing Co.. 4909191. Google Books. April 19, 2017.
  • 1903
• Book: Wilhelmus Bogart Bryan . Bibliography of the District of Columbia. 1900. Government Printing Office . Washington.
• Book: Boyd's Directory for the District of Columbia. R.L. Polk & Co.. Washington DC. 1909. 2027/mdp.39015006986833. Boyd. Elizabeth S.. Boyd. Andrew. Boyd. William Henry.
• Washington (District of Columbia) . 28 . 349–352 . . 1.
  • Washington (District of Columbia) . 32 . Proctor . John Clagett . 1.
  • Book: Thomas C. Reeves. Gentleman Boss. February 1975. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, NY. 978-0-394-46095-6.
• Book: Washington, a chronological & documentary history, 1790-1970 . Howard Furer . . 0379006111 . American Cities Chronology Series. 1975.
• Book: Paul Finkelman . Paul Finkelman . Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century . Charles Scribner's Sons . 0684805006 . 2000. Washington, D.C. Alan Lessoff. .
• Book: David Goldfield. David Goldfield. Encyclopedia of American Urban History. 2007. Sage. 978-1-4522-6553-7. Washington, D.C..
• Book: Douglas E. Evelyn. Paul Dickson. On this Spot: Pinpointing the Past in Washington. 2008. 3rd . Capital Books. 978-1-933102-70-2. Historical Timeline of Washington DC. 8–12. https://books.google.com/books?id=y2DspYRi7G4C&pg=PA8. .
• Web site: Washington, DC Timeline and Historic Plans: Illustrating the Evolution of the 'Monumental Core' of the Nation's Capital. US National Park Service. 2008. .

External links

• Web site: Washington, DC – Historical Timeline of the Nation's Capital . DCVote.org .
• Web site: Collection Search: Washington, D.C. . Smithsonian Institution . National Museum of African American History and Culture . Washington DC . (Sortable by decade)

Notes and References

1. Book: Richard Plummer Jackson . The Chronicles of Georgetown, D.C., from 1751–1878 . R. O. Polkinhorn . 1878 . 3–4 .
2. Web site: A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 – 1875.
3. Book: Kathleen Menzie Lesko. Black Georgetown Remembered : A History Of Its Black Community From The Founding Of "The Town of George" . Valerie Babb . Carroll R. Gibbs . Georgetown University Press . 1–2. 9781626163263. 922572367. 1991.
4. Web site: An ACT for establishing the Temporary and Permanent Seat of the Government of the United States . American Memory. Library of Congress . April 19, 2017.
5. Book: Ernie Gross. This Day in American History. 1990. Neal-Schuman . 978-1-55570-046-1.
6. Book: Laurence Urdang. Laurence Urdang. Timetables of American History . 1996 . Touchstone . 978-0-7432-0261-9.
7. (1) Early Maps and Surveyors of the City of Washington, D.C.. Steward. John. 1898. Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 2. 53. 40326234. Google Books.
   (2) Book: Crew. Harvey W.. Webb. William Bensing. Wooldridge. John. IV. Permanent Capital Site Selected. Centennial History of the City of Washington, D.C.. United Brethren Publishing House. Dayton, Ohio. 87–88, 101. 1892. Google Books.
8. (1) Web site: History of the Chain Bridge . Johns Hopkins University Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20050402083914/http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/supplemental/canal/mile4chainbridge.html . April 2, 2005 . dead .
   (2) Book: Kapsch, Robert J.. Canals, Volume 1. 978-0-393-73088-3. W.W. Norton & Company. 2004.
9. Web site: Robert Cohen. History of the Long Railroad Bridge Crossing Across the Potomac River. DC Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. July 29, 2014. 2013.
10. Book: Patrick Robertson. Robertson's Book of Firsts . 2011. Bloomsbury . 978-1-60819-738-5.
11. Web site: Timeline of Washington, D.C. Railroad History . National Railway Historical Society, Washington, D.C. Chapter . January 4, 2016 .
12. Book: Aaron Brenner . Benjamin Day . Immanuel Ness . Immanuel Ness . Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History. 2015 . 2009 . Routledge. 978-1-317-45707-7 . Timeline . https://books.google.com/books?id=xmVsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PR17 .
13. (1) Reeves, p. 43.
    (2) Harvey, pp. 46–47.
14. Book: John Perry. Lee: A Life of Virtue. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, Tennessee. 2010. 93–94. 978-1595550286. 456177249. Google Books. .
15. Web site: [{{NHLS url|id=66000867}} National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination: Smithsonian Institution Building]. Morton. W. Brown III. February 8, 1971. National Park Service. May 11, 2009.
16. Book: Nell Irvin Painter . Creating Black Americans: African-American History and Its Meanings, 1619 to the Present . 2006 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-513755-2 . Timelines . https://books.google.com/books?id=83teYXulg5kC&pg=PA361 . 361+ . Nell Irvin Painter . registration .
17. Web site: Washington, DC . . New York . Nonprofit Explorer . 9 May 2013 . Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei . January 4, 2016 .
18. Web site: Conventions by Year (1869 National Convention of Colored Men held in Washington DC) . Digital Records . Colored Conventions Project . November 6, 2022 .
19. Web site: US Newspaper Directory . Washington DC . . Library of Congress . January 4, 2016 .
20. Book: Peskin, Allan . Garfield: A Biography . 1978 . Kent State University Press . 1978 . 0873382102 . 596.
21. Charles Emerson, 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War (2013) compares Washington to 20 major world cities; 144–160.
22. Book: PhD, Duchess Harris, JD . The March on Washington and Its Legacy . 2018-12-15 . ABDO . 978-1-5321-7058-4 . en.
23. Book: Colin Lawson. Colin Lawson. Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra. 2003. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-00132-8 . Orchestras Founded in the 20th Century (chronological list) . https://books.google.com/books?id=1DW1WyiooSMC&pg=PA277 .
24. Web site: Riding the Rails: Timeline of the Great Depression . . . USA . January 4, 2016 .
25. Book: Richard Green. Chronology of International Organizations. 2008. Routledge. 978-1-135-35590-6.
26. (Timeline)
27. News: . Timeline: History of the Campaign for D.C. Voting Rights .
28. Book: John Bassett McCleary . The Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960s and 1970s . 2004. Ten Speed Press. 978-1-58008-547-2 . Anti-War Events . https://books.google.com/books?id=uPV8phkhHAQC&pg=PA602 . 602+ .
29. Web site: Movie Theaters in Washington, DC . CinemaTreasures.org . Cinema Treasures LLC . Los Angeles . January 4, 2016 .
30. Book: Ronald B. Frankum Jr. . Historical Dictionary of the War in Vietnam . 2011. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-7956-0 . Chronology . https://books.google.com/books?id=WLcG5Cdw-NIC&pg=PR27 .
31. Book: Andrew F. Smith. Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia . 2011. Greenwood . 978-0-313-39393-8 . Chronology . https://books.google.com/books?id=7-WcKK01H1cC&pg=PR47 .
32. Web site: Christopher Freeze. The Time a Stolen Helicopter Landed on the White House Lawn – Robert Preston's wild ride.. Air & Space Magazine. Smithsonian Institution. March 22, 2017.
33. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20170107000905/http://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/PA%20AVE%20NHS%202007.pdf. January 7, 2017. Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: National Park Service: United States Department of the Interior. 191–192. Washington, D.C.. Government of the District of Columbia Planning Office. March 29, 2017.
34. (1) News: Elsa Walsh. Barton Gellman . August 23, 1990. Chasm Divided Jurors in Barry Drug Trial. The Washington Post.
    (2) News: Barry Sentenced to 6 Months in Prison;Judge Says Mayor Gave Aid to Drug Culture'. Michael York. Tracy Thompson. The Washington Post. A01. October 27, 1990. August 2, 2008.
35. Web site: DC Mayor Election 1990. Our Campaigns. February 7, 2016.
36. News: THE 1994 ELECTIONS: THE NATION THE CAPITAL; Barry Rebounds From Disgrace to Win Again in Washington. The New York Times . Michael Janofsky. November 9, 1994. May 27, 2010.
37. (1) News: Congress Creates Board To Oversee Washington, D.C.. Michael Janofsky. The New York Times. April 8, 1995. August 4, 2008.
    (2) Web site: H.R. 1345 (104th): District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995. GovTrack. Civic Impulse, LLC. April 19, 2017.
38. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/19961219001004/http://www.ci.washington.dc.us/ . Official Home Page of The District of Columbia . December 19, 1996 . .
39. Book: Kristin A. Goss. Kristin Goss. Disarmed: The Missing Movement for Gun Control in America . 2006 . Princeton University Press. 1-4008-3775-8 . Gun control organizations founded 1990-2002 . https://books.google.com/books?id=FFgQC1hZnpoC&pg=PA125 .
40. Web site: Washington (city), District of Columbia . State & County QuickFacts . US Census Bureau . January 4, 2016 .