Washington, D.C. History Timeline

Events 1 - 100 of 232

• 1800-11-17 Congress holds its 1st session in Washington, D.C. in an incomplete Capitol Building
• 1800-11-17 U.S. Congress meets for the first time in the newly built Capitol in Washington, D.C., which had been established by The Residence Act of July 16, 1790
• 1801-02-27 Washington, D.C. placed under Congressional jurisdiction

• 1802-05-03 Washington, D.C. is incorporated as a city
• 1814-08-24 British forces capture Washington, D.C. and destroy many landmarks (War of 1812)

• 1836-12-15 Patent Office burns in Washington, D.C.
• 1842-02-21 1st known sewing machine patented in US by John Greenough of Washington, D.C.
• 1857-02-16 Gallaudet College (National Deaf Mute college) forms in Washington, D.C.

• 1861-02-13 Abraham Lincoln declared US President in Washington, D.C.
• 1861-04-25 The Union Army arrives to reinforce Washington, D.C. (US Civil War)
• 1861-07-25 Washington, D.C. - Crittenden resolution is passed stating that the war is to be fought to preserve union and uphold the Constitution, not to alter slavery
• 1861-10-24 First US transcontinental telegram is sent (from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.)
• 1862-06-02 Raid at Early's: Maryland towards Washington, D.C.
• 1862-07-29 American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
• 1862-08-28 Belle Boyd released from Old Capital Prison in Washington, D.C.

• 1864-02-19 Knights of Pythias form 1st lodge in Washington, D.C. (12 members)
• 1864-07-02 General Early and Confederate forces reach Winchester en route to Washington, D.C.
• 1864-07-11 Confederate forces led by General Jubal Early begin invasion of Washington, D.C. with the Battle of Fort Stevens
• 1865-05-23 -24] Victory parade in Washington, D.C. (Grand Review)
• 1866-11-20 Howard University founded in Washington, D.C.

• 1867-03-01 Howard University, Washington, D.C., chartered
• 1867-09-25 Congress creates 1st all-black university, Howard U in Washington, D.C.
• 1869-12-06 Colored National Labor Union, 1st Black labor convention meets at Union League Hall in Washington, D.C.

• 1881-05-17 Frederick Douglass appointed recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia
• 1882-07-12 1st ocean pier in US completed, Washington, D.C.
• 1884-10-22 International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. adopts Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) worldwide, creating 24 international time zones with longitude zero at the Greenwich meridian
• 1884-12-06 Aluminum capstone set atop Washington Monument, Washington, D.C., making it the tallest human-built structure in the world (overtaking Cologne Cathedral)
• 1885-02-21 Washington Monument dedicated in Washington, D.C.
• 1887-06-07 Monotype type-casting machine patented by Tolbert Lanston, Washington, D.C.
• 1888-01-03 1st wax drinking straw patented, by Marvin C Stone in Washington, D.C.
• 1888-01-13 The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C. for "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge" [1]
• 1889-01-22 Columbia Phonograph was formed in Washington, D.C.
• 1889-10-02 1st Pan American conference (Washington, D.C.)
• 1890-04-14 Pan American Day-1st conference of American states (Washington, D.C.)
• 1890-10-11 First 100 yard dash under 10 seconds run by John Owen in 9.8 sec at Analostan Island, Washington, D.C.
• 1894-03-25 Coxey's Army of the unemployed sets out from Massillon, Ohio, for Washington, D.C.
• 1894-04-29 The 500-strong Commonwealth of Christ (Coxey's Army) arrives in Washington, D.C., to protest against unemployment; Coxey arrested for trespassing at Capitol
• 1895-02-11 Georgetown became part of Washington, D.C.
• 1895-12-17 Anti-Saloon League of America formed, Washington, D.C.
• 1896-07-21 National Federation of Colored Women established in Washington, D.C.
• 1899-02-11 -15°F (-26°C), Washington, D.C. (district record)
• 1901-11-27 U.S. Army War College is established in Washington, D.C.
• 1902-01-28 Carnegie Institute founded in Washington, D.C.
• 1903-01-22 The Hay-Herran Treaty concerning the USA's right to the Panama Canal is signed by the Colombian Charge d'affaires in Washington, D.C. (never ratified)
• 1903-02-21 Cornerstone laid for US army war college, Washington, D.C.
• 1907-11-13 The Conference of Central American States, convoked in response to the war between Honduras and Nicaragua, meets in Washington, D.C. to promote unification

• 1910-08-14 6th International Congress of Esperantists held in Washington, D.C.
• 1912-03-27 US First Lady Helen Herron Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador, plant two Yoshino cherry trees on the bank of the Tidal Basin, Washington, D.C. [1]
• 1913-01-13 Delta Sigma Theta, the world's largest Black Women's Sorority is founded at Howard University, Washington, D.C.

• 1918-05-14 Sunday baseball is made legal in Washington, D.C.
• 1918-05-15 1st regular US airmail postal service between NY, Philadelphia & Washington, D.C.
• 1918-11-10 Western Union Cable Office in North Sydney, Nova Scotia receives a top-secret coded message from Europe stating on November 11, 1918 all fighting would cease on land, sea and in the air
• 1919-07-24 Race Riot in Washington, D.C. (6 killed, 100 wounded)
• 1920-04-26 Harlow Shapley and Heber D. Curtis hold the "Great Debate" on the nature of nebulae, galaxies and size of the universe at US National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
• 1922-01-28 Knickerbocker Storm, Washington, D.C.'s biggest snowfall, causes the city's greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater collapses, killing 98 patrons
• 1922-03-23 1st airplane lands at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.
• 1922-08-12 Dedication of Frederick Douglass' home in Washington, D.C. as national shrine
• 1922-10-03 1st facsimile photo sent over city telephone lines, Washington, D.C.
• 1923-07-19 WRC-AM in Washington, D.C. begins radio transmissions
• 1923-12-03 First Congressional open session broadcast via radio (Washington, D.C.)
• 1925-08-08 1st national march of Ku Klux Klan (between 25,000 and 40,000 marchers) in Washington, D.C.

• 1927-11-17 Tornado hits Washington, D.C.
• 1928-11-11 WOL-AM in Washington, D.C. begins radio transmissions
• 1930-06-24 First detection of an airplane using reflected radio waves, a precursor to radar, by US Naval Research Laboratory engineers in Anacostia, Washington, D.C.
• 1930-07-20 106°F (41°C), Washington, D.C. (district record)
• 1932-05-29 The Bonus Army of World War I veterans begins to assemble in Washington, D.C. to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945
• 1932-07-20 In Washington, D.C., police fire tear gas on World War I veterans part of the Bonus Expeditionary Force who attempt to march to the White House
• 1932-07-29 Great Depression: in Washington, D.C., U.S. troops disperse the last of the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans
• 1932-11-24 In Washington, D.C., the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory (better known as the FBI Crime Lab) officially opens.
• 1933-02-03 1st interstate legislative conference in US opens, Washington, D.C.
• 1933-04-27 Karl Jansky reports reception of cosmic radio signal in Washington, D.C.
• 1934-02-08 Export-Import Bank organizes in Washington, D.C.

• 1936-09-14 1st prefrontal lobotomy in America performed by Walter Freeman and James W. Watts at George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C.
• 1937-02-13 Boston Redskins receive approval from NFL to move to Washington, D.C; to share baseball's Griffith Stadium with first Washington Senators of the American League
• 1937-02-24 1st US group hospital-medical cooperative authorized, Washington, D.C.
• 1937-09-17 1st NFL game in Washington, D.C.; Redskins beat NY Giants 13-3
• 1938-05-08 Stravinsky's "Dumbarton Oaks" premieres in Washington, D.C.
• 1938-12-15 Groundbreaking begins for Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

• 1941-02-10 1st highway post office makes 1st trip, Washington, D.C. to Harrisonburg, Virginia
• 1941-03-16 National Gallery of Art opens in Washington, D.C.
• 1941-05-28 1st night game at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C. (NY Yankees pip the Senators 6-5)
• 1941-06-16 1st US federally owned airport opened Washington, D.C.

• 1942-06-21 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British PM Winston Churchill arrive at Hyde Park for the hastily convened Second Washington Conference
• 1942-08-08 6 convicted Nazi saboteurs who landed in US executed in Washington, D.C.

• Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 261

• 1759-05-20 William Thornton, British-American architect (Capitol Building in Washington, D.C), born in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands (d. 1828)
• 1806-01-17 James Madison Randolph, American President Jefferson's grandson and the 1st to be born in the White House, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1834)
• 1816-05-03 Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1892)
• 1819-10-02 George Washington Getty, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1901)
• 1824-07-07 Alfred Pleasonton, American Major General (Union Army), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1897)
• 1824-12-17 Manning Ferguson Force, American lawyer, judge and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1899)
• 1838-04-05 Alpheus Hyatt, American zoologist and paleontologist, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1902)
• 1838-09-06 Samuel Arnold, Lincoln conspirator, born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. (d. 1906)

• 1873-04-13 Theodore F. Morse, American composer, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1924)
• 1876-03-16 Charles Halton, British stage actor (Dr Cyclops, Tugboat Annie Sails Again), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1959)
• 1883-12-13 Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer and archivist, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1950)
• 1884-08-07 (Mary) "Billie" Burke, American radio, stage, silent and sound film actress (Zieigfield Follies; The Wizard of Oz; Merrily We Live), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1970)

• 1888-09-16 Almira Sessions, American actress (Oklahoma Annie), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1974)
• 1892-02-10 Alan Hale Sr., American actor (Little John-The Adventures of Robin Hood), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1950)
• 1893-10-15 Ina Claire [Fagan], American stage and screen actress (Ninotchika), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1985)

• 1896-08-08 Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American writer (The Yearling), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1953)
• 1896-12-12 Eslanda Goode, American anthropology, civil rights activist and actor under Paul Robeson, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1965)
• 1897-11-19 Quentin Roosevelt, youngest son of United States President Theodore Roosevelt, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1918)

• 1900-10-17 Jean Arthur [Gladys Greene], American stage, silent and sound screen actress (Shane; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; Mr. Deeds Goes to Town), born in Plattsburgh, New York (d. 1991)
• 1903-06-14 Alonzo Church, American Mathematician whose work provided foundation for computer science, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1995)
• 1903-10-20 John Lodge, American actor (Witchmaker) and politician (79th Governor of Connecticut), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1985)
• 1906-11-04 Bob Considine, American journalist and author (Babe Ruth Story), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1975)
• 1909-09-26 Bill France, Sr., American auto racer (co-founder of NASCAR), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1992)
• 1909-10-15 Robert Trout, American newscaster (ABC), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2000)
• 1911-10-09 Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (Pulitzer Prize-Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2006)
• 1913-10-05 Eugene B. Fluckey, American Navy submariner, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2007)
• 1913-11-22 Gardnar Mulloy, American tennis player (5 x Grand Slam doubles champion; Davis Cup 1946, 48, 49), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2016)
• 1914-01-14 Dudley Randall, African-American poet who founded the pioneering publishing house "Broadside Press", born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2000)
• 1914-08-05 Anita Colby, American model, author and actress (Mary of Scotland, Cover Girl, Pepsi Cola Playhouse), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1992)
• 1915-04-15 Elizabeth Catlett, African-American sculptor and print maker (Mother and Child), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2012)
• 1917-09-24 William Putnam Bundy, American attorney and intelligence expert (9th Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2000)
• 1918-07-27 Leonard Rose, American concert cellist (New York Philharmonic, 1943-51), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1984)
• 1919-03-11 Mercer Ellington, American composer, bandleader, and son of Duke Ellington, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1996)
• 1919-07-02 Jean Craighead George, American writer (Julie of the Wolves), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2012)

• 1921-01-14 Mark Lawrence, American pianist (Alice Pearce), and songwriter, and theatrical producer, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1991)
• 1922-06-27 George Theophilus Walker, African-American pianist, composer and teacher (Lilacs; In Praise Of Folly), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2018)
• 1924-09-09 Bettejane "Jane" Greer, American actress (Out of the Past, Prisoner of Zenda, Clown), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2001)
• 1926-03-12 Hildy Parks, American stage and screen actress, and Emmy Award-winning producer and writer (Tony Award presentations), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2004)
• 1926-12-21 John Herbert McDowell, American composer for ballet, TV and the stage, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1985)
• 1927-02-18 John Warner, American politician (Sen-R-VA, 1979-2009) and 7th husband of Elizabeth Taylor (1976-84), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2021)
• 1927-12-14 Richard Cassilly, American tenor, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1998)
• 1927-12-20 Jim Simpson, American sportscaster, (NBC, ESPN), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2016)
• 1927-12-29 Andy Stanfield, American athlete (Olympic gold 200m, 4x100m relay 1952, silver 200m 1956; WR 200m: 20.60 1952), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1985)
• 1928-02-09 Roger Mudd, American Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist and TV news anchor (CBS Weekend News; NBC Evening News; Meet The Press), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2021)

• 1928-11-01 James Bradford, American heavyweight weightlifter (Olympic silver 1952, 56), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2013)
• 1929-05-30 Don Laws, American figure skater and coach (Scott Hamilton, Patrick Chan, Tiffany Chin), born in Washington, D.C.. (d. 2014)
• 1929-11-29 Jackie Stallone (née Labofish);, American astrologer, television personality, and mother of Sylvester Stallone and Frank Stallone, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2020)
• 1930-01-13 Frances Sternhagen, American Tony Award-winning stage and screen character actress (The Mist; Starting Over; Cheers - "Ester Clavin"; Outland; Sex and the City - "Bunny"), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2023) [1]

• 1931-01-26 Mary Murphy, American actress (A Man Alone, Maggie-Investigators), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2011)
• 1931-04-09 Bill Gilbert, American sports and nature writer (Sports Illustrated, National Geographic), born in Kalamazoo, Michigan (d. 2012)
• 1931-06-13 Irvin D. Yalom, American psychotherapist and Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University, born in Washington, D.C.
• 1932-04-11 Francis G. Neubeck, USAF pilot and astronaut, born in Washington, D.C.
• 1932-10-02 Maury Wills, American baseball shortstop (7 x MLB All-Star; NL MVP 1962, World Series 1959, 63, 65; LA Dodgers), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2022)
• 1933-01-23 Chita Rivera, American Tony Award-winning dancer, singer, and actress (West Side Story; Bye Bye Birdie; Sweet Charity; Chicago), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2024) [1] [2]
• 1933-02-06 Walter Fauntroy, American pastor and politician (Rep-D-DC, 1971-91), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1933-04-04 Bill France, Jr., NASCAR pioneer, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2007)
• 1933-12-20 Jean Carnahan, US politician and writer (Missouri, Senator 2001–2002), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1934-02-18 Bobby Taylor, American singer and producer who discovered "The Jackson 5" (Motown Records), born in Washington, D.C. (birth year contested-1939) (d. 2017)
• 1934-05-25 Ron Nesson, American press secretary (Gerald Ford), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1934-08-08 Julian Dixon, American politician (Rep-D-California, 1979-2000), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2000)

• 1934-10-03 Madlyn Rhue, American actress (Bracken's World, Executive Suite), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1935-09-19 Benjamin T. Hacker, American naval aviator (first Naval Flight Officer (NFO) to achieve Flag rank), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2003)
• 1936-01-05 Florence King, American humorist, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2016)
• 1936-03-06 Marion S Barry, (Mayor-D-Washington, D.C., 1979-90, 95- ), drug indictment
• 1936-11-25 Matt Clark, actor and director (Return to Oz, Horror Show), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1937-01-10 Thomas Penfield Jackson, American judge, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2013)
• 1937-04-18 (Bobby) "Robert" Hooks, African-American stage and screen actor (Fast Walking; Aaron Loves Angela), and theater director (The D.C. Black Repertory Company), born in Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C.
• 1937-06-07 Bert Sugar, American sports writer (editor / publisher The Ring magazine; Sting like a Bee; The Ageless Warrior), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2012)
• 1937-06-13 Eleanor Holmes Norton, American lawyer and politician (Rep-D-DC), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1937-06-26 Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist (Nobel 1996), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2013)
• 1937-07-16 Richard Bryan, American attorney and politician (25th Governor of Nevada), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1937-11-11 Warner Wolf, American sportscaster (ABC Sports, WABC-TV, WCBS-TV, WUSA-TV), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1938-04-22 Deane Beman, American golfer, administrator, writer, course designer (US Open 1969 runner-up; PGA Tour Commissioner 1974-94), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1938-09-13 Judith Martin, American author, journalist and columnist (Miss Manners), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1938-11-02 Patrick Buchanan, American conservative political commentator and politician, born in Washington, D.C.

• 1939-04-09 Michael Learned, American actress (Olivia in The Waltons, Nurse), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1939-04-23 David Birney, American stage and screen actor (Bridget Loves Bernie; St Elsewhere, 1982-83), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2022)
• 1939-09-15 Jim Kimsey, American co-founder of AOL, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2016)
• 1940-08-07 Tom Barlow, American politician (Rep-D-Kentucky), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2017)
• 1940-12-23 Jorma Kaukonen, American rock guitarist (Jefferson Airplane; Hot Tuna), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1941-01-07 Frederick Drew Gregory, American Colonel USAF/astronaut (STS 51-B, 33, 44), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1941-04-16 Cliff Stearns, American businessman and politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1941-04-21 David Lyle Boren, American politician, Governor and Senator from Oklahoma, born in Washington, D.C.
• 1941-05-03 Edward Malloy, 16th president of the University of Notre Dame, born in Washington, D.C.
• 1941-06-14 John Edgar Wideman, American writer (Brothers and Keepers), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1941-08-01 Ron Brown, American politician (US Secretary of Commerce, 1993-96; Democratic Party Chairman, 1989-93), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1996)
• 1941-11-05 Patricia Harty, American actress (Occasional Wife, Blondie), born in Washington, D.C.
• 1942-02-13 Peter Tork [Thorkelson], American musician and actor (The Monkees), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2019)
• 1942-08-13 Robert Lee Stewart, American Brigadier General and astronaut (STS 41B, 51J), born in Washington, D.C.

• Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next

• 'Philadelphia' Jack O'Brien
• 50 Cent
• A Boogie wit da Hoodie
• A. E. Douglass
• A. J. Foyt
• Aaron Burr