South Carolina History Timeline

Events 1 - 100 of 104

• 1526-04-22 1st slave revolt in North America at San Miguel de Gualdape, a Spanish settlement (now part of South Carolina)
• 1715-04-15 Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
• 1721-05-29 South Carolina formally incorporated as a royal colony

• 1733-01-13 British officer James Oglethorpe and 130 English colonists arrive at Charleston, South Carolina
• 1734-05-20 1st Jockey Club forms in South Carolina
• 1735-02-08 First opera performance in North American colonies "Flora" opens in Charleston, South Carolina
• 1735-02-18 1st opera performed in America, "Flora", in Charleston, South Carolina
• 1756-04-14 Governor Glen of South Carolina protests against 900 Acadia indians
• 1760-02-16 Native American hostages killed in Fort Prince George, South Carolina
• 1776-06-28 Charleston, South Carolina repulses British sea attack

• 1779-06-20 Battle of Stono Ferry fought near Charleston, South Carolina (American Revolutionary War)

• 1780-08-16 British decisively defeat Americans in Battle of Camden, South Carolina
• 1782-12-14 Charleston, South Carolina evacuated by the British
• 1784-05-08 Only known deaths by hailstones in US (Winnsborough, South Carolina)

• 1822-06-16 Denmark Vesey (aka Telemaque) Black American carpenter accused of planning a slave rebellion in South Carolina; tried and convicted, later executed by hanging
• 1822-06-21 Slave revolt leaders Denmark Vesey and Peter Poyas arrested in South Carolina
• 1822-07-14 Date planned for the slave revolt in Charleston, South Carolina by Denmark Vesey and Peter Poyas (plot already uncovered in June)
• 1824-11-21 First Jewish Reform congregation forms, Charleston, South Carolina

• 1831-01-15 1st US railroad honeymoon trip, Mr & Mrs Pierson, Charleston, South Carolina
• 1832-11-24 South Carolina passes Ordinance of Nullification, declaring the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional in and unenforceable in South Carolina, precipitating the Nullification Crisis which presaged the American Civil War

• 1856-05-22 Violence in the US Senate, South Carolina rep Brooks uses a cane on Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner
• 1860-04-23 Democratic convention in Charleston, South Carolina divided over slavery
• 1860-12-20 South Carolina General Assembly votes 169-0 to secede from the United States, declaring itself an "independent commonwealth". Is quickly followed by other Southern states triggering the American Civil War.
• 1861-01-02 South Carolina seizes inactive Ft Johnson in Charleston Harbor

• 1861-04-12 Fort Sumter in South Carolina is attacked by the Confederacy, beginning the American Civil War
• 1861-06-16 Battle of Vienna, Virginia and Secessionville, South Carolina (James Island)
• 1861-10-06 Naval Engagement at Charleston, South Carolina, USS Flag vs BR Alert
• 1861-11-03 Battle of Port Royal, fought in Port Royal Sound, South Carolina begins, Union victory (US Civil War)
• 1861-11-07 Battle of Port Royal, fought in Port Royal Sound, South Carolina ends, Union forces capture Fort Walker and Fort Beauregard (US Civil War)
• 1862-12-25 40,000 watch Union army men play baseball at Hilton Head, South Carolina
• 1863-01-31 1st black Civil War regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, mustered into US army
• 1863-04-07 Battle of Charleston, South Carolina failed Federal fleet attack on Fort Sumter
• 1863-07-10 Battle of Charleston, South Carolina (Morris Island) [->SEP 06]
• 1863-07-18 Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina - Second assault
• 1864-11-30 Battle of Honey Hill, South Carolina (Broad River) 96 dead, 665 wounded
• 1864-12-06 Battle of Deveaux's Neck, South Carolina
• 1865-01-18 Battle of Ft Moultrie, South Carolina
• 1865-02-17 -18] Battle of Charleston, South Carolina
• 1865-02-17 Columbia in South Carolina burns down during the American Civil War
• 1865-02-18 Evacuation of Charleston, South Carolina
• 1865-05-10 Major General Sam Jones, the Confederate military leader in Florida, South Carolina and South Georgia, surrenders to Union forces

• 1868-06-19 Major General E. R. S. Canby removes mayor of Columbia, South Carolina
• 1868-06-25 Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina readmitted to US, after the Civil War
• 1868-07-09 1st African American cabinet member in South Carolina, Francis L. Cardozo as Secretary of State
• 1868-07-09 Louisiana and South Carolina are the last states to ratify the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing civil rights
• 1869-03-03 University of South Carolina opens to all races
• 1870-07-01 James W. Smith of South Carolina is one of 1st African Americans to attend West Point
• 1870-12-12 Joseph Rainey (South Carolina) becomes 1st African American to serve in US House of Representatives
• 1871-11-28 Ku Klux Klan trials began in Federal District Court in South Carolina
• 1872-01-29 Francis L Cardoza elected State Treasurer of South Carolina
• 1872-09-21 John Henry Conyers of South Carolina becomes first black student at Annapolis
• 1876-07-07 Hamburg massacre: white farmers attack a black militia in Hamburg, South Carolina with 7 killed
• 1876-09-06 Race riot in Charleston, South Carolina
• 1876-09-17 Race riots in South Carolina
• 1884-02-19 "Enigma Outbreak" of over 60 tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana kill hundreds, if not over a thousand (hence the "enigma") people
• 1886-08-31 1st major earthquake recorded in eastern US, at Charleston, South Carolina, 110 die
• 1898-02-22 Black postmaster lynched, his wife & 3 daughters shot in Lake City, South Carolina
• 1910-06-13 William D Crum, a South Carolina physician, appointed US minister to Liberia
• 1919-05-10 Race riot in Charleston, South Carolina, 2 blacks killed
• 1923-05-17 Fire during closing day ceremonies at Grover Cleveland School, South Carolina
• 1941-03-25 Carolina Paprika Mills in Dillon, South Carolina, incorporated
• 1944-04-13 South Carolina rejects black suffrage
• 1953-06-19 WCSC TV channel 5 in Charleston, South Carolina (CBS) begins broadcasting
• 1954-06-28 111°F (44°C) at Camden, South Carolina (state record)
• 1954-09-25 WCBD TV channel 2 in Charleston, South Carolina (ABC) begins broadcasting

• 1956-04-08 6 US Marine Corps recruits drown during a night "marsh march" in Ribbon Creek at Parris Island, South Carolina; drill instructor Staff Sergeant Matthew McKeon is court-martialed
• 1958-03-11 American B-47 accidentally drops nuclear bomb 15,000 ft on a family home in Mars Bluff, South Carolina; creates crater 75 ft across, bomb without its nuclear capsule
• 1961-02-06 "Jail, No Bail" Jail-in movement starts in Rock Hill, South Carolina

• 1962-10-23 WCIV TV channel 4 in Charleston, South Carolina (NBC) begins broadcasting
• 1963-10-20 WITV TV channel 7 in Charleston, South Carolina (PBS) begins broadcasting
• 1980-05-15 Shawn Weatherly of South Carolina crowned 29th Miss USA, goes on to win Miss Universe
• 1980-12-01 46th Heisman Trophy Award: George Rogers, South Carolina (RB)
• 1981-04-29 NFL Draft: South Carolina running back George Rogers first pick by New Orleans Saints
• 1985-01-21 -19°F (-28°C), Caesar's Head, South Carolina (state record)
• 1989-09-17 -21] Hurricane Hugo, kills 85 in Charleston, South Carolina

• 1994-02-11 Lu Parker, (South Carolina), crowned 43rd Miss USA
• 1995-01-02 Carquest Bowl 5: South Carolina beats West Virginia, 24-21
• 1995-07-22 Susan Smith found guilty of drowning her two children in South Carolina
• 1995-12-03 Northwestern South Carolina begins using new area code 864
• 1998-02-23 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Charleston, South Carolina on WAVF 96.1 FM
• 2010-12-04 19th SEC Championship Game: #2 Auburn beats #18 South Carolina, 56-17
• 2014-05-08 NFL Draft: South Carolina outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney first pick by Houston Texans
• 2015-06-17 9 people are shot and killed inside Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, by a 21-year-old gunman

• 2015-07-10 The Confederate flag is taken down for the last time from South Carolina Capitol grounds 1 day after the state legislature ordered it removed.
• 2015-10-05 Floods in South Carolina a "1,000-year storm" result in 12 deaths and 9 dams to fail
• 2016-01-14 Sixth republican presidential candidates debate hosted by Fox, held in North Charleston, South Carolina

• 2016-02-13 Ninth Republican presidential candidates debate held in Greenville, South Carolina

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Birthdays 1 - 100 of 238

• 1739-09-17 John Rutledge, American 2nd Chief Justice of the United States, born in Charleston, South Carolina, British America (d. 1800)
• 1742-06-26 Arthur Middleton, American signer (Declaration of Independence), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1787)
• 1746-07-28 Thomas Heyward, signed US Declaration of Independence, born in St. Luke's Parish, South Carolina (d. 1809)

• 1762-10-16 Paul Hamilton, Governor of South Carolina (1804-06) and U.S. Secretary of Navy (1809-12) (d. 1816)

• 1779-11-05 Washington Allston, American painter (pioneer of America's Romantic movement of landscape painting) and author, born in Georgetown, South Carolina (d. 1843)

• 1803-10-03 John Gorrie, American scientist and inventor (cold-air process of refrigeration), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1855)
• 1805-11-22 Benjamin Huger, American Major General (Confederate Army), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1877)
• 1808-08-24 Thomas Fenwick Drayton, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1891)
• 1809-05-06 William Walker, American composer (The Southern Harmony), born in Martin's Mills, Cross Keys, South Carolina (d. 1875)
• 1809-08-01 William Barret Travis, American lawyer and soldier (commander at Battle of the Alamo), born in Saluda County, South Carolina (d. 1836)
• 1810-10-28 Adley H. Gladden, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Fairfield District, South Carolina (d. 1862)
• 1812-08-25 Percival Drayton, American captain (Union Navy), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1865)
• 1813-01-05 Thomas Neville Waul, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Sumter County, South Carolina (d. 1903)
• 1813-01-15 James Marion Sims, American physician and surgical pioneer (vesicovaginal operation), born in Lancaster County, South Carolina (d. 1883)
• 1814-08-01 Maxcy Gregg, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Columbia, South Carolina (d. 1862)
• 1815-04-24 James E. Harrison, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Greenville District, South Carolina (d. 1875)
• 1815-11-29 Stephen Augustus Hurlbut, American politician, commander of US Army of the Gulf, Major General (Union Army), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1882)
• 1816-04-21 Louis Wigfall, American politician (Confederate States Senator from Texas 1862-85), born in Edgefield, South Carolina (d. 1874)
• 1818-03-28 Wade Hampton, American politician, Lt Gen (Confederate Army), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1902)
• 1819-10-19 Samuel McGowan, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Laurens County, South Carolina (d. 1897)
• 1819-10-25 Zachariah C. Deas, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Camden, South Carolina (d. 1882)

• 1821-04-15 Joseph E. Brown, American attorney and politician (42nd Governor of Georgia), born in Pickens, South Carolina (d. 1894)
• 1821-07-12 Daniel Harvey Hill, Confederate General (American Civil War), born in York District, South Carolina (d. 1889)
• 1822-01-05 Joseph Brevard Kershaw, Major General (Confederate Army), born in Camden, South Carolina (d. 1894)
• 1824-02-03 Nathan George "Shanks" Evans, American Brigadier-General (Confederate States Army), born in Marion County, South Carolina (d. 1868)
• 1824-10-26 Arthur Middleton Manigault, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1886)
• 1825-04-05 David Rumph Jones, American Major General (Confederate Army), born in Orangeburg, South Carolina (d. 1863)
• 1826-07-08 Robert Kingston Scott, American governor of South Carolina (1868-1872) and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania (d. 1900)
• 1828-05-28 Alpheus Baker, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in South Carolina (d. 1891)
• 1829-09-24 Charles S. West, American jurist and politician, born in Camden, South Carolina (d. 1885)
• 1830-07-02 John Bordenave Villepigue, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Camden, South Carolina (d. 1862)
• 1830-10-26 Stephen Elliott, Jr., Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Beaufort, South Carolina (d. 1866)
• 1831-03-07 John Bratton [Old Reliable], American physician and Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), born in Winnsboro, South Carolina (d. 1898)
• 1832-06-21 Joseph Rainey, American politician, 1st African American in US House of Representatives (1870-1879), born in Georgetown, South Carolina (d. 1887)
• 1833-02-01 Henry McNeal Turner, Newberry South Carolina, Minister and politician, 1st African American Methodist Bishop (d. 1915)
• 1836-03-08 Matthew Calbraith Butler, American Major General (Confederate Army) and politician, born in Greenville, South Carolina (d. 1909)
• 1836-08-07 Evander M. Law, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Darlington, South Carolina (d. 1920)
• 1836-11-15 Pierce M. B. Young, American Major General (Confederate Army), born in Spartanburg, South Carolina (d. 1896)
• 1837-05-02 Henry Martyn Robert, American soldier and parliamentarian (Robert's Rules of Order), born in Robertville, South Carolina (d. 1923)
• 1837-10-14 Ellison Capers, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1908)
• 1839-04-05 Robert Smalls, African-American congressman (1875-87), born in Beaufort, South Carolina (d. 1915)
• 1840-01-05 John Doby Kennedy, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Camden, South Carolina (d. 1896)
• 1861-01-12 James Mark Baldwin, American philosopher and psychologist, born in Columbia, South Carolina (d. 1934)
• 1870-08-19 Bernard Baruch, American financier and presidential adviser (Cold War), born in Camden, South Carolina (d. 1965)
• 1875-07-10 Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator (Bethune-Cookman College) and civil rights leader, born in Maysville, South Carolina (d. 1955)
• 1878-01-09 John B. Watson, American psychologist who popularized the scientific theory of behaviorism, born in Travelers Rest, South Carolina (d. 1958)

• 1883-08-14 Ernest Everett Just, African-American embryologist known for his pioneering work in the physiology of development, especially fertilization and cell division, born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1941)
• 1885-08-31 DuBose Heyward, American novelist (Porgy, Star Spangled Virgin), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1940)
• 1885-11-10 Esther Dale, American actress (Curly Top; The Egg and I; Ma and Pa Kettle films), born in Beaufort, South Carolina (d. 1961)
• 1887-04-04 William Cumming Rose, American biochemist who discovered threonine (an amino acid), born in Greenville, South Carolina (d. 1985)
• 1887-07-16 "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, American baseball outfielder, 1908-20 (Chicago White Sox, and two other teams; 1919 World Series "Black Sox" Scandal), born in Pickens County, South Carolina (d. 1951)
• 1888-07-01 Ben Taylor, American Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman (Indianapolis ABCs) and manager (Washington Potomacs, Baltimore Black Sox), born in Anderson, South Carolina (d. 1953)
• 1895-08-01 Benjamin Mays, African-American educator (Morehouse, Howard University) and civil rights leader, born in Ninety Six, South Carolina (d. 1984)
• 1896-04-30 "Reverend" Gary Davis, American blues and folk guitarist ("Samson And Delilah"; A Little More Faith), born in Laurens, South Carolina (d. 1972)
• 1898-05-03 Septima Poinsette Clark, American educator and civil rights activist, born in CHarleston, South Carolina (d. 1987)

• 1902-12-25 Barton Maclane, American actor (The Quarterback, I Dream of Jeannie), born in Columbia, South Carolina (d. 1969)

• 1904-07-24 James R. Killian Jr., 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1948-59), born in Blacksburg, South Carolina (d. 1988)
• 1904-11-27 Florence Lake, American comic actress (leading lady in many of Edgar Kennedy comedy shorts; Lassie), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1980)
• 1905-06-27 Ruby Middleton Forsythe, African-American teacher (50 years in 1 room school in South Carolina), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1992)
• 1906-02-01 Helen Chandler, American actress (Christopher Strong, Dracula), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1965)
• 1906-04-10 Joseph "Fud" Livingston, American jazz clarinetist, arranger, and composer ("Im Thru With Love"), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1957) [1]
• 1911-06-08 Van Lingle Mungo, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1934, 36, 37, 45; NL strikeout leader 1936; Brooklyn Dodgers, NY Giants), born in Pageland, South Carolina (d. 1985)
• 1914-02-11 Josh White, Blues, folk and gospel musician, born in Greenville, South Carolina (d. 1969)

• 1915-07-28 Charles Hard Townes, American Physicist and inventor (Nobel Prize 1964 for mazer-lazer principle), born in Greenville, South Carolina (d. 2015)
• 1916-06-04 Robert F. Furchgott, American pharmacologist (co-winner Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1998), and educator, born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 2009)
• 1916-10-12 Alice Childress, American playwright, actress and writer, born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1994)
• 1917-05-25 Jimmy Hamilton, American jazz saxophonist, born in Dillon, South Carolina (d. 1994)
• 1917-10-21 John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, American jazz trumpeter, a creator of bebop & modern jazz (A Night In Tunisia), born in Cheraw, South Carolina (d. 1993)
• 1917-12-01 Marty Marion, American baseball shortstop and manager (MLB All-Star 1943–50; NL MVP 1944; St. Louis Cardinals), born in Richburg, South Carolina (d. 2011)
• 1919-03-21 Lois Collier [Madelyn Earle Jones], American actress (A Night in Casablanca, Boston Blackie, Slave Girl), born in Salley, South Carolina (d. 1999)
• 1921-07-17 Acquanetta [Mildred Davenport], American actress nicknamed "The Venezuelan Volcano" (Tarzan & Leopard Woman), born in Newberry, South Carolina (d. 2004)
• 1922-01-01 Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, American Democratic Senator from South Carolina (1966-2005) and Governor of South Carolina (1959-63), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 2019)
• 1923-07-22 The Fabulous Moolah [Mary Lillian Ellison], American professional wrestler (World Champion: 1956-83), born in Kershaw County, South Carolina (d. 2007)
• 1924-01-01 Arthur Prysock, American jazz and R&B singer ("I Didn't Sleep a Wink Last Night"; "In The Rain"), born in Spartanburg, South Carolina (d. 1997) (some sources state year as 1929)
• 1924-02-28 Bettye Ackerman, American actress (Maggie Graham-Ben Casey), born in Cottageville, South Carolina (d. 2006)
• 1924-02-29 Al Rosen, American baseball third baseman (MLB All-Star 1952–55; World Series 1948; AL MVP 1953; Cleveland Indians) and executive (NL Executive of the Year 1989), born in Spartanburg, South Carolina (d. 2015)
• 1924-04-13 Stanley Donen, American film director and producer (Singin' in the Rain, Bedazzled, Damn Yankees), born in Columbia, South Carolina (d. 2019)
• 1924-06-16 (Eli) "Lucky" Thompson, American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist (Stan Kenton - Cuban Fire!; Milt Jackson; Miles Davis - Walkin'), born in Columbia, South Carolina (d. 2005)
• 1924-12-04 John C. Portman Jr., American architect (Ivan Allen Award-1964), born in Walhalla, South Carolina (d. 2017)
• 1924-12-11 Doc Blanchard, American College Football Hall of Fame fullback (Heisman Trophy 1945; National C'ship 1944, 45, 46; Army), born in McColl, South Carolina (d. 2009)

• 1925-04-04 Emmett Williams, American poet, born in Greenville, South Carolina (d. 2007)
• 1925-08-15 Billy Pinkney, American bass vocalist (Drifters - "Ruby Baby"), born in Dalzell, South Carolina (d. 2007)
• 1925-09-22 Virginia Capers, American actress (Raisin, White Mama, Original Intent), born in Sumter, South Carolina (d. 2004)
• 1926-06-11 Carlisle Floyd, American opera composer (Susanna; Prince of Players), born in Latta, South Carolina (d. 2021)
• 1927-01-17 Eartha Kitt, American singer (Santa Baby), dancer, activist, and actress (Batman - "Catwoman"), born in North, South Carolina (d. 2008)
• 1927-03-29 Arthur Ravenel Jr, American businessman and politician (Rep-R-South Carolina 1987-95), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 2023)
• 1927-08-15 Wesley Mouzon, American boxing trainer (Roy Jones Jr., Dwight Muhammad Qawi), born in Kingstree, South Carolina (d. 2003)

• 1927-12-02 Jim David, American NFL defensive back (Pro Bowl 1954-59; NFL Champion 1952-53, 57; Detroit Lions), born in Florence, South Carolina (d. 2007)
• 1928-04-02 Joseph Bernardin, American Cardinal of the Catholic Church, born in Columbia, South Carolina (d. 1996)
• 1928-04-09 Floyd Spence, American attorney and politician (Rep-R-SC, 1971-2001), born in Columbia, South Carolina (d. 2001)

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