# Timeline of Montgomery, Alabama

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
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.
* 1900 - Population: 30,346.

## 20th century

* 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
** WSFA radio begins broadcasting.
** Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts established.
* 1938
** Coca-Cola bottling facility in operation.
** WCOV radio begins broadcasting.
* 1940
** Population: 78,084.
** Veterans hospital begins operating.
* 1941 - Mayor William Gunter dies.
* 1942 - Montgomery Bible College founded.
* 1946 — A devastating and deadly tornado struck the western portion of the city. The tornado killed 26 people, injured 293 others, and caused a city-wide blackout which lasted for hours.
* 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.
* 1953 - WCOV-TV (television) begins broadcasting.
* 1954 - WSFA television begins broadcasting.
* 1955 - December 1: Rosa Parks arrested; Montgomery bus boycott begins.
* 1956 - December 20: Racial segregation 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
** March 7–25: Selma to Montgomery marches for voting 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.
* 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.