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The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
- 1821 – Creek Indians cede land that is now Metro Atlanta per treaty.[1]
- 1839 – Settlement of "Terminus" established (at what would be end of Western and Atlantic Railroad).[2]
- 1843 – Town of Marthasville incorporated.[1]
- 1845
- 1846 – Macon & Western RR connects Atlanta with port of Savannah.[1]
- 1847 – Town of Atlanta incorporated.[3]
- 1848 - Moses Formwalt becomes mayor.
- 1849 - Benjamin Bomar becomes mayor.
- 1850
- Population: 2,572
- Atlanta Cemetery founded.[1]
- 1851 - Western and Atlantic Railroad connects Atlanta to The Midwest.[4][citation needed]
- 1852 - Atlanta & West Point Railroad built.[1]
- 1853 - Atlanta becomes seat of Fulton County.[1]
- 1855
- Atlanta Medical College established.[5]
- Gas lighting installed in city.[6]
- 1860
- Population: 9,554.[7]
- William Ezzard becomes mayor (1860 - 1861).
- 1861
- Jared Whitaker becomes mayor (1861 - 1861 - joined CSA government).
- Thomas Lowe becomes mayor (1861 - 1862).
- 1864
- James Calhoun becomes mayor (1862 - 1866).
- May–September: Union forces wage Atlanta Campaign.
- September 2: Union forces take city.[8]
- November 15: Burning of Atlanta by Union forces.[2]
- Nov. 26: Col. Luther J. Glenn is appointed commander of the Atlanta Post.[9]: 182
- Dec. 5: Cap. Thomas L. Dodd is appointed the Provost-Marshal.[9]: 182
- Dec 7: Gen. W. P. Howard sends his report to Governor Brown on the destruction of Atlanta.[9]: 182–185 [10]: 407–412
- 1865
- Civil War ends; slaves freed.
- Atlanta University, first Atlanta black college, founded.
- 1867 - Young Men's Library Association founded.[11]
- 1868
- Atlanta becomes Georgia state capital.[1]
- Constitution newspaper begins publication.[12]
- 1869 - Clark College founded.
- 1870 - Population: 21,789.[7]
- 1871
- Horse-drawn streetcar begins operating.[1][13]
- Public school system organized.[5]
- 1877 - Washington Seminary established.
- 1878 - Southern Medical College established.[5]
- 1879
- Augusta Institute moves from Augusta to Atlanta and is renamed Atlanta Baptist Seminary.[14]
- Atlanta Building and Loan Association established.[15]
- 1880
- Abyssinian Library established.[16]
- Population: 37,409; Atlanta surpasses Savannah as Georgia's largest city.[7]
- 1881
- 1882 - Atlanta Fire Rescue Department established.
- 1883
- Atlanta Journal newspaper begins publication.[12]
- Capital City Club established.
- 1885 - Georgia Institute of Technology founded.
- 1886
- Ebenezer Baptist Church founded.[17]
- Atlanta goes "dry".[citation needed]
- Coca-Cola beverage introduced.[18]
- 1887
- Piedmont Exposition held.[5]
- Piedmont Driving Club[19] and Inman Park (first garden suburb)[citation needed] founded.
- Coca-Cola invents the coupon.[citation needed]
- 1888 - Atlanta Camera Club organized.[20]
- 1889
- First electric streetcars enable further expansion of city.
- Georgia State Capitol building opens.[5]
- Grant Park and Atlanta Zoo[21] established.
- Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills is incorporated.
- 1890 - Population: 65,533.[7]
- 1891 - Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway in business.
- 1892 - Grady Memorial Hospital opens.[5]
- 1895
- Cotton States and International Exposition held.[5]
- September: Booker T. Washington gives "Atlanta Compromise" Speech.[22]
- Atlanta Woman's Club founded.
- 1896 - Atlanta Conference of the Study of Negro Problems begins.[23]
- 1899 - Federal penitentiary established.[2]
- 1900 - Population: 89,872;[7] metro 419,375.
1900s-1940s
- 1901 - Atlanta Theological Seminary established.[5]
- 1902 - Carnegie Library opens.[24]
- 1904 - Atlanta Art Association formed.[25]
- 1905
- Atlanta School of Medicine[5] and Associated Charities of Atlanta[5] founded.
- Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association in business.[26][27]
- 1906 - September 22: Atlanta Race Riot kills 27.[28]
- 1907 - Atlanta Conservatory of Music founded.[13]
- 1908 - Atlanta Neighborhood Union organized.[23]
- 1909 - Architectural Arts League of Atlanta organized.[25]
- 1910
- Population: 154,839;[7] metro 522,442.
- Restaurants segregated; other Jim Crow laws follow.[citation needed]
- 1911 - Atlanta Debutante Club founded.[19]
- 1913
- Georgia Tech starts "evening college", now Georgia State.
- Augusta Institute established founded in 1867 is renamed Morehouse College.
- 1914
- 1915
- Emory College relocated to Atlanta.
- November: film The Birth of a Nation premieres.
- Ku Klux Klan refounded in Atlanta.[27][31]
- 1916
- 1917 - Great Atlanta fire.
- 1918 - 1918 influenza epidemic.[33]
- 1919 - Commission on Interracial Cooperation active.[27]
- 1920
- Butler Street YMCA opens.[34]
- Population: 200,616; metro 622,283.[7]
- 1921 - Atlanta Junior Chamber (JCI Atlanta) established.
- 1922 - WSB radio begins broadcasting.[35]
- 1923 - Spring Street Viaduct opens, downtown rises above train tracks.[citation needed]
- 1926 - Atlanta Historical Society founded.
- 1927 - Atlanta Historical Bulletin begins publication.
- 1928 - Atlanta World newspaper begins publication.
- 1929
- Atlanta University Center Consortium established.
- City Hall built.[2]
- January 15: Martin Luther King Jr. is born.
- WGST radio begins broadcasting.[35]
- 1930 - Population: 270,366; metro 715,391.[7]
- 1931 - WATL radio begins broadcasting.[35]
- 1933 - Georgia Municipal Association headquartered in city.[citation needed]
- 1935 - Cascade Theatre opens.[36]
- 1936
- Atlanta Dogwood Festival begins.[37]
- William B. Hartsfield elected mayor.
- Techwood Homes built, first public housing in US.[citation needed]
- 1937 - WAGA radio begins broadcasting.[35]
- 1939
- Plaza Theatre opens.
- Gone with the Wind world premiere draws 300,000 to streets.[citation needed]
- 1940
- Euclid Theatre opens.
- Population: 302,288.[7]
- 1941 - Central Atlanta Progress established.
- 1944
- Atlanta Campaign National Historic Site established.[2]
- Southern Regional Council and Associated Klans of Georgia[citation needed] headquartered in city.
- 1945 - Mary Mac's Tea Room in business.
- 1946
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention founded.
- December 7: Winecoff Hotel fire.[38]
- 1947 - Regional Metropolitan Planning Commission established.[39]
- 1948 - WSB-TV (television) begins broadcasting.[40]
- 1949
- WAGA-TV[40] and WERD (AM) radio[41] begin broadcasting.
- Atlanta Negro Voters League founded.[41]
- Last streetcar line converted to trolleybus.[citation needed]
1950s-1990s
- 1950
- Population: 331,314;[7] metro 997,666.
- Transit strike, Atlanta Transit Co. takes over transit from Georgia Railway and Power.
- 1952
- Georgia Board of Regents, votes to allow women into Georgia Tech.
- Buckhead annexed.[citation needed]
- 1953 - Links chapter established.[26]
- 1956
- 1956 Sugar Bowl first black player to play in a college bowl game in deep south causes riots.
- Alexander Memorial Coliseum opens.
- 1957 - Southern Christian Leadership Conference headquartered in city.[42]
- 1958
- October 12: Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple bombing.[43]
- Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam established.[44]
- 1959 - Trolleybuses, buses, public library desegregated.[citation needed]
- Lenox Square mall opens.
- Metro population hits 1 million.[citation needed]
- 1960
- Population: 487,455;[7] metro 1,312,474.
- March 15: An Appeal for Human Rights is released.
- Sit-ins at Rich's lunch counters during the Civil Rights Movement.[45][42]
- Atlanta Inquirer newspaper begins publication.[46]
- 1961
- Ivan Allen Jr. becomes mayor.
- Public schools begin token desegregation.[46]
- Rich's desegregates restaurant.
- John Portman opens Merchandise Mart, kicking off transformation of downtown.
- One Park Tower built.
- 1962
- Peyton Road barricades built in Cascade Heights.[27]
- 106 Atlanta art patrons die in Paris air crash.
- 1963
- Atlanta Marathon begins.
- Trolleybuses converted en masse to buses.[citation needed]
- 1964
- U.S. Supreme Court decides Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States.[43]
- Atlanta Press Club[47] and Atlanta Track Club established.
- 1965 – Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium constructed.
- 1966
- State of Georgia Building constructed.
- Both the relocated Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball and the expansion Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League begin play at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium.
- 1967
- Atlanta Chiefs soccer team begins play.
- Sister city relationship established with Salzburg, Austria.[48]
- 1968
- King Center for Nonviolent Social Change founded.
- Peach Bowl annual football game begins.
- Atlanta Hawks basketball team relocates to Atlanta.
- Equitable Building constructed.
- 1969
- Coronet Theater[36] and Perimeter freeway[citation needed] open.
- Afro-American Police League chapter established.[23]
- 1970
- Peachtree Road Race begins.
- Population: 496,973;[7] metro 1,763,626
- 1971
- Atlanta Gay Pride Festival established.
- International flights begin at Hartsfield Airport.[49]
- 1972
- Sister city relationships established with Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[48]
- The Atlanta Flames are established as an expansion team of the National Hockey League.
- The Omni Coliseum opens as the new home of the NBA's Hawks and NHL's Flames.
- 1973
- Maynard Jackson becomes first black mayor of Atlanta.
- GSU Sports Arena open.
- 1974
- 1975 - Centennial Tower built.
- 1976
- Atlanta Botanical Garden established.
- Atlanta Film Festival begins.
- Georgia World Congress Center opens.
- National Conference of Black Mayors headquartered in city.[23][51]
- 1977
- Atlanta Soto Zen Center founded.
- Sister city relationship established with Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.[48]
- 1979
- Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority begins operating.
- Atlanta murders of 1979–1981 begin.
- 1980
- Population: 425,022;[7] metro 2,233,324.
- All-news television network CNN begins broadcasting; Turner empire takes off.[52]
- Al-Farooq Masjid (mosque)[44] and Martin Luther King Jr., National Historic Site established.
- Flames hockey team sold and relocated to Calgary, Alberta.
- 1981
- Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus founded.
- Sister city relationship established with Daegu, South Korea.[48]
- 1982
- Andrew Young becomes mayor.
- Carter Center headquartered in Atlanta.
- 1983
- Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System established.
- Sister city relationship established with Brussels, Belgium.[48]
- 1984 - Sweet Auburn Heritage Festival begins.
- 1986
- Jimmy Carter Library and Museum dedicated.
- Midtown Assistance Center established.[44]
- 1987
- John Lewis becomes U.S. representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district.[53]
- Sister city relationship established with Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.[48]
- 1988
- Democratic Convention.
- Sister city relationship established with Tbilisi, Georgia.[48]
- 1990 - Population: 394,017;[7] metro 2,959,950.
- 1991
- Atlanta Bicycle Coalition organized.
- Land bank established.[54]
- Drepung Loseling Institute opens.[44]
- 1992
- 6 September: Georgia Dome opens.
- SunTrust Plaza and Bank of America Plaza built.
- 1994 - Sister city relationships established with Bucharest, Romania;[48] and Ancient Olympia, Greece.[clarification needed]
- 1995
- October 28: Atlanta Braves baseball team wins 1995 World Series.
- Atlanta Downtown Improvement District established.
- Sister city relationship established with Cotonou, Benin.[48]
- 1996
- Centennial Olympic Park opens.
- 18 May: Centennial Olympic Stadium opens.
- 19 July–4 August: 1996 Summer Olympics held.
- July 27: Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
- 16–25 August: 1996 Summer Paralympics held.
- 24 October: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium closed.
- Sister city relationship established with Salcedo, Dominican Republic.[48]
- 1997
- Centennial Olympic Stadium reconstructed as Turner Field.
- 2 August: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium demolished and parking space built for Turner Field.
- 1998
- City website online (approximate date).[55][chronology citation needed]
- Sister city relationship established with Nuremberg, Germany.[48]
- 1999
- Philips Arena opens.
- Atlanta Thrashers ice hockey team begins play.
- 2000
- Freedom Park dedicated.
- Sister city relationship established with Ra'anana, Israel.[48]
- Population: 416,474; metro 4,112,198.
2000s
- 2001 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper in publication.
- 2002 - Shirley Franklin becomes mayor.
- 2003 - Fermi Project established.
- 2004 - Atlanta Rollergirls established.
- 2005
- 2008
- Delta becomes world's largest airline.[citation needed]
- March 14–15: 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak.
2010s
- 2010 - Population: 420,003; metro 5,268,860.[56]
- 2011
- Thrashers hockey team are sold and relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, becoming the new Winnipeg Jets.
- Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal investigative report issued.
- Atlanta first US city to demolish all public housing projects.[citation needed]
- 2012 - Part of BeltLine path opens.[57]
- 2014 - National Center for Civil and Human Rights opens.
- 2015 - Population: 463,875 (estimate).[58]
- 2016
- Murder Kroger closes.
- Turner Field hosts its last baseball game, with the Braves moving to a new ballpark, SunTrust Park, in Cobb County.
- 2017
- Georgia Dome closes.
- Atlanta United FC begins play in Major League Soccer.
- Interstate 85 bridge collapse occurs.
- Turner Field reconstructed as Georgia State Stadium.
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium opens.
- 2018
- Hackers successfully breach the city's servers, encrypting files with ransomware and disrupting services.
2020s
- 2021
- The Atlanta spa shootings occur.[59]
- The Atlanta Braves baseball team win the 2021 World Series.[60]
- History of Atlanta
- List of mayors of Atlanta
- Timeline of mass transit in Atlanta
- Timelines of other cities in Georgia: Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Savannah
- Sister city timelines: Brussels, Bucharest, Cotonou, Fukuoka, Lagos, Nuremberg, Rio de Janeiro, Salzburg, Tbilisi, Toulouse
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