Timeline of Wilmington, Delaware
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
Prior to 19th century[edit]
- 1638
- March 29: Peter Minuit and others arrive at what is known today as Swedes' Landing, in the Swedish colony of New Sweden.
- Fort Christina built on behalf of the Swedish South Company; settlement known as Christinaham.[1]
- 1655 - Fort taken from Swedes by Dutch forces of Peter Stuyvesant.[1]
- 1664 - English in power.[1]
- 1682 - New Sweden becomes part of the English colonial Province of Pennsylvania.[1]
- 1698 - Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes) built.[1]
- 1731 - Landowner Thomas Willing names his property "Willingtown" (renamed "Wilmington" around 1739).[1]
- 1739
- William Shipley becomes burgess of Wilmington.[2]
- Shipbuilding industry begins (approximate date).[1]
- 1740 - First Presbyterian Church built.[1]
- 1748 - Wilmington Friends School established.[1]
- 1777 - September 11: Battle of Brandywine fought near town.[1]
- 1785 - Delaware Gazette newspaper begins publication.[3]
- 1788 - Wilmington Library Company founded.[4]
- 1798
19th century[edit]
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- 1802 - DuPont gunpowder manufacturer in business at Eleutherian Mills on Brandywine Creek near Wilmington.[1]
- 1809 - Borough of Wilmington expanded.[1]
- 1814 - Harmonic Society formed.[6]
- 1824 - "First public opinion poll" taken in Wilmington during the U.S. presidential election campaign.[7]
- 1832
- Borough of Wilmington becomes a city per state charter.[8][1]
- Richard H. Bayard becomes city mayor.
- 1835 - Wilmington Whaling Company incorporated.[9]
- 1837
- Board of Trade[10] and Wesleyan Female Seminary established.
- Betts, Pusey & Harlan railcar manufactory in business.
- 1838 - Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad begins operating.
- 1840
- Democratic Free Press newspaper begins publication.[3]
- Population: 8,367.[11]
- 1849 - Harlan and Hollingsworth shipbuilder and railcar manufactory in business.
- 1855 - Customshouse built.
- 1864
- Horse-drawn railway begins operating.[8]
- Historical Society of Delaware headquartered in Wilmington.[1]
- John Merrick House built.
- 1868 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington established.[12]
- 1871 - Grand Opera House built.[13]
- 1877 - Wilmington Club for men incorporated.
- 1880 – Population: 42,478.[11]
- 1881 - New Castle County Court House built.[6]
- 1886 - Brandywine Park established.
- 1889 - Rockford Park and New Century Club for women[6] established.
- 1890
- Delaware Hospital opens.
- Population: 61,431.[11]
- 1900 – Population: 76,508.[11]
20th century[edit]
- 1905 - Brandywine Zoo established.[14]
- 1910 – Population: 87,411.[11]
- 1911 - Majestic Theatre opens.[13]
- 1917 - Rodney Square established.[15]
- 1919 - Wilmington, Delaware race riot of 1919
- 1920 – Population: 110,168.[11]
- 1921 - City fire department established.[16]
- 1922 - WDEL and WILM radio begin broadcasting.[17]
- 1923
- Wilmington Marine Terminal built.[15]
- Monument to Caesar Rodney installed in Rodney Square.
- 1928 - Rodney Court apartment building constructed.
- 1929 - Wilmington Dry Goods in business.[18]
- 1930 - Population: 106,597.[11]
- 1937 - Main Post Office built.
- 1942 - Crest Theater in business.[13]
- 1950 – Population: 110,356.[11]
- 1961 - Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority lawsuit decided by U.S Supreme Court, broadening the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment.
- 1965 - Wilmington Medical Center active.[19]
- 1968 - Wilmington Riot of 1968
- 1981 - State legislature passes the "liberalizing" Financial Center Development Act, influencing the relocation of many banks to the Wilmington area.[8][20]
- 1991 - Cinemark cinema in business.[13]
- 1995 - MBNA Corporation headquartered in city.[21]
- 1996 - City website online (approximate date).[22]
21st century[edit]
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2016) |
- 2001 - James M. Baker becomes mayor.
- 2013 - Dennis P. Williams becomes mayor.
See also[edit]
- Wilmington, Delaware history
- List of mayors of Wilmington, Delaware
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilmington, Delaware
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Britannica 1910.
- ^ Hazard, Samuel; Linn, John Blair; Egle, William Henry; Reed, George Edward; Montgomery, Thomas Lynch; MacKinney, Gertrude; Hoban, Charles Francis (1880), "The Three Lower Counties, New Castle, Kent, and Sussex", List of Officers of the Colonies on the Delaware and the Province of Pennsylvania 1614-1776, Pennsylvania Archives, Harrisburg, PA
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b "U.S. Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ Davies Project. "American Libraries before 1876". Princeton University. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ Federal Writers' Project 1938, p. 519: "Chronology"
- ^ a b c Hoffecker 1974.
- ^ Patrick Robertson (2011). Robertson's Book of Firsts. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-60819-738-5.
- ^ a b c "City History". City of Wilmington, Delaware. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ Kenneth R. Martin; Bruce Sinclair (1974). "A Pennsylvanian in the Wilmington Whaling Trade, 1841-1844". Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies. 41 (1): 27–51. JSTOR 27772175.
- ^ Scharf 1888, p. 749-758: "Wilmington: Commerce"
- ^ a b c d e f g h Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
- ^ "Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA". Norway: Oslo katolske bispedømme. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Movie Theaters in Wilmington, DE". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ Vernon N. Kisling, Jr., ed. (2001). "Zoological Gardens of the United States (chronological list)". Zoo and Aquarium History. USA: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-3924-5.
- ^ a b Federal Writers' Project 1938.
- ^ Singleton 1975.
- ^ Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Delaware", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
- ^ Rendle 2010.
- ^ Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei, ed. (9 May 2013). "Wilmington, Delaware". Nonprofit Explorer. New York: ProPublica. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ "Banking Haven", Washington Post, June 26, 1983
- ^ "As Goes MBNA, So Goes Delaware", New York Times, December 14, 2005
- ^ "Official Web Site of Wilmington, Delaware". Archived from the original on 1996-12-22 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
Bibliography[edit]
Published in the 18th–19th c.[edit]
- Jedidiah Morse (1797). "Wilmington". The American Gazetteer. Boston: S. Hall, and Thomas & Andrews. OL 23272543M.
- Charter and Ordinances of the City of Wilmington, Delaware. 1863.
- Wm. H. Boyd, ed. (1874). "Wilmington City Directory". Delaware State Directory and Gazetteer. The Commercial printing company. hdl:2027/mdp.39015010204223.
- Charles P. Dare (1877), "Wilmington", Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Guide Book, OCLC 37266637 – via Internet Archive
- John Thomas Scharf (1888). History of Delaware: 1609-1888. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co. LCCN 01013423.
- . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (9th ed.). 1888.
Published in the 20th c.[edit]
- . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). 1910. p. 690.
- Charter of the City of Wilmington. Star Printing Company. 1911.
- Edward Noble Vallandigham (1922). "Wilmington". Delaware and the Eastern Shore: Some Aspects of a Peninsula Pleasant and Well Beloved. J. B. Lippincott Company.
- Anna T. Lincoln (1937). Wilmington, Delaware; three centuries under four flags, 1609-1937. Rutland, Vt.: Tuttle – via HathiTrust. (fulltext)
- Federal Writers' Project (1938). "Wilmington". Delaware: A Guide to the First State. American Guide Series. New York: Viking. ISBN 9781603540087 – via Google Books.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) + chronology - Greater Wilmington Development Council (1962). Wilmington area research: an annotated list of research reports and selected data sources for the Wilmington Metropolitan area. University of Delaware, Division of Urban Affairs – via HathiTrust. (fulltext)
- Carol Hoffecker (1974). Wilmington, Delaware: Portrait of an Industrial City, 1830-1910. University Press of Virginia – via State of Delaware, Delaware Public Archives. (fulltext)
- David W. Singleton (1975). "Firefighting Productivity in Wilmington: A Case History". Public Productivity Review. 1 (2): 19–29. doi:10.2307/3380139. JSTOR 3380139.
- Carol Hoffecker (1982). Wilmington: a Pictorial History. Donning Company – via State of Delaware, Delaware Public Archives. (fulltext)
- Carol Hoffecker (1983). Corporate Capital: Wilmington in the Twentieth Century. Philadelphia: Temple University Press – via State of Delaware, Delaware Public Archives. (fulltext)
- Priscilla M. Thompson; Sally O'Byrne (1999). Wilmington's Waterfront. Arcadia. ISBN 978-1-4396-2724-2.
- Marjorie G. McNinch (2000). Wilmington in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia. ISBN 978-0-7385-0647-0.
Published in the 21st c.[edit]
- Ellen Rendle (2010). New Castle County. Arcadia. ISBN 978-0-7385-8557-4.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wilmington, Delaware.
- "Delaware History: Local Histories: Wilmington". Library Research Guides. University of Delaware.
- "Local Historical Research". Wilmington Public Library.
- Items related to Wilmington, Delaware, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).