Timeline of Memphis, Tennessee
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Memphis, Tennessee, US.
Prior to 19th century
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- 1739 – Fort Assumption built by French.
- 1740 – Fort Assumption abandoned.
- 1797 – U.S. fort built.[1]
19th century
[edit]
- 1819 – Town laid out.[2]
- 1826 – Town incorporated.[3]
- 1827
- Memphis Advocate newspaper begins publication.[4]
- Marcus B. Winchester becomes mayor.
- 1836 – Memphis Enquirer newspaper begins publication.[4]
- 1841 – The Appeal newspaper begins publication.
- 1843
- 1844 – Calvary Episcopal Church consecrated.[5]
- 1849 – Memphis incorporated as a city.[1][2]
- 1850
- Town designated a port of customs.[3]
- Population: 8,841.[6]
- 1852 – Elmwood Cemetery established.
- 1853 – Congregation B'nai Israel founded.
- 1854 – Jones & Co. chemists in business.[7]
- 1855 – German Benevolent Society formed.[8]
- 1857 – Memphis & Charleston Railroad completed.[3]
- 1858 – Memphis Daily Avalanche newspaper begins publication.[4]
- 1860 – Population: 22,623.[9][2]
- 1861 – Memphis and Ohio Railroad completed.[10]
- 1862
- Tennessee capital relocated to Memphis from Nashville.[3]
- June 6: First Battle of Memphis takes place on Mississippi River near town; Union forces take Memphis.[3]
- 1864
- August 21: Second Battle of Memphis.
- First National Bank of Memphis established.[7]
- 1866
- May: Racial unrest.
- Greenwood School established.[11]
- Memphis Post begins publication.
- 1868 – Peabody Hotel in business.[5]
- 1870
- Goldsmith's store in business.
- Population: 40,226.[9][2]
- 1871
- LeMoyne Normal Institute[12] and College of Christian Brothers[2] established.
- St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral consecrated.
- 1873 – Yellow fever epidemic.[2]
- 1874 – Memphis Cotton Exchange founded.
- 1875 – Southwestern at Memphis (college) established.[1]
- 1878 – Yellow fever epidemic.[3][2]
- 1879 – Yellow fever epidemic.[2]
- 1880
- Sewer system construction begins[13]
- Population: 33,592.[9][2]
- 1882
- 1883 – Young Men's Christian Association chartered.[8]
- 1885 – Peoples Grocery in business.
- 1887 – Memphis National Bank organized.[7]
- 1890
- Nineteenth Century Club formed.[8]
- Population: 64,589.[9][2]
- 1891 – City chartered again.[2]
- 1892 – Frisco Bridge (a cantilevered through truss bridge) constructed.[6][2]
- 1899 – Manassas High School established.
- 1900 – Population: 102,320.[9][2]
20th century
[edit]1900s–1940s
[edit]
- 1905 – Madison Hotel built.
- 1906 – Memphis Zoo[15] and Overton Park established.
- 1909 – Bureau of Municipal Research active (approximate date).[citation needed]
- 1910
- Commission form of government begins.[2]
- Exchange Building constructed.
- E. H. Crump becomes mayor.
- Population: 131,105.[9]
- 1911 – Urban League branch established.[16]
- 1912 – Handy's The Memphis Blues (song) published.
- 1914 – Union Avenue United Methodist Church built.
- 1915 – Guthrie Elementary School founded.
- 1916
- Harahan Bridge opens to West Memphis, Arkansas.
- Memphis Brooks Museum of Art established.
- Piggly Wiggly grocery in business.[17]
- 1917
- May 22: Lynching of Ell Persons.[18]
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People branch established.[citation needed]
- 1919 – Citizens' Co-operative Stores incorporated.[19]
- 1920
- City hosts Commission on Interracial Cooperation Women's Interracial Conference.[20]
- Population: 162,351.[9]
- 1921
- Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church established.[21]
- 1922
- 1923 – WMC radio begins broadcasting.[22]
- 1924 – Lincoln American Tower built.
- 1925 – WHBQ and WMPS radio begin broadcasting.[22]
- 1929 – Memphis Municipal Airport dedicated.[23]
- 1930
- Memphis Museum of Natural History and Industrial Arts opens.
- Sterick Building constructed.
- Population: 253,143.[9]
- 1931
- 1932 – Memphis Times newspaper begins publication.[4]
- 1936 – Memphis Academy of Art founded.
- 1937 – Firestone factory in operation in Hyde Park.[25]
- 1938 – Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception built.
- 1939 – First Colored Baptist Church built.
- 1940 – Population: 292,942.[9]
- 1941 – Mason Temple built.
- 1945 – Lorraine Motel in business.
- 1946
- Douglass High School opens.
- Tri-State Bank established.[26]
- 1947 – WDIA radio begins broadcasting.
- 1948
- WMCT (television) begins broadcasting.[27]
- 13 year old Elvis Presley moves to Memphis.
1950s–1990s
[edit]- 1950 – Population: 396,000.[9]
- 1953 – WHBQ-TV (television) begins broadcasting.[27]
- 1955 – WHER radio begins broadcasting.
- 1956 –
- WREG-TV (as WREC-TV) (television) begins broadcasting.
- Opera Memphis established.
- 1957 – Satellite Records in business.
- 1960
- 1961 – Thirteen African American first graders join Memphis City Schools
- Henry Loeb becomes mayor.
- Population: 497,524.[9]
- 1965 – 100 North Main building and White Station Tower constructed.
- 1968
- January: Henry Loeb becomes mayor again.
- February 11: Memphis sanitation strike begins.[28]
- April 3: Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers I've Been to the Mountaintop speech.
- April 4: Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.[29]
- April 8: March in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.[30]
- 1969 – Sesquicentennial Celebration
- 1970
- Vollintine-Evergreen Community Association organized.[31]
- Population: 623,530.[9]
- 1971 – Clark Tower built
- 1972 – National Bank of Commerce building constructed.
- 1973 – May: City hosts Rock Writers of the World Convention.[32]
- Massive white flight occurs in Memphis City Schools.
- Desegregation busing begins in Memphis
- 1974 – Women's Resource Center founded.[33]
- 1975 – Hyatt hotel opens.
- 1976 – Temple Israel built.
- 1977 – Memphis in May festival begins.
- 1978 – Muslim Society of Memphis founded.[34]
- 1980 – Population: 646,356.[9]
- 1985
- Tall Trees (prison) privatised.[35]
- Morgan Keegan Tower built.
- 1988 - Memphis tanker truck disaster.[36][37]
- 1990 – Population: 610,337.[9]
- 1991
- National Civil Rights Museum and Pyramid Arena open.
- Willie Herenton becomes mayor.[38]
- 1996 – City website online.[39][40]
21st century
[edit]
- 2002 – June 8: Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson boxing match.
- 2003
- Clark Opera Memphis Center opens.[41]
- July 22: Memphis Summer Storm of 2003, also known as "Hurricane Elvis".
- December 18: Airplane crash.
- 2007 – Steve Cohen becomes U.S. representative for Tennessee's 9th congressional district.[42]
- 2008 – February 5–6: Tornado outbreak.
- 2009
- October: A C Wharton elected mayor.[43]
- City open government standard enacted.[44]
- 2012 – Population: 655,155.
- 2015 – October 8: Jim Strickland elected mayor.[45]
- 2016 – Raleigh Springs Mall is demolished
- 2023 – October 5: Paul Young elected mayor.[46]
See also
[edit]- History of Memphis, Tennessee
- List of mayors of Memphis, Tennessee
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Shelby County, Tennessee
- Timelines of other cities in Tennessee: Chattanooga, Clarksville, Knoxville, Murfreesboro, Nashville
- Timeline of Tennessee
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Leon E. Seltzer, ed. (1952), Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, New York: Columbia University Press, p. 1183, OL 6112221M
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Britannica 1910.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Federal Writers' Project 1939.
- ^ a b c d e "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
- ^ a b Reilley 1883.
- ^ a b Angelo Heilprin and Louis Heilprin, ed. (1906). "Memphis". Lippincott's New Gazetteer. Philadelphia.
((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d Memphis Merchants' Exchange 1888.
- ^ a b c Young 1912.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, US Census Bureau, 1998
- ^ "List of Manuscript Collection Finding Aids". Tennessee State Library and Archives. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
- ^ a b Memphis Brooks Museum of Art 2008.
- ^ Hamilton 1908.
- ^ "History - Memphis Storm Water". City of Memphis Storm Water Program. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ James T. Haley, ed. (1895), Afro-American Encyclopaedia, Mind and matter, Nashville: Haley & Florida
- ^ 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.
- ^ National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes (1912), "Establishment of Branch Organizations in the Several Cities", Bulletin, vol. 2, hdl:2027/chi.14025482
- ^ Walter Sumner Hayward (1922), Chain stores: their management and operation, New York: McGraw-Hill, OL 7157624M
- ^ "Memphis, May 22, A.D., 1917". The Crisis. Vol. 14, no. 3 (supplement). National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. July 1917.
- ^ "(Roddy's Citizens' Co-operative Stores)". The Crisis. 19 (2). National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. December 1919.
- ^ Thomas Dublin, Kathryn Kish Sklar (ed.), "Chronology", Women and Social Movements in the United States, Alexander Street Press (subscription required)
- ^ "History :: THE BLVD, Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church". www.theblvd.org. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
- ^ a b c Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: Tennessee", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
- ^ "Our History". Memphis International Airport. Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
- ^ George William Douglas (1948), American Book of Days, New York: H. W. Wilson Co., OL 23248320M (fulltext)
- ^ Honey 1993.
- ^ Christopher Silver; John V. Moeser (1995), The Separate City: Black Communities in the Urban South, 1940–1968, Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 0813119111
- ^ a b Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: Tennessee", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC 10512206
- ^ Aaron Brenner; Benjamin Day; Immanuel Ness, eds. (2015) [2009]. "Timeline". Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-45707-7.
- ^ "On This Day", The New York Times, retrieved November 1, 2014
- ^ "Memphis, Tennessee". Global Nonviolent Action Database. Cases: United States. Pennsylvania: Swarthmore College. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
- ^ Michael Kirby (1998), "Vollintine-Evergreen, Memphis", Cityscape, 4 (2): 61–87, JSTOR 41486477
- ^ R. Serge Denisoff (1975). Solid Gold: The Popular Record Industry. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4128-3479-7.
- ^ Gilmore 2003.
- ^ Pluralism Project. "Memphis, Tennessee". Directory of Religious Centers. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
- ^ Martin P. Sellers (1993). "Privately Contracted Penal Facilities". History and Politics of Private Prisons. Associated University Presses. ISBN 978-0-8386-3492-9.
- ^ "Death Toll at 9 in Memphis Tanker Explosion". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 25, 1988. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
- ^ Michael S. Isner (February 6, 1990). Fire Investigation Report: Propane Tank Truck Incident, Eight People Killed, Memphis, Tennessee, December 23, 1988 (Report). National Fire Protection Association. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- ^ Ebony 2002.
- ^ "County, city crank computer Internet sites", Commercial Appeal, November 2, 1995
- ^ "City of Memphis". Archived from the original on 1996-10-31 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
- ^ "History and Mission". Opera Memphis. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
- ^ Civic Impulse, LLC. "Members of Congress". GovTrack. Washington, D.C. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ^ "About the Mayor". City of Memphis. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
- ^ "Open Data Policies at Work". Washington DC: Sunlight Foundation. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ^ "2015 Memphis Election Results". www.commercialappeal.com. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
- ^ "Meet Paul Young, Memphis's next mayor". localmemphis.com. October 5, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
Bibliography
[edit]Published in 19th century
[edit]- "Memphis", Kimball & James' Business Directory for the Mississippi Valley, Cincinnati: Printed by Kendall & Barnard, 1844
- "Memphis". Tennessee State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1860–61. Nashville: John L. Mitchell. 1860.
- Denson's Memphis Directory, for 1865. A. Clark Denson. 1865.
- "Memphis". Commercial Directory of the Western States. St. Louis: Richard Edwards. 1867.
- "Mississippi River: Memphis". James' River Guide ... Mississippi Valley. Cincinnati: U.P. James. 1871.
- Joseph Buckner Killebrew; Tennessee Bureau of Agriculture (1874), "Shelby County; County Seat: Memphis", Introduction to the Resources of Tennessee, vol. 2, Nashville: Tavel, Eastman & Howell
- William T. Avery (1876), City of Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, OL 23355267M
- "Memphis". Tennessee State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1876-7. Nashville: R.L. Polk & Co. 1876.
- Commercial and Statistical Review of the City of Memphis, Reilley & Thomas, 1883
- Directory of the Taxing District of Memphis. Memphis, Tenn.: C.F. Weatherbe. 1883.
- . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (9th ed.). 1883.
- J.M. Keating (1888). History of the City of Memphis Tennessee. Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co.
- Memphis, Merchants' Exchange of (1888), Annual Statement of the Trade and Commerce of Memphis, Tenn. ... Reported to the Memphis Merchants' Exchange
- James Phelan (1888), "Memphis", History of Tennessee, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin
Published in 20th century
[edit]- G.P. Hamilton (1908). Bright Side of Memphis: A Compendium of Information Concerning the Colored People of Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis.
((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - "Memphis", United States (4th ed.), Leipzig: K. Baedeker, 1909, OCLC 02338437
- . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). 1910. p. 107.
- John Preston Young, ed. (1912), Standard history of Memphis, Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn: H.W. Crew, OCLC 850900, OL 6553910M
- Federal Writers' Project (1939), "Memphis", Tennessee: a Guide to the State, American Guide Series, New York: Viking, hdl:2027/mdp.39015066068928
((citation)): CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - Tennessee Historical Records Survey (1941), "Shelby County (Memphis)", Directory of Churches, Missions, and Religious Institutions of Tennessee, no. 79, Nashville
- Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "Memphis", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, OL 4120668M
- Michael K. Honey (1993), Southern Labor and Black Civil Rights: Organizing Memphis Workers, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, ISBN 0252020006
- George Thomas Kurian (1994), "Memphis, Tennessee", World Encyclopedia of Cities, vol. 1: North America, Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, OL 1431653M – via Internet Archive (fulltext)
- "The South: Tennessee: Memphis", USA, Let's Go, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999, OL 24937240M
Published in 21st century
[edit]- Ernest Withers. Memphis Blues Again. Viking Studio, 2001.
- "Memphis: Mecca on the Mississippi", Ebony, October 2002
- Stephanie Gilmore (2003). "Dynamics of Second-Wave Feminist Activism in Memphis, 1971–1982: Rethinking the Liberal/Radical Divide". National Women's Studies Association Journal. 15 (1): 94–117. JSTOR 4316946.
- John Branston. Rowdy Memphis. Brentwood, Tennessee: Cold Tree Press, 2004.
- Richard Pillsbury, ed. (2006). "Memphis". Geography. New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Vol. 2. University of North Carolina Press. p. 176. OCLC 910189354.
- David Goldfield, ed. (2007). "Memphis, Tennessee". Encyclopedia of American Urban History. Sage. ISBN 978-1-4522-6553-7.
- Sharon D. Wright. Race, Power, and Political Emergence in Memphis. Taylor and Francis, 2007.
- Photographs from the Memphis World, 1949–1964. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. 2008. ISBN 978-0915525102.
- Wanda Rushing (2009). "Memphis: Cotton Fields, Cargo Planes, and Biotechnology". Southern Spaces. doi:10.18737/M7MW37.
- Raj Chetty; Nathaniel Hendren (2015), City Rankings, Commuting Zones: Causal Effects of the 100 Largest Commuting Zones on Household Income in Adulthood, Equality of Opportunity Project, Harvard University, archived from the original on 2015-05-06,
Rank #93: Memphis
- Gail Schmunk Murray (2017). "Taming the War on Poverty: Memphis as a Case Study". Journal of Urban History. 43.
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to History of Memphis, Tennessee.
- "Memphis History: A Chronology". Memphis Public Library. Archived from the original on 2013-09-18.
- "Memphis Chronology". City of Memphis.
- "Memphis". Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. University of Tennessee Press.
- Digital Public Library of America. Items related to Memphis, TN, various dates
- Tennessee State Library and Archives. Memphis City Directories, various dates (digitized)
- Bibliography of Tennessee Bibliographies: Local History, Nashville: Tennessee Secretary of State
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