Timeline of Memphis, Tennessee
None
None
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Memphis , Tennessee , US.
This is a
dynamic list
and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by
adding missing items
with
reliable sources
.
Prior to 19th century
Part of
a series
on the
|
---|
History of Tennessee |
![]() |
|
![]() |
- 1739 – Fort Assumption built by French.
- 1740 – Fort Assumption abandoned.
- 1797 – U.S. fort built. [1]
19th century
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Memphis_Plan_1819.jpg/170px-Memphis_Plan_1819.jpg)
- 1819 – Town laid out. [2]
- 1826 – Town incorporated. [3]
-
1827
- Memphis Advocate newspaper begins publication. [4]
- Marcus B. Winchester becomes mayor.
- 1836 – Memphis Enquir er 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: 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.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Memphis_airview_1870.jpg/220px-Memphis_airview_1870.jpg)
- 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]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Memphis_sewers_1880.jpg/220px-Memphis_sewers_1880.jpg)
-
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
1900s–1940s
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Riverboats_at_Memphis.jpg/220px-Riverboats_at_Memphis.jpg)
- 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]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Memphis_Map_1911.jpg/220px-Memphis_Map_1911.jpg)
- 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
- 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.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Lorraine_Motel_04_15_Mar_2012.jpg/220px-Lorraine_Motel_04_15_Mar_2012.jpg)
-
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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Memphis_Skyline_from_Poplar_Ave.jpg/220px-Memphis_Skyline_from_Poplar_Ave.jpg)
- 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 gets demolished
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Leon E. Seltzer, ed. (1952), Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World , New York: Columbia University Press, p. 1183, OL 6112221M
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Britannica 1910 .
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Federal Writers' Project 1939 .
- 1 2 3 4 5 "US Newspaper Directory" . Chronicling America . Washington DC: Library of Congress . Retrieved October 9, 2013 .
- 1 2 Reilley 1883 .
- 1 2 Angelo Heilprin and Louis Heilprin, ed. (1906). "Memphis" . Lippincott's New Gazetteer . Philadelphia.
- 1 2 3 4 Memphis Merchants' Exchange 1888 .
- 1 2 3 Young 1912 .
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 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 .
- 1 2 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 . National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. 14 (3 (supplement)). July 1917.
- ↑ "(Roddy's Citizens' Co-operative Stores)" . The Crisis . National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. 19 (2). 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 .
- 1 2 3 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
- 1 2 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" , 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 October 1996 – 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 .
Bibliography
Published in 19th century
- "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.
- "Memphis (2.)" . 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
- G.P. Hamilton (1908). Bright Side of Memphis: A Compendium of Information Concerning the Colored People of Memphis, Tennessee . Memphis.
- "Memphis" , United States (4th ed.), Leipzig: K. Baedeker, 1909, OCLC 02338437
- "Memphis (Tennessee)" . 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 , Nashville, no. 79
- 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
- Ernest Withers. Memphis Blues Again. Viking Studio, 2001.
- "Memphis: Mecca on the Mississippi" , Ebony , Johnson Publishing Company, 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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
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
35°07′01″N 89°58′16″W / 35.117°N 89.971°W / 35.117; -89.971