Timeline of Montgomery, Alabama

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.