Timeline of Atlanta

• 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
  • Georgia Railroad (Augusta-Marthasville) begins operating.^[1]
  • Marthasville renamed "Atlanta."^[1]
• 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
  • Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary and Morris Brown Colored College founded.
  • International Cotton Exposition held.^[5]
• 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.

• 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
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta established.^[29]
  • 1914–1915 Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills strike.^[30]
• 1915
  • Emory College relocated to Atlanta.
  • November: film The Birth of a Nation premieres.
  • Ku Klux Klan refounded in Atlanta.^[27][31]
• 1916
  • Streetcar strike.^[32]
  • Utopian Literary Club^[26] and Atlanta Junior League^[19] founded.
• 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]}

• 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.
• 1952 - 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.
• 1956 - 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
  • Sevananda Natural Foods Market in business.^[50]
  • Sister city relationships established with Lagos, Nigeria; Taipei, Taiwan; and Toulouse, France.^[48]
• 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.

• 2001 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper in publication.
• 2002 - Shirley Franklin becomes mayor.
• 2003 - Fermi Project established.
• 2004 - Atlanta Rollergirls established.
• 2005
  • Airport becomes world's busiest.
  • Sister city relationship established with Fukuoka, Japan.^[48]
• 2008
  • Delta becomes world's largest airline.^{[citation needed]}
  • March 14–15: 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak.

• 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.

• 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atlanta, Georgia.

• "Atlanta", New Georgia Encyclopedia, Georgia Humanities Council
• Digital Public Library of America. Items related to Atlanta, various dates.
• Europeana. Items related to Atlanta, Georgia, various dates.
• Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Utopian Literary Club (Atlanta, Ga.) records, 1927-2004

33°45′18″N 84°23′24″W / 33.755°N 84.39°W / 33.755; -84.39