20th century
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| Elections in the District of Columbia |
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1900s–1940s
- 1902 – McMillan Plan for design of city introduced.[7]
- 1906 – District Building (city hall) constructed.[7]
- 1907
- Union Station built.[9]
- Washington National Cathedral construction begins.[1]
- 1910 – Population: 331,069.[17]
- 1912 – "Cherry trees planted around the Tidal Basin."[26]
- 1913 [27]
- 1915 – Association for the Study of Negro Life and History established.
- 1917 – National Sylvan Theater opens.[26]
- 1919 – July: Racial unrest.[7]
- 1920
- Population: 437,571.[17]
- Dedication of the 16th Street World War I Memorial Trees
- 1922
- January 28: Storm crushes Knickerbocker Theatre.[7]
- May 30: Lincoln Memorial dedicated.[7]
- 1923 – Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art opens.[26]
- 1924
- National Capital Park Commission established.[26]
- Washington Senators baseball team wins 1924 World Series.[7]
- 1925 – WMAL radio begins broadcasting.[28]
- 1926 – Federal Triangle construction begins.[7]
- 1930 – Population: 486,869.[17]
- 1931 – National Symphony Orchestra formed.[29]
- 1932
- May: "Bonus Army" demonstration.[30]
- Arlington Memorial Bridge opens.[26]
- Folger Shakespeare Library built.[31]
- 1935 – National Cherry Blossom Festival begins.[26]
- 1937 – Washington Redskins football team active.[7]
- 1940 – Population: 663,091.[17]
- 1941
- National Airport built.[7]
- National Gallery of Art opens.[14]
- 1942 – Declaration by United Nations signed in city.[5]
- 1944 – International Dumbarton Oaks Conference held in city.[32]
- 1946 - International Monetary Fund headquartered in city.[2]
- 1947 - WMAL-TV, WRC-TV, and WTTG (television) begin broadcasting.[33]
- 1949
- Whitehurst Freeway begins operating.[7]
- WTOP-TV (television) begins broadcasting.[33]
1950s–1990s
- 1950 – Population: 802,178.[17]
- 1953 – January 15: 1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck.[15]
- 1954
- March 1: United States Capitol shooting incident (1954).
- Bolling v. Sharpe decided, schools integrated in 54–55 school year
- 1957 – May 17: National Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom civil rights demonstration takes place in D.C.[34]
- 1959 – International Antarctic Treaty signed in city.[21]
- 1960
- Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan signed in city.[5]
- Population: 763,956.[17]
- 1962 – Streetcar stops operating.[7]
- 1963 – August 28: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; Martin Luther King Jr. gives "I Have a Dream" speech.[21]
- 1964
- November: "D.C. residents are able to vote for president for the first time."[35]
- Capital Beltway constructed.[7]
- 1965
- April 17: March Against the Vietnam War.[36]
- Washingtonian magazine begins publication.
- 1967
- Mayor-council form of government implemented;[7] Walter Washington becomes mayor.[14]
- Smithsonian Folklife Festival begins.[26]
- Biograph cinema opens.[37]
- 1968
- April: 1968 Washington, D.C. riots occur.[26]
- American Association of Retired Persons headquartered in city (approximate date).[23]
- 1969
- 1970 – Population: 756,510.[17]
- 1971
- April: Antiwar protest.[38]
- May: 1971 May Day protests against war.[21]
- June 30: New York Times Co. v. United States decided; allows Washington Post to publish Pentagon Papers about Vietnam.[21]
- Walter E. Fauntroy becomes delegate to the US House of Representatives from the District of Columbia.
- National Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opens.[26]
- Center for Science in the Public Interest headquartered in city.[39]
- 1972 - Watergate scandal discovered.
- 1973 - Mayoral election established, per US Congress' District of Columbia Home Rule Act.[35]
- 1974
- 1974 White House helicopter incident[40]
- Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum opens.[26]
- 1976
- March: Washington Metro begins operating.[15]
- May: Concorde supersonic airplane begins operating.[14]
- US Bicentennial held.[26]
- 1979
- Marion Barry becomes mayor.
- C-SPAN begins televising federal government proceedings.
- 1980
- Western Plaza (later renamed to "Freedom Plaza") containing a raised marble inlay depicting parts of the L'Enfant Plan for the city of Washington opens along Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. between the White House and the United States Capitol.[41]
- 1981
- March 30: Attempted assassination of president Reagan.[21]
- Washington City Paper begins publication.[25]
- 1982
- January 13: Crash of Air Florida Flight 90.[5]
- Washington Convention Center built.
- National Vietnam Veterans Memorial erected.[26][21]
- Washington Times newspaper begins publication.[25]
- 1983
- 1985
- Federal News Service in business.
- National Building Museum opens
- Washington Printmakers Gallery opens.
- 1987
- Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery and National Museum of African Art open.[26]
- Dupont Circle 5 cinema in business.[37]
- 1990
- Population: 606,900.[17]
- October 27: Mayor Marion Barry receives six-month prison sentence for cocaine possession.[42]
- November 6: Sharon Pratt Dixon wins mayoral election.[43]
- 1991
- Eleanor Holmes Norton becomes delegate to the US House of Representatives from the District of Columbia.
- City bicentennial.[7]
- 1993
- 1994 – November 8: Marion Barry wins mayoral election.[44]
- 1995
- April 17: President William J. Clinton signs the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995, establishing the District of Columbia Financial Control Board.[45]
- October 16: National Million Man March held in city.
- 1996 – City website online (approximate date).[46]
- 1997 – July 7: Starbucks triple homicide in Georgetown
- 1998 – United States Capitol shooting incident
- 1999 – Anthony A. Williams becomes mayor.
- 2000 – May 14: Million Mom March held.[47]
