1800-1850
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Elisha Tyson
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Medical College
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

House of Refuge
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

John W. Garrett
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

St. Francis Academy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hospital for the Insane
 
 
 
 
 
 

Frederick Douglass
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Athenaeum
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Plan of the City of Baltimore by Thos. H. Poppleton, 1822 [1852], MSA SC 1213-1-292

Baltimore has been labeled by some scholars as the city that gave rise to
the birth of modern philanthropy. It is said that the charitable actions of 
nineteenth century Baltimoreans served as the model for others throughout
the country. Individuals such as Johns Hopkins, George Peabody, and 
Enoch Pratt gave freely of their personal wealth to found schools, hospitals,
and support the general public good. Whether prompted by religious conviction
or deep personal concern, these benevolent minded citizens fully embraced
their civic responsibility to the city and the welfare of its population. 

Yet one must be careful not to overlook the many smaller scale works of
average residents. Though their activities may not be recorded in the general 
histories of the city, the continued commitment of Baltimoreans to the funding of
charities and community institutions ultimately improved the quality of life for all. 

African American citizens have a long history of providing assistance to one
another. As early as the 1820s, community based mutual beneficial societies offered
financial support and encouragement to members facing hardships. Black churches 
also served as a wellspring for assistance to both free and enslaved. 

The following timeline is an initial, modest step toward a comprehensive record of 
the philanthropic and benevolent activities of all Baltimoreans. The timeline will 
undoubtedly grow as more research is undertaken. 
 
 

1800
The Benevolent Society of Baltimore City and County is founded to
relieve the distress of poor girls (now St. Paul's School for Girls).

John McDonogh moves from Baltimore to New Orleans.

1801
Baltimore Dispensary opens to provide free medical care to the
indigent poor without regard to creed or color. The founders
include Archbishop John Carroll and Elisha Tyson.

1802
The Humane Impartial Society for Poor and Needy Women is
founded (now Pickersgill Retirement Home).

1803
John H. B. Latrobe is born. He will be founding president of the
Maryland Institute for the Mechanic Arts, a founder and later
president of the American Colonization Society, and a founder and
later president of the Maryland Historical Society and the first biographer
of Benjamin Banneker.

St. Mary's College, founded in 1791 by French immigrants from
Haiti, opens its doors to English-speaking American students.

The Hibernian Society is formed to aid Irish immigrants.

1804
The Baltimore House of Industry is founded to provide housing
and job training for the poor. Elisha Tyson is a founder.

1806
St. Peter's School is founded as Baltimore's first free school with a
$10,000 bequest for the education of poor children from Captain
Jeremiah Yellott, a Revolutionary War privateer and
philanthropist.

1807
The Medical College of Maryland is established.

1808
Elizabeth Seton opens the Female Academy.

Enoch Pratt is born in North Middleborough, Massachusetts. He
will found the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore and bequeath
$1,500,000 to the Sheppard-Pratt hospital.

1809
The first Roman Catholic elementary school in the United States is
founded.

Elizabeth Seton founds Sisters of St. Joseph.

Brantz Mayer is born. He will be a founder and later president of
the Maryland Historical Society and agent for Baltimore City in the
settlement of John McDonogh's large philanthropic estate.

1810
The Baltimore Society to Protect Free Negroes is organized. Elisha
Tyson is a founder.

1811
Maryland enacts legislation abolishing the requirement of two or
more witnesses to a deed of manumission and prohibiting sale of
slaves out of state. Elisha Tyson is a supporter.

Orphaline Charity School for Poor Girls is founded.

1812
George Peabody moves to Baltimore.

1813
Rembrandt Peale opens the Peale Museum, a popular cultural
attraction.

1817
The Baltimore House of Refuge opens. Elisha Tyson is a founder.

The American Colonization Society is founded with Henry Clay as
president. John H. B. Latrobe will succeed Clay. John McDonogh
and Moses Sheppard are vice presidents.

1819
William Thompson Walters is born. He will accumulate the
Walters Art Gallery collection, which will be given to Baltimore
City, with an endowment, by his son Henry in 1931.

1821
John W. McCoy is born. He will contribute his art collection to the
Peabody Institute and bequeath his library and most of his estate
to the Johns Hopkins University.

John W. Garrett is born in Baltimore. He will become president of
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. A philanthropist himself, he will
advise George Peabody and Johns Hopkins on their benevolent
gifts.

1822
McKim Free School opens.

1824
Hibernian Free School is founded for children of Irish immigrants.

Benjamin Lundy, a vigorous opponent of slavery and publisher of
America's first antislavery newspaper, The Genius of Universal
Emancipation, moves to Baltimore. He will be joined by William
Lloyd Garrison, future editor of The Liberator, in 1828.

Elisha Tyson dies after a lifetime of leadership in benevolent
causes, respect for others, and the abolition of slavery.

1826
Maryland enacts legislation giving Jewish citizens full voting and
office-holding rights. John S. Tyson, nephew of Elisha Tyson and
cousin of Johns Hopkins, is a major proponent in the House of
Delegates.

The first Baltimore Athenaeum building is completed.

The Maryland Institute of the Mechanic Arts is founded with John
H. B. Latrobe as president.

The Mercantile Library Company is organized to provide useful
and popular books to members.

1827
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is founded. It will generate wealth
for philanthropists such as Johns Hopkins and John W. Garrett.

1828
The Oblate Sisters of Providence found St. Francis Academy for
black children.

1829
John Glen, who will become a national leader in the study of the
effects of philanthropy, is born.

1830
Benjamin Lundy and his associate William Lloyd Garrison leave
Baltimore.

The self-educated New York inventor Peter Cooper moves to
Baltimore to build steam locomotives for the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad.

1831
Baltimore is America's second largest city.

Mendes Cohen is born. He will become a dedicated and
philanthropic Baltimorean.

Enoch Pratt moves from Boston to Baltimore to become a
merchant, dealing in nails and horseshoes.

Visiting French author and statesman Alexis de Tocqueville reports
on the high level of volunteerism in the United States.

1832
The Maryland Colonization Society is chartered with John H. B.
Latrobe as president.

1833
The Peale Museum closes.

Members of the Maryland Colonization Society vow to hasten "the
arrival of the period when slavery would cease to exist in
Maryland."

The University of Maryland Medical School becomes the first in
America to teach hygiene and public health.

1834
The State of Maryland assumes control of the Maryland Hospital
for the Insane.  The predecessor institution was founded jointly in 
1797 by the State, the city of Baltimore, and private citizens. 

1835
The Athenaeum Building, home of the Maryland Institute for the
Mechanic Arts, is destroyed by fire.

The Mercantile Library opens.

1837
George Peabody moves from Baltimore to London.

Recession in the United States ("The Panic of '37").

1838
Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery in Baltimore. He will
become a prominent and effective spokesman against slavery and
advisor to President Abraham Lincoln.

1839
Baltimore Dental College is founded, the first school of its kind in
the world.

Baltimore Central High School (now City College) is founded.

1841
Author and legislator John Pendleton Kennedy expresses concern
about Maryland's lack of cultural resources and proposes an
Institution that would incorporate a public library, a museum, an
art school, and a lecture hail.

Maryland College of Pharmacy is founded.

1843
Brantz Mayer conducts a study of state historical societies.

1844
The Maryland Historical Society is founded. The institution brings
together business, cultural, and philanthropic leaders and
contributes to Baltimore's position as a major center of
philanthropy among American cities.

1845
An article in the New York Sun estimates that there are 21
millionaires in the United States.

Calvert Hall College founded by the Christian Brothers order.

Frederick Douglass publishes his narrative of his life in slavery.

1846
An appeal signed by 116 citizens and business firms  raises
$35,000 in gifts for building and furnishing a new Athenaeum building
to house the Maryland Historical Society, a gallery of fine arts,
the Baltimore Library Company, a reading room, and the Mercantile
Library. Donors include Johns Hopkins, George Peabody, 
Moses Sheppard, John McDonogh, and Enoch Pratt.

1847
Johns Hopkins becomes a director of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad.

1848
The new Athenaeum Building is occupied.

The Maryland Historical Society holds its first annual art exhibit
with Johns Hopkins as an exhibitor.

Henry Walters is born. In 1931 he will give the Walters Art Gallery,
with an endowment, to Baltimore.

1849
Baltimore Female College for teachers founded.

1850
John McDonogh dies, leaving bequests for education to Baltimore
and New Orleans.

Baltimore Association for the Improvement of the Poor is founded.

Family and Children's Society opens.
.