Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama

History

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Birmingham was founded on June 1, 1871 by real estate promoters who sold lots near the planned crossing of the Alabama & Chattanooga and South & North railroads. The site of the railroad crossing was notable for the nearby deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone - the three principal raw materials used in making iron. Birmingham is one of the very few places worldwide where significant amounts of all three minerals can be found in close proximity. From the start the new city was planned as a great center of industry. The founders borrowed the name of Birmingham, England's principal industrial city, to advertise that point. Birmingham got off to a slow start: the city was impeded by an outbreak of cholera and a Wall Street crash in 1873. But soon afterward the city began growing rapidly.

Related Topics:
June 1 - 1871 - Railroad - Iron ore - Coal - Limestone - Iron - Birmingham - England - Cholera - Wall Street - 1873

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In the 1950s and '60s Birmingham received national and international attention as a center of the civil rights struggle for African-Americans. A watershed in that movement occurred in 1963 when Martin Luther King, Jr., imprisoned for having taken part in a nonviolent protest, wrote the now famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, a defining treatise in his cause against segregation. Birmingham is best known, however, for a bombing which occurred later that year. Four black girls were killed by a bomb planted at the 16th Street Baptist Church. Although Birmingham was never home to large scale racial violence (Mass racial violence in the United States) such as has occurred in other cities as recently as 1992, common modern knowledge of the city is dominated by the 1963 bombing. Violent racial conflicts have long since abated and most residents of Birmingham are eager to put such distasteful history behind them.

Related Topics:
1950s - '60s - Civil rights struggle - African-American - 1963 - Martin Luther King, Jr. - Letter from Birmingham Jail - 16th Street Baptist Church - Mass racial violence in the United States

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Following the same pattern as many other American cities, the population inside Birmingham's city limits has fallen over the past few decades. From 340,887 in 1960, the population was down to 242,820 in 2000, a loss of about 29 percent. However, the growth of suburbs to the south of Birmingham over that same time period has kept the metropolitan population growing.

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In 1971 Birmingham celebrated its centennial with a round of public works improvements, including the upgrading of Vulcan Park.

Related Topics:
1971 - Vulcan

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In 1979 Birmingham elected Dr. Richard Arrington as its first African-American mayor.

Related Topics:
1979 - African-American - Mayor

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In 1996 Birmingham's Legion Field hosted early rounds of Olympic soccer.

Related Topics:
1996 - Legion Field - Olympic - Soccer

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Over the course of the 20th century, while industry declined nationwide, the city's economy successfully diversified. Though manufacturing is still a strong sector, Birmingham also is a major medical research center and a regional banking and publishing power.

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Mayors

• Robert Henley, (Mayor 1871-1873)
• J. R. Powell, (Mayor 1873-1875)
• W. H. Morris, (Mayor 1875-1878)
• H. M. Caldwell, (Mayor 1878)
• Thomas Jeffers, (Mayor 1878-1882)
• A. O. Lane, (Mayor 1882-1888, 1890-1892)
• B. A. Thompson, (Mayor 1888-1890)
• David J. Fox, (Mayor 1892-1894)
• J. A. Van Hoose, (Mayor 1894-1896)
• F. V. Evans, (Mayor 1896-1899)
• W. M. Brennan, (Mayor 1899-1905)
• George B. Ward, (Mayor 1905-1908, President of the Commission 1913-1917)
• Frank P. O'Brien, (Mayor 1908-1910)
• Culpepper Exum, (Mayor 1910-1913, President of the Commission 1913)
• D. H. A. Barrett, (President of the Commission 1917-1921)
• D. E. McClendon, (President of the Commission 1921-1925)
• J. M. Jones, Jr., (President of the Commission 1935-1940)
• Cooper Green, (President of the Commission 1940-1953)
• J. W. Morgan, (President of the Commission 1953-1961)
• Art Hanes, (President of the Commission 1961-1963)
• Albert Boutwell, (Mayor 1963-1967)
• George G. Siebels, Jr., (Mayor 1967-1975)
• David Vann, (Mayor 1975-1979)
• Richard Arrington, Jr., (Mayor 1979-1999)
• William A. Bell, (Interim Mayor 1999)
• Bernard Kincaid, (Mayor 1999-present)