Home › Alabama › Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

"The Magic City"

The crucible of the civil rights movement, where Bull Connor's fire hoses and the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing shocked the world and changed America forever.

Founded 1871 | Population 194,400 | Peak 340,887 (1960) | County Jefferson County

Top 10 Most Important Events for Birmingham, Alabama

1963 Civil Rights Campaign: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birmingham Campaign, Bull Connor's fire hoses and police dogs against children, and the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four girls galvanized the nation and led directly to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

1871 City Founded: Birmingham was founded at the intersection of two railroads as a planned industrial city, growing so fast it earned the nickname 'The Magic City.'.

1907 Iron and Steel Capital: Birmingham became the South's largest industrial city, with U.S. Steel's massive Sloss Furnaces producing iron and steel.

1979 First Black Mayor: Richard Arrington Jr. became Birmingham's first Black mayor, serving for 20 years and overseeing the city's transition.

2013 Birmingham Civil Rights Institute: The city invested heavily in commemorating its civil rights history, with the institute, 16th Street church, and Kelly Ingram Park forming a memorial district.

🧠

How Well Do You Know Birmingham?

5 questions • 2 minutes

Take the Quiz →

Latest News in Birmingham

May 11, 2016

Alabama Lawmaker Proposes Castration Sex Offenders

Montgomery, Alabama – Back in May 2016, an Alabama state legislator stirred up a storm by introducing a bill that would have all…

Apr 25, 2016

Alabama Community Does Something Amazing Thank World War Ii Vet

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (April 25, 2016) — In a touching display of gratitude, residents of this Alabama town came together last weeken…

Mar 1, 2016

Hillary Clinton Confident Shell Lock Democratic Nomination

Washington, March 1, 2016 – Hillary Clinton was riding high on a wave of primary wins as Super Tuesday wrapped up, boldly declar…

Feb 4, 2016

Atheist Group Asks Small Alabama Town Public Records About Nativity Scene

Small Town, Ala. – Back in early February 2016, an atheist group turned up the heat on a quiet Alabama community by requesting p…

Jan 19, 2016

Several States Reject Syrian Refugees After Paris Attacks

Washington – In the wake of the deadly Paris attacks in November 2015, a number of U.S. states took a hard line against acce…

Dec 13, 2015

Alabama Conduct First Lethal Injection Over Two Years

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – On a chilly December night in 2015, Alabama resumed its use of the death penalty after a two-year pause, carr…

Complete Historical Timeline

1871 Government

Founded as industrial railroad city

1907 Industry

Iron and steel industry peaks

1926 Culture

Vulcan statue completed

1963 Civil Rights

Civil rights protests and church bombing

1970 Industry

Steel industry begins declining

1979 Politics

First Black mayor elected

2013 Culture

Civil Rights Institute commemorations

2023 Business

Medical district drives economy

Did You Know?

The Vulcan statue in Birmingham is the largest cast-iron statue in the world at 56 feet tall.

UAB Hospital is now Birmingham's largest employer — medicine replaced steel as the economic engine.

Birmingham was so racially violent in the 1960s that it was nicknamed 'Bombingham' — over 50 racially motivated bombings occurred between 1947 and 1965.