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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.

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Latest News in Birmingham

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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.