Home › Alabama › Montgomery

Montgomery, Alabama

"Cradle of the Confederacy"

The city where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, where Martin Luther King launched his career, and where the Confederacy was born — all within a few blocks.

Founded 1819 | Population 193,703 | Peak 201,568 (2000) | County Montgomery County

Top 10 Most Important Events for Montgomery, Alabama

1

1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott: Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat on Dec 1. The 381-day boycott led by young pastor Martin Luther King Jr. ended bus segregation and launched the modern civil rights movement.

2

1861 Confederate Capital: Montgomery served as the first capital of the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president on the steps of the Alabama Capitol.

3

1965 Selma to Montgomery March: The 54-mile march for voting rights ended at the Alabama Capitol steps, where King addressed 25,000 people. It led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

4

1910 Wright Brothers' School: The Wright Brothers established one of the nation's first civilian flying schools at Montgomery, beginning the city's long aviation history.

5

2018 National Memorial for Peace and Justice: The nation's first memorial to lynching victims opened in Montgomery, documenting over 4,400 racial terror lynchings.

🧠

How Well Do You Know Montgomery?

5 questions • 2 minutes

Take the Quiz →

Latest News in Montgomery

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…

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…

Alabama Bill Would Make it Harder Get Food Stamps

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In a move that stirred up plenty of talk in state politics, Alabama lawmakers pushed forward a bill on Novemb…

Alabama Police Chief Defends God Bless America Decals Patrol Cars

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (August 9, 2015) — In a small Alabama town, the local police chief stood his ground last week over decals on pa…

More Decade Later We Finally Get Confession Natalee Holloway Murder

Aruba (June 22, 2015) – More than a decade after American teenager Natalee Holloway vanished during a high school graduation…

Alabama City Proposes Saggy Pants Ban God Would not Go Around Pants Down

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (April 20, 2015) — In a move that stirred up plenty of chatter across the state, a small Alabama city took aim …

Complete Historical Timeline

1819 Government

City incorporated

1846 Government

Becomes Alabama state capital

1861 Government

First Confederate capital

1910 Science

Wright Brothers flying school

1940 Government

Maxwell Field WWII training

1955 Civil Rights

Rosa Parks and bus boycott

1965 Civil Rights

Selma to Montgomery march

2018 Culture

Lynching memorial opens

Did You Know?

1

Montgomery is the only city that served as capital for both the Confederacy (1861) and the civil rights movement (1955-65).

2

The Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where MLK pastored, is just a block from the Alabama Capitol where Jefferson Davis was inaugurated.

3

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice has 800 steel columns — one for each U.S. county where a documented lynching occurred.

Famous People from Montgomery, Alabama

NC

Nat King Cole

Actor, Pianist · Born Mar 17, 1919 · Died Feb 15, 1965 (age 45)

OS

Octavia Spencer

Actor, Voice Actor · Born May 25, 1970 · Age 55

ZF

Zelda Fitzgerald

Writer, Poet · Born Jul 24, 1900 · Died Mar 10, 1948 (age 47)

CC

Claudette Colvin

Civil Rights Advocate, Unlicensed Assistive Personnel · Born Sep 5, 1939 · Died Jan 13, 2026 (age 86)

KT

Kathryn C. Thornton

Astronaut, Physicist · Born Aug 17, 1952 · Age 73

Other Cities in Alabama

View all Alabama cities →

Pop. 237,413

Pop. 198,806

Pop. 194,400

Pop. 113,361

Pop. 97,017

Pop. 73,025

See something that needs correcting?

We take accuracy seriously. Help us keep Montgomery's history right.