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1936 - Charlotte's First Airport

Mayor Ben Douglas' dream has come true. West of the city, Charlotte's airport opens. Fifty years later, Charlotte Douglas International Airport will grow into a hub that handles 500 flights each day and millions of passengers each year.Douglas Municipal Airport

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1903 - First Free Library

<p>January 31, 1903 - Since 1891, Charlotte&#39;s library has charged a subscription fee of 50 cents per month. Today, the city&#39;s first free library opens. Northern steel executive Andrew Carnegie has given Charlotte $25,000 to start the library. The city must promise to provide $2,500 each year to operate it. Carnegie also donates money for a separate library designated for black patrons. When a tax dispute arises in 1939, the Charlotte Public Library will be forced to close for one year.

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1913 - Railroad Expansion

The network of railroad lines serving Charlotte grows as the Norfolk and Southern Railroad reaches from Virginia to the Queen City by way of Raleigh and Albemarle. Like spokes of a wheel, rail lines expand in eight directions from Charlotte. Passengers, freight and goods travel farther than ever before.

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1918 - Terrible Epidemic

November 1918Millions of people worldwide are dying from Spanish influenza, or flu. To keep the infection from spreading throughout the community, Charlotte officials close parks, churches, schools and other public buildings. Still, in the U.S. alone, the disease races through the population in an outbreak called an epidemic. More than 500,000 people will die.

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1936 - Father of Bluegrass

February 17, 1936 - The Father of Bluegrass music, Bill Monroe, makes his first recording in a Charlotte warehouse. By 1939, this country music legend will become a regular guest on WBT's radio programs. He will record nearly 60 songs in Charlotte.

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1890 - Edison meets Latta

February 22, 1890 - Inventor Thomas Edison dines at the home of Edward Dilworth Latta, for whom the new Dilworth neighborhood is named. Soon, Latta will hire Edison's company, General Electric, to develop Charlotte's electric trolley line.

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1918 - Peace

November 11, 1918 - In a railroad car outside Paris, France, German leaders sign a pledge to stop fighting, called an armistice. With the help of American troops, the war has been won by France, England and their supporters, called allies. More formal negotiations must follow, and the official end of the war will come next June with the Treaty of Versailles, France. Worldwide, 10 million servicemen have died and 20 have been million wounded. Among US troops, 116,000 have died in the war.

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1936 - Mint Museum

October 22, 1936  - Although the nation is suffering an economic depression, North Carolina's first art museum opens. The old Charlotte Mint building, now vacant, has been dismantled and moved, brick by brick, from West Trade Street to suburban Randolph Road. Mary Myers Dwelle encouraged donations from Charlotteans to make the project possible. Mint Museum at its Eastover location

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1903 - Flight in Kitty Hawk

December 17, 1903 - On a windy bluff on North Carolina's outerbanks, Orville Wright takes flight in a powered airplane. He is the first person to accomplish this feat. His 100-foot trip lasts 12 seconds. Orville and his brother, Wilbur, traveled here from their Ohio bicycle shop to take advantage of the coastal winds at Kill Devil Hills.

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1920 - Decadent Decade

World War I is over and an optimistic nation prospers. With more money to spend, people enjoy music, art, movies and entertainment in this decade, called the Roaring Twenties. But the party won't last long. Banks and businesses are making poor financial decisions that will soon cause the collapse of America's economy.

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