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The timeline can be navigated with the “Scroll Left” and “Scroll Right” buttons or by dragging the pointer to a date on the timeline waveform (located at the bottom of the screen on the desktop version and on the left of the screen on mobile). To filter by a particular topic and see a smaller section of the data, make a selection on the dropdown “Filters” menu or click “Search” to do a keyword search. Hover over the abbreviated filter tags in the blue boxes to see the complete name of the filter, or click a filter to display all the data with this tag. If you want to take a deeper dive into a specific topic by viewing a narrative essay page and a curated timeline, click on “Stories.”

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Illustrated aerial view of the Eastern State Penitentiary. The buildings form an asterisk shape and the building is walled in.
Eastern State Penitentiary. (Photo: Library Company of Philadelphia)

Eastern State Penitentiary, which is known as the first "modern prison," opens in Philadelphia.

Date: 1829

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Eastern State Penitentiary. (Photo: Library Company of Philadelphia)

The prison develops the use of solitary confinement, to give incarcerated people time for "reflection" and “penitence.”