In
1608, Capt. John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay. Charles I granted a royal
charter for Maryland to Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, in 1632, and English settlers,
many of whom were Roman Catholic, landed on St. Clement's (now Blakistone) Island
in 1634. Religious freedom, granted all Christians in the Toleration Act passed
by the Maryland assembly in 1649, was ended by a Puritan revolt, 1654–1658.
From
1763 to 1767, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed Maryland's northern boundary
line with Pennsylvania. In 1791, Maryland ceded land to form the District of Columbia.
In
1814, during the British attempt to capture Baltimore, the bombardment of Fort
McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words to “The Star-Spangled
Banner.” During the Civil War, Maryland was a slave state but remained in
the Union. Consequently, Marylanders fought on both sides and many families were
divided.
Maryland's
Eastern Shore and Western Shore embrace the Chesapeake Bay, and the many estuaries
and rivers create one of the longest waterfronts of any state. The Bay produces
more seafood—oysters, crabs, clams, fin fish—than any comparable body
of water. Important agricultural products are greenhouse and nursery products,
chickens, dairy products, eggs, and soybeans. Stone, coal, sand, gravel, cement,
and clay are the chief mineral products.
Manufacturing
industries include food products, chemicals, computer and electronic products,
transportation equipment, and primary metals. Baltimore, home of the Johns Hopkins
University and Hospital, ranks as the nation's second port in foreign tonnage.
The capital, Annapolis, is the site of the U.S. Naval Academy.
Among
the popular attractions in Maryland are the Fort McHenry National Monument; Harpers
Ferry and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Parks; Antietam National
Battlefield; National Aquarium, USS Constellation, and Maryland Science Center
at Baltimore's Inner Harbor; Historic St. Mary's City; Jefferson Patterson Historical
Park and Museum at St. Leonard; U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis; Goddard Space
Flight Center at Greenbelt; Assateague Island National Park Seashore; Ocean City
beach resort; and Catoctin Mountain, Fort Frederick, and Piscataway parks.
Coming
Soon!
See
more on Maryland:
Encyclopedia:
Maryland Encyclopedia: Geography Encyclopedia: Economy Encyclopedia:
Government Encyclopedia: History Monthly Temperature Extremes
Accredited
Colleges and Universities
Selected
famous natives and residents:
Benjamin Banneker mathematician and astronomer;
John Barth writer; Eubie Blake musician; John Wilkes Booth actor and
Lincoln assassin; Francis X. Bushman actor; James M. Cain writer; Samuel
Chase jurist; Frederick Douglass abolitionist; John Fletcher Hurst Methodist
bishop and educator; Christopher Gist frontiersman; Philip Glass composer;
John Hanson president of Continental Congress; Matthew Henson polar explorer;
Billie Holiday jazz-blues singer; Johns Hopkins financier; Reverdy
Johnson lawyer and statesman; Thomas Johnson political leader; Francis
Scott Key lawyer and poet; Thurgood Marshall jurist; H. L. Mencken writer;
Hezekiah Niles journalist; Charles Willson Peale painter; Frank Perdue
farmer, businessman; James R. Randall journalist and writer of the state song;
Babe Ruth baseball player; Upton Sinclair novelist; Roger B. Taney
jurist; George Alfred Townsend (Gath) journalist; Harriet Tubman abolitionist;
Leon Uris novelist; Frank Zappa singer.
Capital:
Annapolis
State
abbreviation/Postal code: Md./MD
Governor:
Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., R (to Jan. 2007)
Lieut.
Gov.: Michael Steele, R (to Jan. 2007)
Senators:
Barbara A. Mikulski, D (to Jan. 2011); Paul S. Sarbanes, D (to Jan. 2007)
U.S.
Representatives: 8
Secy.
of State: R. Karl Aumann, R (to Jan. 2007)
Treasurer:
Nancy K. Kopp, D
Atty.
General: J. Joseph Curran, Jr., D (to Jan. 2007)
Entered
Union (rank): April 28, 1788 (7)
Present
constitution adopted: 1867
Motto:
Fatti maschii, parole femine (Manly deeds, womanly words)
State
symbols: bird Baltimore oriole (1947) boat skipjack (1985) crustacean
Maryland blue crab (1989) dinosaur Astrodon johnstoni (1998) dog Chesapeake
Bay retriever (1964) beverage milk (1998) flower black-eyed susan (1918)
fish rockfish (1965) folk dance square dance (1994) fossil shell ecphora
gardnerae gardnerae (Wilson) (1994) insect Baltimore checkerspot butterfly
(1973) reptile Diamondback terrapin (1994) song “Maryland! My Maryland!”
(1939) sport jousting (1962) team sport lacrosse (2004) tree white
oak (1941)
Nicknames:
Free State; Old Line State
Origin
of name: In honor of Henrietta Maria (queen of Charles I of England)
10
largest cities (2003 est.): Baltimore, 628,670; Gaithersburg, 57,365; Frederick,
56,128; Rockville, 55,213; Bowie, 53,660; Hagerstown, 36,953; Annapolis, 36,178;
College Park, 25,329; Salisbury, 25,247; Greenbelt, 22,096
Land
area: 9,774 sq mi. (25,315 sq km)
Geographic
center: In Prince Georges Co., 41/2 mi. NW of Davidsonville
Number
of counties: 23, and 1 independent city
Largest
county by population and area: Montgomery, 921,690 (2004); Frederick, 663
sq mi.
State
forests: 7 (136,907 ac.)
State
parks: 40 (90,239 ac.)
Residents:
Marylander
2004
resident population est.: 5,558,058
2000
resident census population (rank): 5,296,486 (19). Male: 2,557,794 (48.3%);
Female: 2,738,692 (51.7%). White: 3,391,308 (64.0%); Black: 1,477,411 (27.9%);
American Indian: 15,423 (0.3%); Asian: 210,929 (4.0%); Other race: 95,525 (1.8%);
Two or more races: 103,587 (2.0%); Hispanic/Latino: 227,916 (4.3%). 2000 percent
population 18 and over: 74.4; 65 and over: 11.3; median age: 36.0.
