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Introduction

Maryland (US: /ˈmɛrɪlənd/ ^ⓘ MERR-il-ənd) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The state borders Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, Delaware to its east, the Atlantic Ocean, and the national capital of Washington, D.C. With a total area of 12,407 square miles (32,130 km²), Maryland is the ninth-smallest state by land area, and its population of 6,177,224 ranks it the 18th-most populous state and the fifth-most densely populated. Maryland's capital is Annapolis, and the most populous city is Baltimore. Occasional nicknames include Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after Henrietta Maria, the French-born queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland during the 17th century.

The western portion of the state contains numerous stretches of the Appalachian Mountains, the central portion is primarily composed of the Piedmont, and the eastern side of the state makes up a significant portion of Chesapeake Bay.

Maryland's coastline was first explored by Europeans in the 16th century. Prior to that, it was inhabited by several Native American tribes, mostly the Algonquian peoples and, to a lesser degree, Iroquoians and Siouans. As one of the original Thirteen Colonies of England, Maryland was founded by George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, a Catholic convert who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England. In 1632, Charles I of England granted Lord Baltimore a colonial charter, naming the colony after his wife, Henrietta Maria. Unlike the Pilgrims and Puritans, who rejected Catholicism in their settlements, Lord Baltimore envisioned a colony where people of different religious sects would coexist under the principle of toleration. (Full article...)

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William McSherry SJ (July 19, 1799 – December 18, 1839) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became the president of Georgetown College and a Jesuit provincial superior. The son of Irish immigrants, McSherry was educated at Georgetown College, where he entered the Society of Jesus. As one of the first Americans to complete the traditional Jesuit course of training, he was sent to Rome to be educated for the priesthood. There, he made several discoveries of significant, forgotten holdings in the Jesuit archives, which improved historians' knowledge of the early European settling of Maryland and of the language of Indian tribes there.

McSherry became the first provincial superior of the Jesuits' Maryland Province from 1833 to 1837, and laid the groundwork for the sale of the province's slaves in 1838. He then briefly became the president of Georgetown College in 1837, and was simultaneously made provincial superior for a second time in 1839, despite suffering illness to which he would succumb several months later. (Full article...)

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General images

Image 1Memorial Chapel at the University of Maryland, Maryland's flagship university (from Maryland)
Image 2The Battle of Antietam in 1862 was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War with nearly 23,000 casualties. (from Maryland)
Image 3A feral Chincoteague Pony on Assateague Island on Maryland's Atlantic coastal islands (from Maryland)
Image 4Sunset over a marsh at Cardinal Cove on the Patuxent River (from Maryland)
Image 5M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens (from Maryland)
Image 6Ellicott City Station, on the original B&O Railroad line, is the oldest remaining passenger station in the nation. The rail line is still used by CSX Transportation for freight trains, and the station is now a museum. (from Maryland)
Image 7The bombardment of Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner". (from Maryland)
Image 8Ruin left by the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 (from Maryland)
Image 9The Chesapeake Bay Bridge connects Maryland's Eastern and Western Shores. (from Maryland)
Image 10Spiro Agnew, 39th Vice President of the United States, is the highest-ranking political leader from Maryland since the nation's founding. (from Maryland)
Image 11Ethnic origins in Maryland (from Maryland)
Image 12Map of counties in Maryland by racial plurality, according to 2020 U.S. census findings

Non-Hispanic White
  40–50%

  50–60%

  60–70%

  70–80%

  80–90%

  90%+

Black or African American
  50–60%

  60–70%

(from Maryland)
Image 13Köppen climate types of Maryland, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Maryland)
Image 14Agriculture is an important part of Maryland's economy. (from Maryland)
Image 151732 map of Maryland (from Maryland)
Image 16Great Falls on the Potomac River (from Maryland)
Image 17Black-eyed susans, the state flower, grow throughout much of the state. (from Maryland)
Image 18Baltimore Basilica was the first Catholic cathedral built in the U.S. (from Maryland)
Image 19Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles (from Maryland)
Image 20Western Maryland is known for its heavily forested mountains. A panoramic view of Deep Creek Lake and the surrounding Appalachian Mountains in Garrett County. (from Maryland)
Image 21UMBC Commons and Quad (from Maryland)
Image 22Patapsco River includes the Thomas Viaduct and is part of the Patapsco Valley State Park; the river forms Baltimore's Inner Harbor as it empties into the Chesapeake Bay. (from Maryland)
Image 23Winter on Lancaster Street in Baltimore's Fells Point (from Maryland)
Image 24Ocean City, a beach resort along the Atlantic Ocean, is a popular tourist destination in Maryland. (from Maryland)
Image 25The historical coat of arms of Maryland in 1876 (from Maryland)
Image 26A map showing Maryland's median income by county. Data is sourced from the 2014 ACS five-year estimate report published by the U.S. Census Bureau. (from Maryland)
Image 27Physical regions of Maryland (from Maryland)
Image 28The Maryland State House in Annapolis dates to 1772, and houses the Maryland General Assembly and offices of the governor. (from Maryland)
Image 29American Film Institute Silver Theater (from Arts and culture of Maryland)
Image 30Maryland population distribution map; Maryland's population is concentrated mostly in the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. (from Maryland)
Image 31Maryland's counties (from Maryland)
Image 32Tidal wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the nation and the largest water feature in Maryland (from Maryland)

In the news

November 1, 2007 - Westboro Baptist Church ordered to pay US$11 million to family of fallen US soldier
September 30, 2007 - Interview with gay marriage movement founder Evan Wolfson
September 1, 2007 - Four jackpot winners confirmed in US 'Mega Millions' lottery drawing
May 20, 2007 - Horse racing: Curlin wins 2007 Preakness Stakes

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The Maryland portal currently doesn't have any anniversaries listed for April 27. You can help by viewing the page source of an existing entry at /On this day to see how the entries should be formatted, then adding the missing entry.

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The west exterior and 235-foot (72 m) spire, viewed from I-695

Towson United Methodist Church is a large United Methodist Church in the historic Hampton subdivision of Towson, a suburb in Baltimore County, Maryland. Its past, rooted in 19th-century America and subsequent growth in the two centuries since then, has closely paralleled the nation's political and sociological trends. It was a congregation split in 1861 on the eve of the American Civil War in a border state of divided loyalties, which eventually reunited and built a church in the post–World War II era of the 1950s, a time of reconciliation and rapid growth by mainline Protestant denominations, especially in the more affluent suburbs.

Pastored since July 2021 by Stephanie Roberts White, the church now brands itself as Towson Church with a blended traditional–contemporary Sunday worship service, along with a number of community outreach programs, including an accredited child care center and a Boy Scout troop. The church actively supports a home for unwed mothers, overseas missions, and Habitat for Humanity projects. The congregation worships in a 1,000-seat sanctuary built in 1958. The large building's prominent 235-foot (72 m) spire and cupola, a landmark visible for miles from the nearby Baltimore Beltway (Interstate 695), has been called "the beacon of Towson". (Full article...)

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The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the second oldest of the five U.S. service academies and it educates midshipmen for service in the officer corps of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. It is part of the Naval University System. The 338-acre (137 ha) campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, 33 miles (53 km) east of Washington, D.C., and 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus, known colloquially as the Yard, is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum in Philadelphia that had served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis.

Candidates for admission generally must apply directly to the academy and apply separately for a nomination, usually from a member of Congress. Students are officers-in-training with the rank of midshipman. Tuition for midshipmen is fully funded by the Navy in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation. Approximately 1,200 "plebes" (an abbreviation of the Ancient Roman word plebeian) enter the academy each summer for the rigorous Plebe Summer. About 1,000 midshipmen graduate and commission. Graduates are commissioned as either ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps, but a small number can also be cross-commissioned as officers in other U.S. services, and the services of allied nations. The United States Naval Academy has some of the highest-paid graduates in the country according to starting salary. The academic program grants a Bachelor of Science degree with a curriculum that grades midshipmen's performance upon a broad academic program, military leadership performance, and mandatory participation in competitive athletics. Midshipmen are required to adhere to the academy's Honor Concept. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

...that unlike most other American courts, the judges on the Maryland Court of Appeals wear crimson (not black) robes, and neck bands, reminiscent of British court dress?
...that Kent Island was founded in 1631 as part of Virginia, three years before St. Mary's City was founded?

...that the Thomas Viaduct (pictured) over the Patapsco River was the first multi-span masonry railroad bridge in the United States when it was constructed between 1833 and 1835?

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