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Maryland (US: /ˈmɛrɪlənd/ ⓘ MERR-il-ənd) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.[8][9] 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, 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.
In 1649, the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act Concerning Religion, which enshrined this principle by penalizing anyone who "reproached" a fellow Marylander based on religious affiliation. Nevertheless, religious strife was common in the early years, and Catholics remained a minority, albeit in greater numbers than in any other English colony.
Maryland's early settlements and population centers clustered around rivers and other waterways that empty into the Chesapeake Bay. Its economy was heavily plantation-based and centered mostly on the cultivation of tobacco. Demand for cheap labor from Maryland colonists led to the importation of numerous indentured servants and enslaved Africans. In 1760, Maryland's current boundaries took form following the settlement of a long-running border dispute with Pennsylvania. Maryland was an active participant in the events leading up to the American Revolution, and by 1776, its delegates signed the Declaration of Independence. Many of its citizens subsequently played key political and military roles in the war. In 1790, the state ceded land for the establishment of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C.
Although then a slave state, Maryland remained in the Union during the American Civil War, its strategic location giving it a significant role in the conflict. After the Civil War, Maryland took part in the Industrial Revolution, driven by its seaports, railroad networks, and mass immigration from Europe. Since the 1940s, the state's population has grown rapidly, to approximately six million residents, and it is among the most densely populated U.S. states. As of 2015, Maryland had the highest median household income of any state, owing in large part to its proximity to Washington, D.C., and a highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, retail services, public administration, real estate, higher education, information technology, defense contracting, health care, and biotechnology. Maryland is one of the most multicultural states in the country; it is one of the six states where non-Whites compose a majority of the population, with the fifth-highest percentage of African Americans, and high numbers of residents born in Africa, Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean. The state's central role in U.S. history is reflected by its hosting of some of the highest numbers of historic landmarks per capita.
Sixteen of Maryland's twenty-three counties, as well as the city of Baltimore, border the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay estuary and its many tributaries, which combined total more than 4,000 miles of shoreline. Although one of the smallest states in the U.S., it features a variety of climates and topographical features that have earned it the moniker of America in Miniature. In a similar vein, Maryland's geography, culture, and history combine elements of the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, and Southern regions of the country.
17th century
Maryland's first colonial settlement
George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), sought a charter from King Charles I for the territory between Massachusetts to the north and Virginia to the immediate south. After Baltimore died in April 1632, the charter was granted to his son, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605–1675), on June 20, 1632. Officially, the new "Maryland Colony" was named in honor of Henrietta Maria of France, wife of Charles I. Lord Baltimore initially proposed the name "Crescentia", the land of growth or increase, but "the King proposed Terra Mariae [Mary Land], which was concluded on and Inserted in the bill."
The original capital of Maryland was St. Mary's City, on the north shore of the Potomac River, and the county surrounding it, the first erected/created in the province, was first called Augusta Carolina, after the King, and later named St. Mary's County.
Lord Baltimore's first settlers arrived in the new colony in March 1634, with his younger brother the Honorable Leonard Calvert (1606–1647), as first provincial Governor of Maryland. They made their first permanent settlement at St. Mary's City in what is now St. Mary's County. They purchased the site from the paramount chief of the region, who was eager to establish trade. St. Mary's became the first capital of Maryland, and remained so for 60 years until 1695. More settlers soon followed. Their tobacco crops were successful and quickly made the new colony profitable. However, given the incidence of malaria, yellow fever, and typhoid, life expectancy in Maryland was about 10 years less than in New England.
1950–present
Maryland experienced population growth following World War II. Beginning in the 1960s, as suburban growth took hold around Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, the state began to take on a more mid-Atlantic culture as opposed to the traditionally Southern and Tidewater culture that previously dominated most of the state. Agricultural tracts gave way to residential communities, some of them carefully planned such as Columbia, St. Charles, and Montgomery Village. Concurrently the Interstate Highway System was built throughout the state, most notably I-95, I-695, and the Capital Beltway, altering travel patterns. In 1952, the eastern and western halves of Maryland were linked for the first time by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which replaced a nearby ferry service.
- YIELDS
- 32
- COOK TIME
- 35 Min
If the gang is used to you serving plain cocktail meatballs on game day, you better make extra this time, 'cause they're likely to eat a bunch more of these Sweet and Sour Meatballs...even before the game officially begins!
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (12-ounce) jar cocktail sauce
- 3/4 cup grape jelly
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, egg, water, bread crumbs, salt, onion powder, and pepper; mix well. Form into 1-inch meatballs and set aside.
- In a soup pot, mix together cocktail sauce, jelly, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat, then add meatballs. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 to 35 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.
1931 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver (d.2018)
1935 – Lyle Waggoner, American actor (d.2020)
- 1984 – Scrabble became a daytime game show on NBC
- 2004 – Scrabble was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame
- Some cities sponsor Scrabble tournaments on the weekend closest to National Scrabble Day
- The word “scrabble” means to “grope frantically.”
HOW TO OBSERVE
NATIONAL SCRABBLE DAY HISTORY
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