George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore

George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (1580?-1632), colonialist and the person responsible for securing Maryland's colonial charter. Historians have traditionally designated him the founder of Maryland. Born in Yorkshire, England, he was educated at Trinity College, University of Oxford. After being elected to Parliament in 1609, Calvert was knighted in 1617 by James I of England and became his secretary of state in 1619. In 1625 Calvert became a Roman Catholic and, because no Catholics were then permitted to hold public office in England, resigned from Parliament. James rewarded him for his public service, however, by granting him large estates in Ireland and giving him the title Baron Baltimore. Thereafter Lord Baltimore devoted himself to establishing colonies in the New World. In 1623 Calvert received a charter for the colony of Avalon, Newfoundland, which he had founded in 1621. In 1628 he and his family went to live in Avalon, but because of the harsh climate he decided to establish a colony farther to the south. In 1632 King Charles I granted him a tract of land to the northeast of the colony of Virginia. The grant comprised the present-day states of Maryland and Delaware and was named Maryland in honor of Charles's wife, Henrietta Maria, queen consort of England. Calvert wrote the charter for the new colony but died before it was granted to him officially.