Maryland Legal Research

Maryland is one of the original 13 colonies. Cecil Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, founded Maryland in 1632. Cecil's father, George Calvert, had received a royal charter for the land from King Charles I. The new colony was named after Henrietta Maria, the wife of the king.

On April 28, 1788, Maryland officially became a state in the Union by ratifying the Constitution of the United States.

Source: Maryland at a Glance: Historical Chronology

• Date of Statehood: April 28, 1788
   
• Capital: Annapolis
   
• Size: 12,407 square miles (Land and water)
   
• Nickname(s): Old Line State; Free State; Cockade State; Oyster State; Monumental State
   
• Motto: Fatti Maschii Parole Femine (“Strong Deeds, Gentle Words”)
   
• State Tree: White Oak
   
• State Bird: Baltimore Oriole

Source: Almanac of Maryland

Maryland Flag: according to the Maryland.gov site, "the design of the Maryland flag comes from the shield in the coat of arms of the Calvert family, the colonial proprietors of Maryland. George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, adopted a coat of arms that included a shield with alternating quadrants featuring the yellow-and-black colors of his paternal family and the red-and-white colors of his maternal family, the Crosslands. When the General Assembly in 1904 adopted a banner of this design as the state flag, a link was forged between modern-day Maryland and the very earliest chapter of the proprietorship of the Calvert family."

Maryland State Seal: the reverse of the Great Seal of Maryland consists of an escutcheon, or shield, bearing the Calvert and Crossland arms quartered. Above is an earl's coronet and a full-faced helmet. The escutcheon is supported on one side by a farmer and on the other by a fisherman. It symbolizes Lord Baltimore's two estates: Maryland, and Avalon in Newfoundland. 

Source: Maryland at a Glance: State Symbols: Great Seal of Maryland