document_title: Pierre Bezukhov

question_text: who does pierre marry in war and peace

question_tokens: who does pierre marry in war and peace

root

text: Pierre Bezukhov

text:
Pierre Bezukhov
War and Peace character
Henry Fonda as Pierre Bezukhov in War and PeaceCreated by
Leo TolstoyPortrayed by
Henry FondaSergei BondarchukAnthony HopkinsPaul DanoJosh Groban Dave Malloy Scott Stangland Okieriete OnaodowanInformationFull name
Pyotr Kirillovich BezukhovNickname(s)
PierreGender
MaleTitle
CountFamily
Kirill Bezukhov (father)Spouse(s)
Hélène Kuragina (first wife)Natasha Rostova (second wife)Children
Masha, Lisa, Petya, and another girlNationality
Russian

tag: table

text: Count (Graf) Pyotr "Pierre" Kirillovich Bezukhov (Russian: Пьер Безу́хов, Пётр Кири́ллович Безу́хов, or Pierre Bezuhov according to Rosemary Edmonds' translation) is a central fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. He is the favourite of several illegitimate sons of the wealthy nobleman Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov, one of the richest people in the Russian Empire. Pierre is best friends with Andrei Bolkonsky. Tolstoy based Pierre on himself more than any other War and Peace character.[1]

tag: p

text: Life and Description[edit]

text: Described as: The large-bodied, ungainly, and socially awkward illegitimate son of an old Russian grandee. Pierre, educated abroad, returns to Russia as a misfit. His unexpected inheritance of a large fortune makes him socially desirable. Pierre is ensnared by the fortune-hunting Hélène Kuragina, whose eventual deception leaves him depressed and confused, spurring a spiritual odyssey that spans the novel. Pierre eventually marries Natasha Rostova.[2]

text: At the opening of the novel, Pierre is a young man who has recently returned to Russia to seek a career after completing his education abroad. Although a well-meaning, kind hearted young man, he is awkward and out of place in the Russian high society in whose circles he starts to move. Pierre, though intelligent, is not dominated by reason, as his friend Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky is. His lack of direction leads him to fall in with a group of profligate young men like Anatole Kuragin and Dolokhov whose pranks and heavy drinking cause mild scandals. After a particularly outrageous escapade in which a policeman is strapped to the back of a bear and thrown into a river, Pierre is sent away from St. Petersburg.

text: Pierre's life changes after he becomes the sole heir to his father's vast estate, and his position in society is changed from that of an illegitimate son to the new Count Bezukhov. His inability to control his emotions and sexual passions lead him into a marriage with the vapid but sensually beautiful Princess Hélène, a match which her self-serving father, Prince Vasily, sets up to secure his access to Pierre's newly acquired vast fortune. Hélène is not in love with Pierre, and has affairs. From jealousy, Pierre shoots her suspected lover, Dolokhov, in a duel. He is distraught at having committed such a crime and eventually separates from Hélène and then becomes a Freemason. His madcap escape into the city of Moscow and his subsequent obsessive belief that he is destined to be Napoleon’s assassin show his submission to irrational impulses. Yet his search for meaning in his life and for how to overcome his emotions are a central theme of the novel. He eventually finds love and peace with Natasha Rostova and their marriage is perhaps the culmination of a life of moral and spiritual questioning.

text: Daniel Rancour-Laferriere calls Pierre "one of the best known characters in world literature."[3] Merriam-Webster lists him among "the most attractive and sympathetic characters in literature".[4] And M. Keith Booker describes Pierre as one of Tolstoy's "most memorable characters".[5]

text: In BBC's 2016 adaption he is described as follows: "Pierre is an outcast. The awkward, illegitimate son of a dazzlingly wealthy Count, he was educated abroad but returns to Russia now that his father’s health is in decline. Polite society shuns him for his hero-worship of Napoleon and enthusiasm for the politics of revolution. But his blundering sincerity charms Andrei, his truest friend; and Natasha, who delights in his presence. He is quickly married off by stealth through the manipulation of others around him and is likely to face further heartache given that his wife prefers bedding her brother. It looks like this unlikely hero is smitten with his friend Natasha Rostova but, is set for heartache given his kind and gentle nature."[6]


document_title: Howie Long

question_text: who do howie long's son's play for in the nfl

question_tokens: who do howie long 's son 's play for in the nfl

text: Howie Long

text: Football career[edit]

text: High school[edit]

text: He attended Milford High School in Milford, Massachusetts and is a member of the Milford Hall of Fame. Long was an all-around athlete, playing football (lettered three years and was named to the Scholastic Coach All-America team as a senior, although he had never played football until age 15), basketball (lettered three years as a forward), and track (lettered three years, competing in the shot put, discus, and javelin). Long also set state records in the shot put and discus.[citation needed]

text: College[edit]

text: Long played college football and earned a degree in communications at Villanova University. He was a four-year letterman at Villanova and was selected to play in the Blue–Gray Football Classic and was named the MVP in 1980. As a freshman, Long started every game and had 99 tackles. As a sophomore, Long led Villanova in sacks with five and recorded 78 tackles. The next season, 1979, Long sustained a thigh injury, missed three games, and ended the season with 46 tackles. As a senior, Long again led the Wildcats in sacks with four and had 84 tackles. He began as a tight end but was moved to the defensive line playing mostly noseguard his first two seasons. After moving to defensive end, he earned All-East honors and honorable mention All-American by his senior year.[1] Long also boxed at Villanova and was the Northern Collegiate Heavyweight Boxing Champion.[citation needed]

text: NFL[edit]

text: Drafted in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, Long would play 13 seasons for the club, wearing the number 75. His combination of size, strength, and quickness made him a fearsome force on the Raiders defensive line, earning eight Pro Bowl selections. Long had high aspirations early in his career. He told Football Digest in 1986 that he wanted "Financial security, and I want to be in the Hall of Fame. That's my goal. And I'd like to win a few more Super Bowls."[2] Along the way, he was also named first team All-Pro three times (in 1983, '84, and '85) and second team All-Pro twice (in 1986 and 1989). He was selected by John Madden to the All-Madden teams in 1984 and 1985 and was named to the 10th Anniversary All-Madden team in 1994.[citation needed]

text: Long was voted the NFL Alumni Defensive Lineman of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Defensive Lineman of the Year in 1985. He capped off a stellar 1985 season earning the George S. Halas Trophy for having been voted the NEA's co-NFL Defensive Player of the Year (along with Andre Tippett). He was also named the Seagrams' Seven Crown NFL Defensive Player of the year. The following year, Long was voted the Miller Lite NFL Defensive Lineman of the Year. Both those awards were taken by polls of NFL players. In 1986, Long was voted to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl and was key in helping the Raiders record 63 sacks and being the number one defense in the AFC.[3] From 1983-86 the Raiders defense recorded 249 sacks, which tied with the Chicago Bears for tops in the NFL over that span.[citation needed]

text: Long collected 91½ sacks during his career (7½ are not official, as sacks were not an official statistic during his rookie year).[4] His career high was in 1983 with 13 sacks, including a career-high five against the Washington Redskins on October 2, 1983. He also intercepted two passes and recovered ten fumbles during his 13-year career. At the time of his retirement, he was the last player still with the team who had been a Raider before the franchise moved to Los Angeles. He won the Super Bowl XVIII title as the left defensive end with the Raiders (1983 season), beating the Washington Redskins, as he outplayed the opposing offensive tackle, George Starke; the vaunted Redskin running game led by John Riggins had only 90 yards in 32 rush attempts.

text: Long's signature defensive move was the "rip," which employed a quick, uppercut-like motion designed to break an opposing blocker's grip.[citation needed]

text: Pro Football Weekly (PFW) named Long as one of the ends on its All-time 3-4 defensive front, along with Lee Roy Selmon, Curley Culp, Lawrence Taylor, Andre Tippett, Randy Gradishar, and Harry Carson. PFW based its "Ultimate 3-4" team on the vote of over 40 former NFL players, coaches, and scouts.[5]

text: After football[edit]

text: After his retirement from the NFL following the 1993 season, Long pursued an acting career, focused mainly on action films—including Firestorm, a 1998 film in which he starred. He also appears in the movie Broken Arrow alongside John Travolta. He played a minor role in the movie 3000 Miles to Graceland alongside Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell and Courteney Cox. In That Thing You Do!, Long appears as Mr. White's (Tom Hanks) "partner" Lloyd in the extended cut of the movie, released on DVD in 2007. Long's part was entirely cut from the theatrical release.[6]

text: Long also made numerous cameo appearances on TV shows and commercials. Long was a spokesman for Radio Shack, making commercials with actress Teri Hatcher. He has also been featured in many other national commercials and advertising campaigns including those of Coors Light, Nike, Campbell's Chunky Soup, Hanes, Frito Lay, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Nabisco, Kraft, the Bud Bowl campaign, Honda and currently for Chevrolet.

text: In March 1986, Long told Inside Sports, "When I'm finished playing, I'd like to stay in touch with football, through broadcasting. I'm qualified to give a certain perspective and I'm articulate enough to handle it."[7] After his retirement, he began as a studio analyst for the Fox Network's NFL coverage where he often plays the "straight man" to the comic antics of co-host Terry Bradshaw and he writes a column for Foxsports.com.[8] In addition, he hosts an annual award show on Fox, Howie Long's Tough Guys, which honors the NFL players whom he deems the toughest and gives "the toughest" a Chevrolet truck. Long won a Sports Emmy Award in 1997 as "Outstanding Sports Personality/Analyst."[9]

text: He is also the author of Football for Dummies, a book to help average fans understand the basics of professional football; it is part of the For Dummies series by Wiley Publishing. He is an alumnus of, and volunteers his time for, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He was named Walter Camp Man of the Year in 2001 by the Walter Camp Foundation.

text: After his football career, Long became known for his use of a popular stock sound effect in the movie Broken Arrow. During his death scene, the sound effect is used, which became known as the Howie scream.[citation needed]

text:
In'N Out (1984) - Groom
Broken Arrow (1996) - Kelly
Firestorm (1998) - Jesse
Dollar for the Dead (1998) - Reager
3000 Miles to Graceland (2001) - Jack

tag: ul

text: Personal life[edit]

text: Long was born in Somerville, Massachusetts and was raised in Charlestown, Boston.[10] Long is a Roman Catholic.[11] He is married and has three sons. His eldest son, Chris is a defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles. His middle son, Kyle is a guard for the Chicago Bears. [12] His youngest son, Howie Jr., works in player personnel for the Raiders.[13]

text: Further reading[edit]

text: Long, Howie (2007) Football for Dummies, 3rd edition. New York: Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-12536-6.


document_title: Penalty unit

question_text: what is a penalty unit worth in queensland

text: Penalty unit

text: In Australian law, a penalty unit (abbreviated as PU) is an amount of money used to compute pecuniary penalties for many breaches of statute law. Fines are calculated by multiplying the value of one penalty unit by the number of penalty units prescribed for the offence.

text: Prior to the introduction of penalty units, fines and other charges were usually prescribed in terms of ordinary money (pounds or, later, dollars). However, the effects of inflation meant that originally substantial penalties were eventually reduced to trifling sums. Frequent amendment of the many laws and regulations dealing with pecuniary penalties would be a very time-consuming process. Penalty units provide a quick and simple way to adjust many different fees and charges.

text: Values[edit]

text: The different jurisdictions that make up Australia (the Commonwealth and the states and territories) each have their own penalty units. The value of a penalty unit, and the manner and frequency of varying that value, differ from state to state, and there are also federal penalty units that apply only to federal offences.

text:
In the state of Victoria, the value of a penalty unit is the amount fixed with respect to a financial year by the Treasurer by notice published in the Government Gazette under the Monetary Units Act 2004. The penalty unit rate is fixed at A$155.46 as of 1 July 2016[update].[1] Therefore, a fine defined as 100 penalty units would incur a penalty of $15,546 (rounded to the nearest 10 cents).
One penalty unit in New South Wales is $110.[2]
One penalty unit in Queensland is $121.90[3]
In the state of Tasmania the value of a penalty unit is adjusted for each financial year based on consumer price index (CPI) movements in the previous year, and published in the Tasmanian Government Gazette before 1 June for the next financial year. In the 2017/18 financial year it is $159.[4]
Western Australian penalty units vary across the legislation, most are listed as a dollar figure in the legislation, but road offences incur a penalty unit of $50.[5]
South Australia does not have penalty units. Instead, fine amounts are listed in the legislation.

text: Under Australian federal law a penalty unit for an individual is $210 as of 1 July 2017[update]. On 1 July 2020, and each third 1 July thereafter, the amount is subject to indexation using the All Groups Consumer Price Index.[6]


document_title: Fastest recorded tennis serves

question_text: who has the fastest serve in tennis history

text: Fastest recorded tennis serves

text: Men[edit]

text:
Rank
Player
Speed
Event

1
 Sam Groth[note 1]
263 km/h (163.4 mph)
2012 Busan Open Challenger Tennis[7]

2
 Albano Olivetti
257.5 km/h (160 mph)
2012 Internazionali Trofeo Lame Perrel–Faip[8]

3
 John Isner
253 km/h (157.2 mph)
2016 Davis Cup

4
 Ivo Karlović
251 km/h (156 mph)
2011 Davis Cup[9]

 Jerzy Janowicz[note 2]
2012 Pekao Szczecin Open[11]

6
 Milos Raonic
250 km/h (155.3 mph)
2012 Rogers Cup[12]

7
 Andy Roddick
249 km/h (155 mph)
2004 Davis Cup[13][14]

8
 Roscoe Tanner
246 km/h (153 mph) [note 3]
1978 American Airlines Tennis Games

9
 Joachim Johansson
245 km/h (152 mph)
2004 Davis Cup[15]

 Feliciano López
2014 Aegon Championships

11
 Marius Copil
244 km/h (152 mph)
2016 European Open

12
 Hubert Hurkacz
243 km/h (151 mph)
2016 Davis Cup

13
 Taylor Dent
241.1 km/h (149.8 mph)
2006 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament[14]

14
 Ernests Gulbis
240.3 km/h (149.3 mph)
2007 St. Petersburg Open

15
 Greg Rusedski
240 km/h (149 mph)
1998 Newsweek Champions Cup[16]

16
 Peter Łuczak
238 km/h (148 mph)
2010 Wimbledon[17]

 Colin Dibley
1974 at Forest Hills[1]

18
 Dmitry Tursunov
237 km/h (147 mph)
2006 Davis Cup

 Juan Martín del Potro
2009 Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid

 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
2014 Rogers Cup

21
 Gaël Monfils
235 km/h (146 mph)
2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic [14]

 Dušan Vemić
2008 Countrywide Classic[14]

 Marin Čilić
2016 Davis Cup

24
 Ričardas Berankis
234 km/h (145.5 mph)
2011 Open d'Orléans[18]

 Stanislas Wawrinka
2014 Davis Cup

26
 Ivan Ljubičić
233 km/h (145 mph)
2007 Pacific Life Open

 Grigor Dimitrov
2013 Aegon Championships

 Reilly Opelka
2016 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships

 Viktor Troicki
2017 Davis Cup

30
 Mardy Fish
232 km/h (144 mph)
2007 Pacific Life Open[14]

 Fernando Verdasco
2009 French Open[14]

 Marcin Matkowski
2009 ATP World Tour Finals

 Dominic Thiem
2017 Gerry Weber Open

text: Women[edit]

text:
Rank
Player
Speed[19]
Event[note 4]

1
 Sabine Lisicki
210.8 km/h (131.0 mph)
2014 Stanford Classic[20]

2
 Venus Williams
207.6 km/h (129.0 mph)
2007 US Open

3
 Ivana Jorović
207 km/h (129 mph)
2017 Fed Cup

4
 Serena Williams
206.4 km/h (128.3 mph)
2013 Australian Open

5
 Julia Görges
203.0 km/h (126.1 mph)
2012 French Open

 Caroline Garcia
2016 Fed Cup

7
 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy
202.7 km/h (126.0 mph)
2007 Indian Wells Masters

8
 Nadiya Kichenok
202.0 km/h (125.5 mph)
2014 Australian Open

9
 Naomi Osaka
201.2 km/h (125.0 mph)
2016 US Open

 Lucie Hradecká
2015 Wimbledon

11
 Anna-Lena Grönefeld
201.1 km/h (125.0 mph)
2009 Indian Wells Masters

12
 Ana Ivanovic
201.0 km/h (124.9 mph)
2007 French Open

 Denisa Allertová
2015 Australian Open[21]

14
 Kristina Mladenovic
200.0 km/h (124.3 mph)
2009 French Open

text:
Jump up ^ In the match, Groth also hit serves recorded at 255.7 km/h (158.9 mph) and 253.5 km/h (157.5 mph)[6]
Jump up ^ The ATP does not officially recognize Janowicz's serve due to the radar guns used. His fastest verified serve clocked in at 149.3 mph (240 km/h) in the 2013 Davis Cup and he produced a 150.4 mph (242 km/h) serve during his run in the 2012 Paris Masters, but it was a let.[10]
Jump up ^ The serve by Roscoe Tanner in 1978 is not considered by many[Like whom?] as an official record due to the inaccuracy of the equipment used at that time.
Jump up ^ "IDS[clarification needed] only collects serve speed data on show courts at certain events (11 in 2014) and started doing so in 1989 ... Players who have had multiple Top 10 fastest serves only have their top one listed, and if they hit that top speed multiple times, just the first time they did it is listed." http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/1978722/title/ids-serve-speed-leaders

tag: ol


document_title: Master of Wine

question_text: how many masters of wine are there in the world

text: Master of Wine

text: Objectives[edit]

text: The Institute of Masters of Wine is a non-profit organization funded by its members and by corporate sponsorship from within the wine industry. Its stated objectives are:

text:
To promote the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of wine;
To uphold the highest standards within the wine industry;
To enhance personal and professional goals in pursuing wine-related activities.

text: Qualification[edit]

text: Before enrolling in the MW study programme, prospective students must hold an advanced wine qualification, at least Diploma level from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, or an appropriately high level sommelier certificate, such as Advanced Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers. Also, prospective students need to have a minimum of three years' professional work experience in the global wine community. Applicants must submit a basic essay, a tasting paper, a brief statement explaining their interest in becoming a Master of Wine, and a reference to support their application, from a Master of Wine or another senior wine trade professional. [4]

text: The study programme is made up of three stages. Stage 1 is the foundation year and gives students the opportunity to meet Masters of Wine and fellow students in both professional and social settings. Stage 1 assessment includes six pieces of work throughout the year, culminating in an exam that takes place in early June. The exam involves one tasting paper and two essays. Stage 2 is a crucial time for students - it can be very intense but immensely rewarding. Students must provide three pieces of work for assessment throughout the Stage 2 year, and must pass both the Theory and Practical parts of the June MW Examination in order to progress to the Research Paper in Stage 3. The Research paper is an individual paper of between 6,000 and 10,000 words in length, on a topic of the student's choice. The whole qualification takes at least three years to complete in full.

text: Membership[edit]

text: Until 1983, the examination was limited to United Kingdom wine importers, merchants and retailers.[5] The first non-UK Master of Wine was awarded in 1988. As of October 2017, there are 369 MWs in the world, living in 29 countries.[6] The MWs are spread across 5 continents, wherein UK has 208 MWs, USA has 45 MWs, Australia has 24 MWs and France only has 16 MWs. There are 9 countries with 1 MW each on the list.

text: Today, members hold a range of occupations including winemakers, viticulturists, winemaking consultants, wine writers and journalists, wine educators, and wine service, restaurant and hotel management. In addition, many are involved in the purchasing, importing, distribution, sales and marketing of wine. Typically, sommeliers choose to become Master Sommelier, but only a handful of individuals have achieved both qualifications.[7]

text: Notable Masters of Wine[edit]

text: Notable Masters of Wine include:[8]

text:
Tim Atkin
Susie Barrie
Gerard Basset
Nicolas Belfrage
Julian Brind
Michael Broadbent
Clive Coates
Mary Ewing-Mulligan
Doug Frost
Debra Meiburg
Ned Goodwin
Anthony Hanson
Jeannie Cho Lee
Benjamin Lewin
Brian McGrath
Jasper Morris
Jonathan Pedley
David Peppercorn
Peter Richards (television presenter) – features on Saturday Kitchen
Jancis Robinson
Arne Ronold
Igor Ryjenkov
Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan
Serena Sutcliffe


document_title: Maryland

question_text: where did the state of maryland get its name

question_tokens: where did the state of maryland get its name

text: Maryland

text: Geography[edit]

text: Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles (32,133.2 km2) and is comparable in overall area with Belgium (11,787 square miles (30,530 km2)).[15] It is the 42nd largest and 9th smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii (10,930.98 square miles (28,311.1 km2)), the next smallest state. The next largest state, its neighbor West Virginia, is almost twice the size of Maryland (24,229.76 square miles (62,754.8 km2)).

text: Description[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Maryland possesses a variety of topography within its borders, contributing to its nickname America in Miniature. It ranges from sandy dunes dotted with seagrass in the east, to low marshlands teeming with wildlife and large bald cypress near the Chesapeake Bay, to gently rolling hills of oak forests in the Piedmont Region, and pine groves in the Maryland mountains to the west.

text: Maryland is bounded on its north by Pennsylvania, on its west by West Virginia, on its east by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean, and on its south, across the Potomac River, by West Virginia and Virginia. The mid-portion of this border is interrupted by Washington, D.C., which sits on land that was originally part of Montgomery and Prince George's counties and including the town of Georgetown, Maryland. This land was ceded to the United States Federal Government in 1790 to form the District of Columbia. (The Commonwealth of Virginia gave land south of the Potomac, including the town of Alexandria, Virginia, however Virginia retroceded its portion in 1846). The Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore.

text: Most of the state's waterways are part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with the exceptions of a tiny portion of extreme western Garrett County (drained by the Youghiogheny River as part of the watershed of the Mississippi River), the eastern half of Worcester County (which drains into Maryland's Atlantic coastal bays), and a small portion of the state's northeast corner (which drains into the Delaware River watershed). So prominent is the Chesapeake in Maryland's geography and economic life that there has been periodic agitation to change the state's official nickname to the "Bay State", a nickname that has been used by Massachusetts for decades.

text: The highest point in Maryland, with an elevation of 3,360 feet (1,020 m), is Hoye Crest on Backbone Mountain, in the southwest corner of Garrett County, near the border with West Virginia, and near the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac River. Close to the small town of Hancock, in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state, there are 1.83 miles (2.95 km) between its borders. This geographical curiosity makes Maryland the narrowest state,[citation needed] bordered by the Mason–Dixon line to the north, and the northwards-arching Potomac River to the south.

text: Portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. For example, the Delmarva Peninsula is composed of the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland, the entire state of Delaware, and the two counties that make up the Eastern Shore of Virginia, whereas the westernmost counties of Maryland are considered part of Appalachia. Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of the Piedmont in the Coastal Plain,[16] though it straddles the border between the two regions.

text: Geology[edit]

text: Earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the state's distance from seismic/earthquake zones.[17][18] The M5.8 Virginia earthquake in 2011 was felt moderately throughout Maryland. Buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily.[citation needed]

text: The lack of any glacial history accounts for the scarcity of Maryland's natural lakes, yet the oft-repeated claim[19] that Maryland is the only state without natural lakes is not true. Laurel Oxbow Lake is an over one-hundred-year-old 55-acre natural lake two miles north of Maryland City[20][21][22] and adjacent to Russett. "Chews Lake" is a seven-acre natural lake two miles south-southeast of Upper Marlboro.[23] There are numerous man-made lakes, the largest of them being the Deep Creek Lake, a reservoir in Garrett County in westernmost Maryland.

text: Maryland has shale formations containing natural gas, where fracking is theoretically possible.[24]

text: Flora[edit]

text: As is typical of states on the East Coast, Maryland's plant life is abundant and healthy. A good dose of annual precipitation helps to support many types of plants, including seagrass and various reeds at the smaller end of the spectrum to the gigantic Wye Oak, a huge example of white oak, the state tree, which can grow in excess of 70 feet (21 m) tall.

text: Middle Atlantic coastal forests, typical of the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain, grow around Chesapeake Bay and on the Delmarva Peninsula. Moving west, a mixture of Northeastern coastal forests and Southeastern mixed forests cover the central part of the state. The Appalachian Mountains of western Maryland are home to Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests. These give way to Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests near the West Virginia border.[26]

text: Many foreign species are cultivated in the state, some as ornamentals, others as novelty species. Included among these are the crape myrtle, Italian cypress, southern magnolia, live oak in the warmer parts of the state,[27] and even hardy palm trees in the warmer central and eastern parts of the state.[28] USDA plant hardiness zones in the state range from Zones 5 and 6 in the extreme western part of the state to Zone 7 in the central part, and Zone 8 around the southern part of the coast, the bay area, and parts of metropolitan Baltimore.[29] Invasive plant species, such as kudzu, tree of heaven, multiflora rose, and Japanese stiltgrass, stifle growth of endemic plant life.[30] Maryland's state flower, the black-eyed susan, grows in abundance in wild flower groups throughout the state. The state insect, the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly, is not common as it is near the southern edge of its range.[31] 435 species of birds have been reported from Maryland.[32]

text: Fauna[edit]

text: The state harbors a great number of white tailed deer, especially in the woody and mountainous west of the state, and overpopulation can become a problem from year to year. Mammals can be found ranging from the mountains in the west to the central areas and include black bears,[33] bobcats,[34] foxes, coyotes,[35] raccoons, and otters.[33]

text: There is a population of rare wild (feral) horses found on Assateague Island.[36] They are believed to be descended from horses who escaped from shipwrecks.[36] Every year during the last week of July, they are captured and waded across a shallow bay for sale at Chincoteague, Virginia, a conservation technique which ensures the tiny island is not overrun by the horses.[36] The ponies and their sale were popularized by the children's book, Misty of Chincoteague.

text: The purebred Chesapeake Bay Retriever dog was bred specifically for water sports, hunting and search and rescue in the Chesapeake area.[37] In 1878 the Chesapeake Bay Retriever was the first individual retriever breed recognized by the American Kennel Club.[37] and was later adopted by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as their mascot.

text: Maryland's reptile and amphibian population includes the diamondback terrapin turtle, which was adopted as the mascot of University of Maryland, College Park. The state is part of the territory of the Baltimore oriole, which is the official state bird and mascot of the MLB team the Baltimore Orioles.[38]

text: Environment[edit]

text: Maryland joined with neighboring states during the end of the 20th century to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. The bay's aquatic life and seafood industry have been threatened by development and by fertilizer and livestock waste entering the bay.[39][40]

text: In 2007, Forbes.com rated Maryland as the fifth "Greenest" state in the country behind three of the Pacific States and Vermont. Maryland ranks 40th in total energy consumption nationwide, and it managed less toxic waste per capita than all but six states in 2005.[41] In April 2007 Maryland joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)—a regional initiative formed by all of the Northeastern states, Washington D.C., and three Canadian provinces to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[citation needed] In March 2017, Maryland became the first state with proven gas reserves to ban fracking by passing a law against it. Vermont has such a law, but no shale gas, and New York has such a ban, though it was made by executive order.[24]

text: Climate[edit]

text: Maryland has a wide array of climates, due to local variances in elevation, proximity to water, and protection from colder weather due to downslope winds.

text: The eastern half of Maryland—which includes the cities of Ocean City, Salisbury, Annapolis, and the southern and eastern suburbs of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore—lies on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, with flat topography and sandy or muddy soil. This region has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with hot, humid summers and a short, mild to cool winter; it falls under USDA Hardiness zone 8a.[29]

text: The Piedmont region—which includes northern and western greater Baltimore, Westminster, Gaithersburg, Frederick, and Hagerstown—has average seasonal snowfall totals generally exceeding 20 inches (51 cm) and, as part of USDA Hardiness zones 7b and 7a,[29] temperatures below 10 °F (−12 °C) are less rare. From the Cumberland Valley on westward, the climate begins to transition to a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa).

text: In western Maryland, the higher elevations of Allegany and Garrett counties—including the cities of Cumberland, Frostburg, and Oakland—display more characteristics of the humid continental zone, due in part to elevation. They fall under USDA Hardiness zones 6b and below.[29]

text: Precipitation[edit]

text: Precipitation in the state is characteristic of the East Coast. Annual rainfall ranges from 35 to 45 inches (890 to 1,140 mm) with more in higher elevations. Nearly every part of Maryland receives 3.5–4.5 inches (89–114 mm) per month of rain. Average annual snowfall varies from 9 inches (23 cm) in the coastal areas to over 100 inches (250 cm) in the western mountains of the state.[42]

text: Hurricanes and tornadoes[edit]

text: Because of its location near the Atlantic Coast, Maryland is somewhat vulnerable to tropical cyclones, although the Delmarva Peninsula and the outer banks of North Carolina provide a large buffer, such that strikes from major hurricanes (category 3 or above) occur infrequently. More often, Maryland gets the remnants of a tropical system which has already come ashore and released most of its energy. Maryland averages around 30–40 days of thunderstorms a year, and averages around six tornado strikes annually.[43]

text:
Monthly average high and low temperatures for various Maryland cities and landmarks (covering breadth and width of the state)

City
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Hyattsville
47 °F (8 °C)
29 °F (−2 °C)
51 °F (11 °C)
31 °F (−1 °C)
60 °F (16 °C)
38 °F (3 °C)
70 °F (21 °C)
46 °F (8 °C)
78 °F (26 °C)
55 °F (13 °C)
86 °F (30 °C)
64 °F (18 °C)
89 °F (32 °C)
69 °F (21 °C)
87 °F (31 °C)
67 °F (19 °C)
81 °F (27 °C)
60 °F (16 °C)
71 °F (22 °C)
49 °F (9 °C)
61 °F (16 °C)
41 °F (5 °C)
50 °F (10 °C)
32 °F (0 °C)

Oakland
34 °F (1 °C)
16 °F (−9 °C)
38 °F (3 °C)
17 °F (−8 °C)
48 °F (9 °C)
25 °F (−4 °C)
59 °F (15 °C)
34 °F (1 °C)
68 °F (20 °C)
45 °F (7 °C)
75 °F (24 °C)
53 °F (12 °C)
79 °F (26 °C)
58 °F (14 °C)
78 °F (26 °C)
56 °F (13 °C)
71 °F (22 °C)
49 °F (9 °C)
62 °F (17 °C)
37 °F (3 °C)
50 °F (10 °C)
28 °F (−2 °C)
39 °F (4 °C)
21 °F (−6 °C)

Cumberland
41 °F (5 °C)
22 °F (−6 °C)
46 °F (8 °C)
24 °F (−4 °C)
56 °F (13 °C)
32 °F (0 °C)
68 °F (20 °C)
41 °F (5 °C)
77 °F (25 °C)
51 °F (11 °C)
85 °F (29 °C)
60 °F (16 °C)
89 °F (32 °C)
65 °F (18 °C)
87 °F (31 °C)
63 °F (17 °C)
80 °F (27 °C)
55 °F (13 °C)
69 °F (21 °C)
43 °F (6 °C)
57 °F (14 °C)
34 °F (1 °C)
45 °F (7 °C)
26 °F (−3 °C)

Hagerstown
39 °F (4 °C)
22 °F (−6 °C)
42 °F (6 °C)
23 °F (−5 °C)
52 °F (11 °C)
30 °F (−1 °C)
63 °F (17 °C)
39 °F (4 °C)
72 °F (22 °C)
50 °F (10 °C)
81 °F (27 °C)
59 °F (15 °C)
85 °F (29 °C)
64 °F (18 °C)
83 °F (28 °C)
62 °F (17 °C)
76 °F (24 °C)
54 °F (12 °C)
65 °F (18 °C)
43 °F (6 °C)
54 °F (12 °C)
34 °F (1 °C)
43 °F (6 °C)
26 °F (−3 °C)

Frederick
42 °F (6 °C)
26 °F (−3 °C)
47 °F (8 °C)
28 °F (−2 °C)
56 °F (13 °C)
35 °F (2 °C)
68 °F (20 °C)
45 °F (7 °C)
77 °F (25 °C)
54 °F (12 °C)
85 °F (29 °C)
63 °F (17 °C)
89 °F (32 °C)
68 °F (20 °C)
87 °F (31 °C)
66 °F (19 °C)
80 °F (27 °C)
59 °F (15 °C)
68 °F (20 °C)
47 °F (8 °C)
56 °F (13 °C)
38 °F (3 °C)
45 °F (7 °C)
30 °F (−1 °C)

Baltimore
42 °F (6 °C)
29 °F (−2 °C)
46 °F (8 °C)
31 °F (−1 °C)
54 °F (12 °C)
39 °F (4 °C)
65 °F (18 °C)
48 °F (9 °C)
75 °F (24 °C)
57 °F (14 °C)
85 °F (29 °C)
67 °F (19 °C)
90 °F (32 °C)
72 °F (22 °C)
87 °F (31 °C)
71 °F (22 °C)
80 °F (27 °C)
64 °F (18 °C)
68 °F (20 °C)
52 °F (11 °C)
58 °F (14 °C)
43 °F (6 °C)
46 °F (8 °C)
33 °F (1 °C)

Elkton
42 °F (6 °C)
24 °F (−4 °C)
46 °F (8 °C)
26 °F (−3 °C)
55 °F (13 °C)
32 °F (0 °C)
67 °F (19 °C)
42 °F (6 °C)
76 °F (24 °C)
51 °F (11 °C)
85 °F (29 °C)
61 °F (16 °C)
88 °F (31 °C)
66 °F (19 °C)
87 °F (31 °C)
65 °F (18 °C)
80 °F (27 °C)
57 °F (14 °C)
69 °F (21 °C)
45 °F (7 °C)
58 °F (14 °C)
36 °F (2 °C)
46 °F (8 °C)
28 °F (−2 °C)

Ocean City
45 °F (7 °C)
28 °F (−2 °C)
46 °F (8 °C)
29 °F (−2 °C)
53 °F (12 °C)
35 °F (2 °C)
61 °F (16 °C)
44 °F (7 °C)
70 °F (21 °C)
53 °F (12 °C)
79 °F (26 °C)
63 °F (17 °C)
84 °F (29 °C)
68 °F (20 °C)
82 °F (28 °C)
67 °F (19 °C)
77 °F (25 °C)
60 °F (16 °C)
68 °F (20 °C)
51 °F (11 °C)
58 °F (14 °C)
39 °F (4 °C)
49 °F (9 °C)
32 °F (0 °C)

Waldorf
44 °F (7 °C)
26 °F (−3 °C)
49 °F (9 °C)
28 °F (−2 °C)
58 °F (14 °C)
35 °F (2 °C)
68 °F (20 °C)
43 °F (6 °C)
75 °F (24 °C)
53 °F (12 °C)
81 °F (27 °C)
62 °F (17 °C)
85 °F (29 °C)
67 °F (19 °C)
83 °F (28 °C)
65 °F (18 °C)
78 °F (26 °C)
59 °F (15 °C)
68 °F (20 °C)
47 °F (8 °C)
59 °F (15 °C)
38 °F (3 °C)
48 °F (9 °C)
30 °F (−1 °C)

Point Lookout State Park
47 °F (8 °C)
29 °F (−2 °C)
51 °F (11 °C)
31 °F (−1 °C)
60 °F (16 °C)
38 °F (3 °C)
70 °F (21 °C)
46 °F (8 °C)
78 °F (26 °C)
55 °F (13 °C)
86 °F (30 °C)
64 °F (18 °C)
89 °F (32 °C)
69 °F (21 °C)
87 °F (31 °C)
67 °F (19 °C)
81 °F (27 °C)
60 °F (16 °C)
71 °F (22 °C)
49 °F (9 °C)
61 °F (16 °C)
41 °F (5 °C)
50 °F (10 °C)
32 °F (0 °C)

[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]

text: Adjacent states[edit]

text:
Pennsylvania (north)
Virginia (south)
District of Columbia (south)
Delaware (east)
West Virginia (west)

text: History[edit]

text: 17th century[edit]

text: Maryland's first colonial settlement[edit]

text: The Catholic George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore (1579–1632), sought a charter from King Charles I for the territory between Massachusetts to the north and Virginia to the immediate south.[54] After George Calvert 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 of England.[55] Alternatively, Some Catholic scholars and historians believe Maryland may have been named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, by George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore prior to his death in 1632. His original intent may never fully be known. The specific name given in the charter was phrased Terra Mariae, anglice, Maryland. The English name was preferred due to undesired associations of Mariae with the Spanish Jesuit Juan de Mariana, linked to the Inquisition. In addition, Henrietta was never referred to by both her first and middle name. Scholars also agree that under no circumstances was a territory ever named after someone's middle name. Many agree[who?] that since 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,[56] was named St. Mary's County – Maryland was most likely named after Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. The great seal of Maryland also supports this conclusion. The obverse side of the seal reads TERRÆ MARIÆ,[57] which translates in Latin as "Land of Mary" instead of TERRÆ MARIA, which would acknowledge Henrietta's middle name.[58]

text: Lord Baltimore's first settlers arrived in the new colony in March 1634, with his younger brother 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.[59]

text: Persecution of Catholics[edit]

text: Maryland was founded for the purpose of providing religious toleration of England's Roman Catholic minority.[60] In 1642 a number of Puritans left Virginia for Maryland and founded Providence (now called Annapolis) on the western shore of the upper Chesapeake Bay.[61] A dispute with traders from Virginia over Kent Island in the Chesapeake led to armed conflict. In 1644 William Claiborne, a Puritan, seized Kent Island while his associate, the pro-Parliament Puritan Richard Ingle, took over St. Mary's.[62] Both used religion as a tool to gain popular support. The two years from 1644–1646 that Claiborne and his Puritan associates held sway were known as "The Plundering Time". They captured Jesuit priests, imprisoned them, then sent them back to England.

text: In 1646 Leonard Calvert returned with troops, recaptured St. Mary's City, and restored order. The House of Delegates passed the "Act concerning Religion" in 1649 granting religious liberty to all Trinitarian Christians.[59]

text: In 1650 the Puritans revolted against the proprietary government. "Protestants swept the Catholics out of the legislature ...and religious strife returned".[59] The Puritans set up a new government prohibiting both Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism. The Puritan revolutionary government persecuted Maryland Catholics during its reign, known as the "plundering time". Mobs burned down all the original Catholic churches of southern Maryland. The Puritan rule lasted until 1658 when the Calvert family and Lord Baltimore regained proprietary control and re-enacted the Toleration Act.

text: After England's "Glorious Revolution" of 1688, Maryland outlawed Catholicism. This lasted until after the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Wealthy Catholic planters built chapels on their land to practice their religion in relative secrecy.

text: Border disputes (1681–1760)[edit]

text: The royal charter granted Maryland the land north of the Potomac River up to the 40th parallel. A problem arose when Charles II granted a charter for Pennsylvania. The grant defined Pennsylvania's southern border as identical to Maryland's northern border, the 40th parallel. But the grant indicated that Charles II and William Penn assumed the 40th parallel would pass close to New Castle, Delaware when it falls north of Philadelphia, the site of which Penn had already selected for his colony's capital city. Negotiations ensued after the problem was discovered in 1681.

text: A compromise proposed by Charles II in 1682 was undermined by Penn's receiving the additional grant of what is now Delaware.[63] Penn successfully argued that the Maryland charter entitled Lord Baltimore only to unsettled lands, and Dutch settlement in Delaware predated his charter. The dispute remained unresolved for nearly a century, carried on by the descendants of William Penn and Lord Baltimore — the Calvert family, which controlled Maryland, and the Penn family, which controlled Pennsylvania.[63]

text: The border dispute with Pennsylvania led to Cresap's War in the 1730s. Hostilities erupted in 1730 and escalated through the first half of the decade, culminating in the deployment of military forces by Maryland in 1736 and by Pennsylvania in 1737. The armed phase of the conflict ended in May 1738 with the intervention of King George II, who compelled the negotiation of a cease-fire. A provisional agreement had been established in 1732.[63]

text: Negotiations continued until a final agreement was signed in 1760. The agreement defined the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania as the line of latitude now known as the Mason–Dixon line. Maryland's border with Delaware was based on a Transpeninsular Line and the Twelve-Mile Circle around New Castle.[63]

text: 18th century[edit]

text: Most of the English colonists arrived in Maryland as indentured servants, and had to serve a several years' term as laborers to pay for their passage.[64] In the early years, the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid, and white and black laborers commonly lived and worked together, and formed unions. Mixed-race children born to white mothers were considered free by the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, by which children took the social status of their mothers, a principle of slave law that was adopted throughout the colonies, following Virginia in 1662. During the colonial era, families of free people of color were formed most often by unions of white women and African men.[65]

text: Many of the free black families migrated to Delaware, where land was cheaper.[65] As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in England, planters in Maryland imported thousands more slaves and racial caste lines hardened. The economy's growth and prosperity was based on slave labor, devoted first to the production of tobacco as the commodity crop.

text: Maryland was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. On February 2, 1781, Maryland became the 13th state to approve the ratification of the Articles of Confederation which brought into being the United States as a united, sovereign and national state. It also became the seventh state admitted to the U.S. after ratifying the new Constitution. In December 1790 Maryland donated land selected by President George Washington to the federal government for the creation of the new national capital of Washington, D.C. The land was provided from Montgomery and Prince George's counties, as well as from Fairfax County and Alexandria in Virginia; however, the land donated by Virginia was later returned to that state by the District of Columbia retrocession.

text: 19th century[edit]

text: This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Influenced by a changing economy, revolutionary ideals, and preaching by ministers, numerous planters in Maryland freed their slaves in the 20 years after the Revolutionary War. Across the Upper South the free black population increased from less than 1% before the war to 14% by 1810.[66]

text: During the War of 1812, the British military attempted to capture Baltimore, which was protected by Fort McHenry. During this bombardment the song "Star Spangled Banner" was written by Francis Scott Key; it was later adopted as the national anthem.

text: The National Road (U.S. Hwy 40 today) was authorized in 1817 and ran from Baltimore to St. Louis – the first federal highway. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) was the first chartered railroad in the United States. It opened its first section of track for regular operation in 1830 between Baltimore and Ellicott City,[67] and in 1852 it became the first rail line to reach the Ohio River from the eastern seaboard.[68]

text: Civil War[edit]

text: The state remained with the Union during the Civil War,[69] due in significant part to demographics and Federal intervention. By 1860, 49% of Maryland's African Americans were free blacks.[66]

text: Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks suspended the state legislature, and to help ensure the election of a new pro-union governor and legislature, President Abraham Lincoln had a number of its pro-slavery politicians arrested, including the Mayor of Baltimore, George William Brown; suspended several civil liberties, including habeas corpus; and ordered artillery placed on Federal Hill overlooking Baltimore. Historians debate the constitutionality of these wartime actions, and the suspension of civil liberties was later deemed illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court.[citation needed]

text: In April 1861 Federal units and state regiments were attacked as they marched through Baltimore, sparking the Baltimore riot of 1861, the first bloodshed in the Civil War.[70] Of the 115,000 men from Maryland who joined the military during the Civil War, 85,000, or 77%, joined the Union army, while the remainder joined the Confederate Army.[citation needed] The largest and most significant battle in the state was the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg. Although a tactical draw, the battle was considered a strategic Union victory and a turning point of the war.

text: After the war[edit]

text: A new state constitution in 1864 abolished slavery, and following passage of constitutional amendments that granted voting rights to freedmen, in 1867 the state extended suffrage to non-white males.

text: The Democratic Party rapidly regained power in the state from Republicans. Democrats replaced the Constitution of 1864 with the Constitution of 1867. Following the end of Reconstruction in 1877, Democrats devised means of disfranchising blacks, initially by physical intimidation and voter fraud, later by constitutional amendments and laws. Blacks and immigrants, however, resisted Democratic Party disfranchisement efforts in the state. Maryland blacks were part of a biracial Republican coalition elected to state government in 1896–1904 and comprised 20% of the electorate.[71]

text: Compared to some other states, blacks were better established both before and after the civil war. Nearly half the population was free before the war, and some had accumulated property. Half the population lived in cities. Literacy was high among blacks and, as Democrats crafted means to exclude them, suffrage campaigns helped reach blacks and teach them how to resist.[71] Whites did impose racial segregation in public facilities and Jim Crow laws, which effectively lasted until passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s.

text: Baltimore grew significantly during the Industrial Revolution, due in large part to its seaport and good railroad connections, attracting European immigrant labor. Many manufacturing businesses were established in the Baltimore area after the Civil War. Baltimore businessmen, including Johns Hopkins, Enoch Pratt, George Peabody, and Henry Walters, founded notable city institutions that bear their names, including a university, library, music school and art museum.

text: Cumberland was Maryland's second-largest city in the 19th century. Nearby supplies of natural resources along with railroads fostered its growth into a major manufacturing center.[72]

text: 20th century[edit]

text: Early 20th century[edit]

text: The Progressive Era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought political reforms. In a series of laws passed between 1892 and 1908, reformers worked for standard state-issued ballots (rather than those distributed and marked by the parties); obtained closed voting booths to prevent party workers from "assisting" voters; initiated primary elections to keep party bosses from selecting candidates; and had candidates listed without party symbols, which discouraged the illiterate from participating. These measures worked against ill-educated whites and blacks. Blacks resisted such efforts, with suffrage groups conducting voter education. Blacks defeated three efforts to disfranchise them, making alliances with immigrants to resist various Democratic campaigns.[71] Disfranchising bills in 1905, 1907, and 1911 were rebuffed, in large part because of black opposition. Blacks comprised 20% of the electorate and immigrants comprised 15%, and the legislature had difficulty devising requirements against blacks that did not also disadvantage immigrants.[71]

text: The Progressive Era also brought reforms in working conditions for Maryland's labor force. In 1902 the state regulated conditions in mines; outlawed child laborers under the age of 12; mandated compulsory school attendance; and enacted the nation's first workers' compensation law. The workers' compensation law was overturned in the courts, but was redrafted and finally enacted in 1910.

text: The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 burned over 30 hours, destroying 1,526 buildings and spanning 70 city blocks. More than 1,231 firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control. With the nation's entry into World War I in 1917, new military bases such as Camp Meade, the Aberdeen Proving Ground, and the Edgewood Arsenal were established. Existing facilities, including Fort McHenry, were greatly expanded.

text: Maryland's urban and rural communities had different experiences during the Great Depression. The "Bonus Army" marched through the state in 1932 on its way to Washington, D.C. Maryland instituted its first ever income tax in 1937 to generate revenue for schools and welfare.[73] Baltimore was a major war production center during World War II. The biggest operations were Bethlehem Steel's Fairfield Yard, which built Liberty ships; and Glenn Martin, an aircraft manufacturer.

text: Maryland experienced population growth following World War II, particularly in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. suburbs. Agricultural tracts gave way to residential communities such as Columbia and Montgomery Village. Concurrently the Interstate Highway System was built throughout the state, most notably I-95 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.[74]

text: Maryland's regions experienced economic changes following WWII. Heavy manufacturing declined in Baltimore. In Maryland's four westernmost counties, industrial, railroad, and coal mining jobs declined. On the lower Eastern Shore, family farms were bought up by major concerns and large-scale poultry farms and vegetable farming became prevalent. In Southern Maryland, tobacco farming nearly vanished due to suburban development and a state tobacco buy-out program.

text: In an effort to reverse depopulation due to the loss of working-class industries, Baltimore initiated urban renewal projects in the 1960s with Charles Center and the Baltimore World Trade Center. Some resulted in the break-up of intact residential neighborhoods, producing social volatility, and some older residential areas around the harbor have had units renovated and have become popular with new populations.

text: Demographics[edit]

text: The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Maryland was 6,006,401 on July 1, 2015, a 4.03% increase since the 2010 United States Census.[75]

text: In 2015 Maryland had an estimated population of 6,006,401, which is an increase of 29,994, from the prior year and an increase of 232,849, or 4.03% percent, since 2010. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 189,158 people (that is 464,251 births minus 275,093 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 116,713 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 129,730 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 13,017 people.

text: The center of population of Maryland is located on the county line between Anne Arundel County and Howard County, in the unincorporated community of Jessup.[76]

text: Maryland's history as a border state has led it to exhibit characteristics of both the Northern and Southern regions of the United States. Generally, rural Western Maryland between the West Virginian Panhandle and Pennsylvania has an Appalachian culture; the Southern and Eastern Shore regions of Maryland embody a Southern culture,[77] while densely populated Central Maryland—radiating outward from Baltimore and Washington, D.C.—has more in common with that of the Northeast.[78] The U.S. Census Bureau designates Maryland as one of the South Atlantic States, but it is commonly associated with the Mid-Atlantic States and/or Northeastern United States by other federal agencies, the media, and some residents.[79][80][81][82][83]

text: Birth data[edit]

text: As of 2011, 58.0 percent of Maryland's population younger than age 1 were non-white.[84]

text: Note: Births in table don't add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.

text:
Live Births by Race/Ethnicity of Mother

Race
2013[85]
2014[86]
2015[87]

White:
41,474 (57.6%)
42,525 (57.5%)
42,471 (57.7%)

Non-Hispanic White
32,568 (45.2%)
33,178 (44.9%)
32,412 (44.0%)

Black
24,764 (34.4%)
25,339 (34.3%)
25,017 (34.0%)

Asian
5,415 (7.5%)
5,797 (7.8%)
5,849 (7.9%)

Native
300 (0.4%)
260 (0.3%)
279 (0.4%)

Hispanic (of any race)
10,515 (14.6%)
10,974 (14.8%)
11,750 (16.0%)

Total Maryland
71,953 (100%)
73,921 (100%)
73,616 (100%)

text: Language[edit]

text: Spanish (including Spanish Creole) is the second-most-spoken language in Maryland, after English. The third- and fourth-most-spoken languages are French (including Patois and Cajun) and Chinese. Other commonly spoken languages include various African languages, Korean, German, Tagalog, Russian, Vietnamese, Italian, various Asian languages, Persian, Hindi and other Indic languages, Greek and Arabic.[88]

text: Settlements[edit]

text: Most of the population of Maryland lives in the central region of the state, in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area and Washington Metropolitan Area, both of which are part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The majority of Maryland's population is concentrated in the cities and suburbs surrounding Washington, D.C., as well as in and around Maryland's most populous city, Baltimore. Historically, these and many other Maryland cities developed along the Fall Line, the line along which rivers, brooks, and streams are interrupted by rapids and/or waterfalls. Maryland's capital city, Annapolis, is one exception to this pattern, since it lies along the banks of the Severn River, close to where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

text: The Eastern Shore is less populous and more rural, as are the counties of western Maryland. The two westernmost counties of Maryland, Allegany and Garrett, are mountainous and sparsely populated, resembling West Virginia and Appalachia more than they do the rest of Maryland. Both eastern and western Maryland are, however, dotted with cities of regional importance, such as Ocean City, Princess Anne, and Salisbury on the Eastern Shore and Cumberland, Frostburg, and Hancock in Western Maryland. Southern Maryland is still somewhat rural, but suburbanization from Washington, D.C. has encroached significantly since the 1960s; important local population centers include Lexington Park, Prince Frederick, and Waldorf.[89][90]

text:
v
t
e

Largest cities or towns in Maryland
2010 U.S. Census populations

Rank
Name
County
Pop.

Baltimore

Columbia
1
Baltimore
Independent city
620,961

Germantown

Silver Spring

2
Columbia
Howard
99,615

3
Germantown
Montgomery
86,395

4
Silver Spring
Montgomery
71,452

5
Waldorf
Charles
67,752

6
Glen Burnie
Anne Arundel
67,639

7
Ellicott City
Howard
65,834

8
Frederick
Frederick
65,239

9
Dundalk
Baltimore
63,597

10
Rockville
Montgomery
61,209

text: Ancestry[edit]

text:
Historical population

Census
Pop.

%±

1790
319,728

—

1800
341,548

6.8%

1810
380,546

11.4%

1820
407,350

7.0%

1830
447,040

9.7%

1840
470,019

5.1%

1850
583,034

24.0%

1860
687,049

17.8%

1870
780,894

13.7%

1880
934,943

19.7%

1890
1,042,390

11.5%

1900
1,188,044

14.0%

1910
1,295,346

9.0%

1920
1,449,661

11.9%

1930
1,631,526

12.5%

1940
1,821,244

11.6%

1950
2,343,001

28.6%

1960
3,100,689

32.3%

1970
3,922,399

26.5%

1980
4,216,975

7.5%

1990
4,781,468

13.4%

2000
5,296,486

10.8%

2010
5,773,552

9.0%

Est. 2016
6,016,447

4.2%

Source: 1910–2010[91]
2015 estimate[75]

text:
Maryland Racial Breakdown of Population

[hide]Racial composition
1970[92]
1990[92]
2000[93]
2010[94]

White
81.5%
71.0%
64.0%
60.8%

Black
17.8%
24.9%
27.9%
29.8%

Asian
0.5%
2.9%
4.0%
5.5%

Native
0.1%
0.3%
0.3%
0.3%

Other race
0.1%
0.9%
1.8%
3.6%

Two or more races
–
–
2.0%
2.9%

Non-Hispanic whites
80.4%
69.6%
62.1%
54.7%

text: In 1970 the Census Bureau reported Maryland's population as 17.8 percent African-American and 80.4 percent non-Hispanic White.[95]

text: African Americans form a sizable portion of the state's population – nearly 30 percent in 2010.[96] Most are descendants of people transported to the area as slaves from West Africa, and many are of mixed race, including European and Native American ancestry. New residents of African descent include 20th-century and later immigrants from Nigeria, particularly of the Igbo and Yoruba tribes.[97] Concentrations of African Americans live in Baltimore City, Prince George's County, a suburb of Washington, D.C., where many work; Charles County, western parts of Baltimore County, and the southern Eastern Shore.

text: The top reported ancestries by Maryland residents are: German (15%), Irish (11%), English (8%), American (7%), Italian (6%), and Polish (3%).[98]

text: Irish American populations can be found throughout the Baltimore area,[99] and the Northern and Eastern suburbs of Washington D.C. in Maryland (descendents of those who moved out to the suburbs[100] of Washington's once predominantly Irish neighborhoods[100][101]), as well as Western Maryland, where Irish immigrant laborers helped to build the C & O Railroad.[99] Smaller but much older Irish populations can be found in Southern Maryland, with some roots dating as far back as the early Maryland colony.[102] This population, however, still remains culturally very active and yearly festivals are held.[103]

text: A large percentage of the population of the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland are descendants of British American ancestry. The Eastern Shore was settled by Protestants, chiefly Methodist and the southern counties were initially settled by English Catholics. Western and northern Maryland have large German-American populations. More recent European immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th century settled first in Baltimore, attracted to its industrial jobs. Many of their ethnic Italian, Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, and Greek descendants still live in the area.

text: Large ethnic minorities include Eastern Europeans such as Croatians, Belarusians, Russians and Ukrainians. The shares of European immigrants born in Eastern Europe increased significantly between 1990 and 2010. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, many immigrants from Eastern Europe came to the United States - 12 percent of which currently reside in Maryland.[104][105]

text: Hispanic immigrants of the later 20th century have settled in Aspen Hill, Hyattsville/Langley Park, Glenmont/Wheaton, Bladensburg, Riverdale Park, Gaithersburg, as well as Highlandtown and Greektown in East Baltimore. Salvadorans are the largest Hispanic group in Maryland. Other Hispanic groups with significant populations in the state include Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and Hondurans. Though the Salvadoran population is more concentrated in the area around Washington, D.C., and the Puerto Rican population is more concentrated in the Baltimore area, all other major Hispanic groups in the state are evenly dispersed between these two areas. Maryland has one of the most diverse Hispanic populations in the country, with significant populations from various Caribbean and Central American nations.[106]

text: Jews are numerous throughout Montgomery County and in Pikesville and Owings Mills northwest of Baltimore. Asian Americans are concentrated in the suburban counties surrounding Washington, D.C. and in Howard County, with Korean American and Taiwanese American communities in Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Germantown and a Filipino American community in Fort Washington. Numerous Indian Americans live across the state, especially in central Maryland. Amish/Mennonite communities are found in St. Mary's, Garrett, and Cecil counties.[107]

text: Attracting educated Asians and Africans to the professional jobs in the region, Maryland has the fifth-largest proportions of racial minorities in the country.[108]

text: In 2006 645,744 were counted as foreign born, which represents mainly people from Latin America and Asia. About 4.0 percent are undocumented immigrants.[109] Maryland also has a large Korean American population.[110] In fact, 1.7 percent are Korean, while as a whole, almost 6.0 percent are Asian.[111]

text: According to The Williams Institute's analysis of the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,538 same-sex couples are living in Maryland, representing 5.8 same-sex couples per 1,000 households.[112]

text: As of 2016, non-Hispanic white Americans were 51.5% of Maryland's population, making Maryland on the verge of becoming a majority minority state. 48.5% of Maryland's population is non-white and/or Hispanic/Latino, the highest percentage of any state on the East Coast and the highest percentage after the majority minority states of Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, California and Nevada.[113] Non-Hispanic White Americans in Maryland, the majority as of 2016, are expected to become the plurality ethnic group within 5 years of 2015.[114] After Nevada in 2016, Maryland is projected to be the next state to become majority minority due to growing African-American, Asian and Latino populations. By 2031, minorities are projected to become the majority of voting eligible residents of Maryland.[115]

text: Religion[edit]

text:
Religion in Maryland (2014)[116]

religion

percent

Protestant

52%

None

23%

Catholic

15%

Jewish

3%

Other faiths

2%

Buddhist

1%

Hindu

1%

Islam

1%

Mormon

1%

Orthodox Christian

1%

text: According to Pew research 69 percent of Maryland's population identifies as Christian.[116] The largest religious groups in Maryland as of 2010 were: the Catholic Church with 837,338 adherents in Maryland, followed by non-denominational Evangelical Protestants with 298,921 members, and the United Methodist Church with 238,774. The Southern Baptist Convention has 150,345 members.[117] Judaism is the largest non-Christian religion in Maryland with 241,000 adherents, or 4 percent of the total population.[118] The Seventh-day Adventist Church's World Headquarters and Ahmadiyya Muslims national Headquarters is located in Silver Spring, just outside the District of Columbia.

text: Maryland has been prominent in U.S. Catholic tradition, partially because it was intended by George Calvert as a haven for English Catholics. Baltimore was the seat of the first Catholic bishop in the U.S. (1789), and Emmitsburg was the home and burial place of the first American-born citizen to be canonized, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Georgetown University, the first Catholic University, was founded in 1789 in what was then part of Maryland.[119] The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Baltimore was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States, and the Archbishop of Baltimore is, albeit without formal primacy, the United States' quasi-primate,[citation needed] and often a cardinal. Among the immigrants of the 19th and 20th century from eastern and southern Europe were many Catholics.

text: Economy[edit]

text: The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Maryland's gross state product in 2012 was $317.7 billion.[120] However, Maryland has been using Genuine Progress Indicator, an indicator of well-being, to guide the state's development, rather than relying only on growth indicators like GDP.[121][122] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maryland households are currently the wealthiest in the country, with a 2013 median household income of $72,483[123] which puts it ahead of New Jersey and Connecticut, which are second and third respectively. Two of Maryland's counties, Howard and Montgomery, are the second and eleventh wealthiest counties in the nation respectively. Maryland ranked No. 1 with the most millionaires per capita in 2013, with a ratio of 7.7 percent.[124] Also, the state's poverty rate of 7.8 percent is the lowest in the country.[125][126][127] per capita personal income in 2006 was $43,500, fifth in the nation. As of May 2014, the state's unemployment rate was 5.5 percent.[128]

text: Maryland's economy benefits from the state's close proximity to the federal government in Washington, D.C. with an emphasis on technical and administrative tasks for the defense/aerospace industry and bio-research laboratories, as well as staffing of satellite government headquarters in the suburban or exurban Baltimore/Washington area. Ft. Meade serves as the headquarters of the Defense Information Systems Agency, United States Cyber Command, and the National Security Agency/Central Security Service. In addition, a number of educational and medical research institutions are located in the state. In fact, the various components of The Johns Hopkins University and its medical research facilities are now the largest single employer in the Baltimore area. Altogether, white collar technical and administrative workers comprise 25 percent of Maryland's labor force,[citation needed] attributable in part to nearby Maryland being a part of the Washington Metro Area where the federal government office employment is relatively high.

text: Manufacturing, while large in dollar value, is highly diversified with no sub-sector contributing over 20 percent of the total. Typical forms of manufacturing include electronics, computer equipment, and chemicals. The once mighty primary metals sub-sector, which at one time included what was then the largest steel factory in the world at Sparrows Point, still exists, but is pressed with foreign competition, bankruptcies, and mergers. During World War II the Glenn Martin Company (now part of Lockheed Martin) airplane factory employed some 40,000 people.

text: Mining other than construction materials is virtually limited to coal, which is located in the mountainous western part of the state. The brownstone quarries in the east, which gave Baltimore and Washington much of their characteristic architecture in the mid-19th century, were once a predominant natural resource. Historically, there used to be small gold-mining operations in Maryland, some near Washington, but these no longer exist.

text: Baltimore port[edit]

text: One major service activity is transportation, centered on the Port of Baltimore and its related rail and trucking access. The port ranked 17th in the U.S. by tonnage in 2008.[129] Although the port handles a wide variety of products, the most typical imports are raw materials and bulk commodities, such as iron ore, petroleum, sugar, and fertilizers, often distributed to the relatively close manufacturing centers of the inland Midwest via good overland transportation. The port also receives several different brands of imported motor vehicles and is the number one auto port in the U.S.[130]

text: Baltimore City is the eighth largest port in the nation, and was at the center of the February 2006 controversy over the Dubai Ports World deal because it was considered to be of such strategic importance. The state as a whole is heavily industrialized, with a booming economy and influential technology centers. Its computer industries are some of the most sophisticated in the United States, and the federal government has invested heavily in the area. Maryland is home to several large military bases and scores of high level government jobs.

text: The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a 14 miles (23 km) canal on the Eastern Shore that connects the waters of the Delaware River with those of the Chesapeake Bay, and in particular with the Port of Baltimore, carrying 40 percent of the port's ship traffic.[131]

text: Agriculture and fishing[edit]

text: Maryland has a large food-production sector. A large component of this is commercial fishing, centered in the Chesapeake Bay, but also including activity off the short Atlantic seacoast. The largest catches by species are the blue crab, oysters, striped bass, and menhaden. The Bay also has overwintering waterfowl in its wildlife refuges. The waterfowl support a tourism sector of sportsmen.

text: Maryland has large areas of fertile agricultural land in its coastal and Piedmont zones, though this land use is being encroached upon by urbanization. Agriculture is oriented to dairy farming (especially in foothill and piedmont areas) for nearby large city milksheads plus specialty perishable horticulture crops, such as cucumbers, watermelons, sweet corn, tomatoes, muskmelons, squash, and peas (Source:USDA Crop Profiles). In addition, the southern counties of the western shoreline of Chesapeake Bay are warm enough to support a tobacco cash crop zone, which has existed since early Colonial times but declined greatly after a state government buyout in the 1990s. There is also a large automated chicken-farming sector in the state's southeastern part; Salisbury is home to Perdue Farms. Maryland's food-processing plants are the most significant type of manufacturing by value in the state.

text: Biotechnology[edit]

text: Maryland is a major center for life sciences research and development. With more than 400 biotechnology companies located there, Maryland is the fourth-largest nexus in this field in the United States.[132]

text: Institutions and government agencies with an interest in research and development located in Maryland include the Johns Hopkins University, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, more than one campus of the University System of Maryland, Goddard Space Flight Center, the United States Census Bureau, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Celera Genomics company, the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), and MedImmune – recently purchased by AstraZeneca.

text: Defense contractors[edit]

text: Maryland is home to defense contractor Emergent BioSolutions, which manufactures and provides an anthrax vaccine to U.S. government military personnel. As of April 2014, Emergent had sold over 66 million doses of BioThrax to the U.S. government.[133] Forbes recognized Emergent as the top performing company in the state of Maryland for the 2015–2016 fiscal year.[134]

text: Tourism[edit]

text: Tourism is popular in Maryland, with tourists visiting the city attractions of Baltimore, the beach attractions of the Eastern Shore, and the nature attractions of western Maryland, as well as many passing through en route to Washington, D.C. Baltimore attractions include the Harborplace and the Baltimore Aquarium, as well as the popular Camden Yards baseball stadium. Ocean City on the Atlantic Coast has been a popular beach destination in summer, particularly since the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was built in 1952 connecting the Eastern Shore to the more populated Maryland cities.[74]

text: Transportation[edit]

text: The Maryland Department of Transportation, headquartered in the Hanover area of unincorporated Anne Arundel County,[135] oversees most transportation in the state through its various administration-level agencies. The independent Maryland Transportation Authority, headquartered in Baltimore, maintains and operates the state's eight toll facilities.

text: Roads[edit]

text: Maryland's Interstate highways include 110 miles (180 km) of Interstate 95 (I-95), which enters the northeast portion of the state, travels through Baltimore, and becomes part of the eastern section of the Capital Beltway to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. I-68 travels 81 miles (130 km), connecting the western portions of the state to I-70 at the small town of Hancock. I-70 enters from Pennsylvania north of Hancock and continues east for 93 miles (150 km) to Baltimore, connecting Hagerstown and Frederick along the way.

text: I-83 has 34 miles (55 km) in Maryland and connects Baltimore to southern central Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and York, Pennsylvania). Maryland also has an 11-mile (18 km) portion of I-81 that travels through the state near Hagerstown. I-97, fully contained within Anne Arundel County and the second shortest (17.6 miles (28.3 km)) one- or two-digit Interstate highway which connects the Baltimore area to the Annapolis area. Hawaii has one that is shorter.[clarification needed]

text: There are also several auxiliary Interstate highways in Maryland. Among them are two beltways encircling the major cities of the region: I-695, the McKeldin (Baltimore) Beltway, which encircles Baltimore; and a portion of I-495, the Capital Beltway, which encircles Washington, D.C. I-270, which connects the Frederick area with Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia through major suburbs to the northwest of Washington, is a major commuter route and is as wide as fourteen lanes at points.

text: Both I-270 and the Capital Beltway were extremely congested; however, the Intercounty Connector (ICC; MD 200) alleviated some of the congestion over time. Construction of the ICC was a major part of the campaign platform of former Governor Robert Ehrlich, who was in office from 2003 until 2007, and of Governor Martin O'Malley, who succeeded him. I-595, which is an unsigned highway concurrent with US 50/US 301, is the longest unsigned interstate in the country and connects Prince George's County and Washington D.C. with Annapolis and the Eastern Shore via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

text: Maryland also has a state highway system that contains routes numbered from 2 through 999, however most of the higher-numbered routes are either unsigned or are relatively short. Major state highways include Routes 2 (Governor Ritchie Highway/Solomons Island Road/Southern Maryland Blvd.), 4 (Pennsylvania Avenue/Southern Maryland Blvd./Patuxent Beach Road/St. Andrew's Church Road), 5 (Branch Avenue/Leonardtown Road/Point Lookout Road), 32, 45 (York Road), 97 (Georgia Avenue), 100 (Paul T. Pitcher Memorial Highway), 210 (Indian Head Highway), 235 (Three Notch Road), 295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway), 355 (Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike/Frederick Road), 404 (Queen Anne Highway/ Shore Highway), and 650 (New Hampshire Avenue).

text: Airports[edit]

text: Maryland's largest airport is Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, more commonly referred to as BWI. The airport is named for the Baltimore-born Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice. The only other airports with commercial service are at Hagerstown and Salisbury.

text: The Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. are also served by the other two airports in the region, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport, both in Northern Virginia. The College Park Airport is the nation's oldest, founded in 1909, and is still used. Wilbur Wright trained military aviators at this location.[136][137]

text: Rail[edit]

text: Amtrak trains, including the high speed Acela Express serve Baltimore's Penn Station, BWI Airport, New Carrollton, and Aberdeen along the Washington D.C. to Boston Northeast Corridor. In addition, train service is provided to Rockville and Cumberland by Amtrak's Washington, D.C., to Chicago Capitol Limited.

text: The WMATA's Metrorail rapid transit and Metrobus local bus systems (the 2nd and 6th busiest in the nation of their respective modes) provide service in Montgomery and Prince George's counties and connect them to Washington D.C., with the express Metrobus Route B30 serving BWI Airport. The Maryland Transit Administration (often abbreviated as "MTA Maryland"), a state agency part of the Maryland Department of Transportation also provides transit services within the state. Headquartered in Baltimore, MTA's transit services are largely focused on central Maryland, as well as some portions of the Eastern Shore and Southern MD. Baltimore's Light Rail and Metro Subway systems serve its densely populated inner-city and the surrounding suburbs. The MTA also serves the city and its suburbs with its local bus service (the 9th largest system in the nation). The MTA's Commuter Bus system provides express coach service on longer routes connecting Washington D.C. and Baltimore to parts of Central and Southern MD as well as the Eastern Shore. The commuter rail service, known as MARC, operates three lines which all terminate at Washington Union Station and provide service to Baltimore's Penn and Camden stations, Perryville, Frederick, and Martinsburg, WV. In addition, many suburban counties operate their own local bus systems which connect to and complement the larger MTA and WMATA/Metro services.

text: Freight rail transport is handled principally by two Class I railroads, as well as several smaller regional and local carriers. CSX Transportation has more extensive trackage throughout the state, with 560 miles (900 km),[138] followed by Norfolk Southern Railway. Major rail yards are located in Baltimore and Cumberland,[138] with an intermodal terminal (rail, truck and marine) in Baltimore.[139]

text: Law and government[edit]

text: The government of Maryland is conducted according to the state constitution. The government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by the Constitution of the United States.

text: Power in Maryland is divided among three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The Maryland General Assembly is composed of the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate. Maryland's governor is unique in the United States as the office is vested with significant authority in budgeting. The legislature may not increase the governor's proposed budget expenditures. Unlike many other states, significant autonomy is granted to many of Maryland's counties.

text: Most of the business of government is conducted in Annapolis, the state capital. Elections for governor and most statewide offices, as well as most county elections, are held in midterm-election years (even-numbered years not divisible by four).

text: The judicial branch of state government consists of one united District Court of Maryland that sits in every county and Baltimore City, as well as 24 Circuit Courts sitting in each County and Baltimore City, the latter being courts of general jurisdiction for all civil disputes over $30,000.00, all equitable jurisdiction and major criminal proceedings. The intermediate appellate court is known as the Court of Special Appeals and the state supreme court is the Court of Appeals. The appearance of the judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals is unique; Maryland is the only state whose judges wear red robes.[140]

text: Taxation[edit]

text: Maryland imposes five income tax brackets, ranging from 2 to 6.25 percent of personal income.[141] The city of Baltimore and Maryland's 23 counties levy local "piggyback" income taxes at rates between 1.25 and 3.2 percent of Maryland taxable income. Local officials set the rates and the revenue is returned to the local governments quarterly. The top income tax bracket of 9.45 percent is the fifth highest combined state and local income tax rates in the country, behind New York City's 11.35 percent, California's 10.3 percent, Rhode Island's 9.9 percent, and Vermont's 9.5 percent.[142]

text: Maryland's state sales tax is 6 percent.[citation needed] All real property in Maryland is subject to the property tax.[citation needed] Generally, properties that are owned and used by religious, charitable, or educational organizations or property owned by the federal, state or local governments are exempt.[citation needed] Property tax rates vary widely.[citation needed] No restrictions or limitations on property taxes are imposed by the state, meaning cities and counties can set tax rates at the level they deem necessary to fund governmental services.[citation needed] If a proposed tax rate increases the total property tax revenues, the governing body must advertise that fact and hold a public hearing on the new tax rate, which is called the Constant Yield Tax Rate process.[citation needed]

text: Elections[edit]

text:
Gubernatorial election results[143]

Year
Democratic
Republican

1950
42.7% 275,824
57.3% 369,807

1954
45.5% 319,033
54.5% 381,451

1958
63.6% 485,061
36.5% 278,173

1962
55.6% 428,071
44.4% 341,271

1966
40.6% 373,543
49.5% 455,318

1970
65.7% 639,579
32.3% 314,336

1974
63.5% 602,648
36.5% 346,449

1978
71.0% 718,328
29.0% 293,635

1982
62.0% 705,910
38.0% 432,826

1986
82.4% 907,291
17.6% 194,185

1990
59.8% 664,015
40.2% 446,980

1994
50.2% 708,094
49.8% 702,101

1998
55.1% 846,972
44.8% 688,357

2002
47.7% 813,422
51.6% 879,592

2006
52.7% 942,279
46.2% 825,464

2010
56.2% 1,044,961
41.8% 776,319

2014
47.3% 818,890
51.0% 884,400

text:
Presidential election results[143]

Year
Democratic
Republican

1952
43.8% 395,337
55.4% 499,424

1956
40.0% 372,613
60.0% 559,738

1960
53.6% 565,808
46.4% 489,538

1964
65.5% 730,912
34.5% 385,495

1968
43.6% 538,310
41.9% 517,995

1972
37.4% 505,781
61.3% 829,305

1976
53.0% 759,612
47.0% 672,661

1980
47.1% 726,161
44.2% 680,606

1984
47.0% 787,935
52.5% 879,918

1988
48.2% 826,304
51.1% 876,167

1992
49.8% 988,571
35.6% 707,094

1996
54.3% 966,207
38.3% 681,530

2000
56.6% 1,145,782
40.2% 813,797

2004
55.9% 1,334,493
42.9% 1,024,703

2008
61.9% 1,629,467
36.5% 959,862

2012
62.0% 1,677,844
35.9% 971,869

2016
60.3% 1,677,928
33.9% 943,169

text: Since before the Civil War, Maryland's elections have been largely controlled by the Democrats[citation needed]

text: State elections are dominated[when?] by Baltimore and the populous suburban counties bordering Washington, D.C.: Montgomery and Prince George's. Forty-three percent of the state's population resides[when?] in these three jurisdictions, each of which contain large, traditionally Democratic voting bloc(s): African Americans in Baltimore and Prince George's, federal employees in Prince George's and Montgomery, and postgraduates in Montgomery. The remainder of the state, particularly Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore, is more supportive of Republicans.[citation needed] Maryland´s best known political figure[according to whom?] is a Republican – former Governor Spiro Agnew, who served as United States Vice President under Richard Nixon as Vice President from 1969 to 1973, when he resigned in the aftermath of revelations that he had taken bribes while he was Governor of Maryland. In late 1973 a court found Agnew guilty of violating tax laws.[citation needed]

text: In 1980, Maryland was one of six states to vote for Jimmy Carter.[citation needed] In recent[weasel words] years, Maryland has been among the most reliable states for Democratic nominees.[citation needed] In 1992, Bill Clinton fared better in Maryland than any other state except his home state of Arkansas.[citation needed] In 1996, Maryland was Clinton's sixth best, in 2000 Maryland ranked fourth for Gore and in 2004 John Kerry showed his fifth-best performance in Maryland.[citation needed] In 2008 Barack Obama won the state's 10 electoral votes with 61.9 percent of the vote to John McCain's 36.5 percent.[citation needed] As of September 2016[update], Maryland supported the Democratic nominee in each of the last six presidential elections, by an average margin of 15.4 percent.[citation needed]

text: Both of Maryland's U.S. Senators and seven of its eight Representatives in Congress are[when?] Democrats, and Democrats hold a supermajority in the state Senate.[citation needed]

text: In 2002, former Governor Robert Ehrlich was the first Republican to be elected to that office in four decades, and after one term lost his seat to Baltimore Mayor and Democrat Martin O'Malley. Ehrlich ran again for governor in 2010, losing again to O'Malley.[citation needed]

text: The 2006 election brought no change in the pattern of Democratic dominance. After Democratic Senator Paul Sarbanes announced that he was retiring, Democratic Congressman Benjamin Cardin defeated Republican Lieutenant Governor Michael S. Steele, with 55 percent of the vote, against Steele's 44 percent.

text: While Republicans usually win more counties, by piling up large margins in the west and east, they are also usually swamped by the more densely populated and heavily Democratic Baltimore-Washington axis. In 2008, for instance, McCain won 17 counties to Obama's six; Obama also carried Baltimore City. While McCain won most of the western and eastern counties by margins of 2-to-1 or more, he was almost completely shut out in the larger counties surrounding Baltimore and Washington; every large county except Anne Arundel went for Obama.[144]

text: From 2007 to 2011 U.S. Congressman Steny Hoyer (MD-5), a Democrat, was elected as Majority Leader for the 110th Congress of the House of Representatives, and 111th Congress, serving in that post. His district covers parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties, in addition to all of Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's counties in southern Maryland.[145]

text: In 2010 Republicans won control of most counties. The Democratic Party remained in control of eight county governments including Baltimore City.[146]

text: In 2014 Larry Hogan, a Republican, was elected Governor of Maryland.[147] Hogan is the second Republican to become the Governor of Maryland since Spiro Agnew's resigned in 1969 to become Vice President.

text:
Voter Registration by Party (May 2017)[148]

Party
Number of Voters
Percentage

Democratic
2,059,544
54.9%

Republican
1,020,438
26.0%

Unaffiliated
691,583
17.6%

Libertarian
20,377
0.5%

Green
9,313
0.2%

Other
31,975
0.8%

Total
3,928,689
100%

text: Media[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2017)

text: Education[edit]

text: Primary and secondary education[edit]

text: Education Week ranked Maryland #1 in its nationwide 2009–2013 Quality Counts reports.[citation needed] The College Board's 9th Annual AP Report to the Nation also ranked Maryland first.[citation needed] Primary and secondary education in Maryland is overseen by the Maryland State Department of Education, which is headquartered in Baltimore.[149] The highest educational official in the state is the State Superintendent of Schools, who is appointed by the State Board of Education to a four-year term of office. The Maryland General Assembly has given the Superintendent and State Board autonomy to make educationally related decisions, limiting its own influence on the day-to-day functions of public education. Each county and county-equivalent in Maryland has a local Board of Education charged with running the public schools in that particular jurisdiction.

text: The budget for education was $5.5 billion in 2009, representing about 40 percent of the state's general fund.[150]

text: Maryland has a broad range of private primary and secondary schools. Many of these are affiliated with various religious sects, including parochial schools of the Catholic Church, Quaker schools, Seventh-day Adventist schools, and Jewish schools. In 2003, Maryland law was changed to allow for the creation of publicly funded charter schools, although the charter schools must be approved by their local Board of Education and are not exempt from state laws on education, including collective bargaining laws.

text: In 2008 the state led the entire country in the percentage of students passing Advanced Placement examinations. 23.4 percent of students earned passing grades on the AP tests given in May 2008. This marks the first year that Maryland earned this honor.[151] Three Maryland high schools (in Montgomery County) were ranked among the top 100 in the country by US News in 2009, based in large part on AP test scores.[152]

text: Colleges and universities[edit]

text: Maryland has several historic and renowned private colleges and universities, the most prominent of which is Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876 with a grant from Baltimore entrepreneur Johns Hopkins.

text: The first public university in the state is the University of Maryland, Baltimore, which was founded in 1807 and contains the University of Maryland's only public academic health, human services, and one of two law centers (the other being the University of Baltimore School of Law). Seven professional and graduate schools train the majority of the state's physicians, nurses, dentists, lawyers, social workers, and pharmacists.[153] The largest undergraduate institution in Maryland is the University of Maryland, College Park which was founded as the Maryland Agricultural College in 1856 and became a public land grant college in 1864. Towson University, founded in 1866, is the state's second largest university. Baltimore is home to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the Maryland Institute College of Art. The majority of public universities in the state are affiliated with the University System of Maryland. Two state-funded institutions, Morgan State University and St. Mary's College of Maryland, as well as two federally funded institutions, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the United States Naval Academy, are not affiliated with the University System of Maryland.

text: St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland and Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, both private institutions, are the two oldest colleges in the state, and are among the oldest in the country. Other private institutions include Mount St. Mary's University, McDaniel College (formerly known as Western Maryland College), Hood College, Stevenson University (formerly known as Villa Julie College), Loyola University Maryland, and Goucher College, among others.

text: Public libraries[edit]

text: Maryland's 24 public library systems deliver public education for everyone in the state of Maryland through a curriculum that comprises three pillars: Self-Directed Education (books and materials in all formats, e-resources), Research Assistance & Instruction (individualized research assistance, classes for students of all ages), and Instructive & Enlightening Experiences (e.g., Summer Reading Clubs, author events).

text: Maryland's library systems include, in part:

text:
Baltimore County Public Library System
Cecil County Public Library
Enoch Pratt Free Library
Harford County Public Library
Howard County Public Library
Montgomery County Public Libraries
Prince George's County Memorial Library System
St. Mary's County Public Library[154]

text: Many of the library systems have established formalized partnerships with other educational institutions in their counties and regions.[citation needed]

text: Sports[edit]

text: With two major metropolitan areas, Maryland has a number of major and minor professional sports franchises. Two National Football League teams play in Maryland, the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore and the Washington Redskins in Landover. The Baltimore Colts represented the NFL in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983 before moving to Indianapolis.

text: The Baltimore Orioles are the state's Major League Baseball franchise. The National Hockey League's Washington Capitals and the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards formerly played in Maryland, until the construction of an arena in Downtown D.C. in 1997 (originally known as MCI Center, renamed Verizon Center in 2006).

text: Maryland enjoys considerable historical repute for the talented sports players of its past, including Cal Ripken Jr. and Babe Ruth. In 2012, The Baltimore Sun published a list of Maryland's top ten athletes in the state's history. The list includes Babe Ruth, Cal Ripken Jr, Johnny Unitas, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Ray Lewis, Michael Phelps, Jimmie Foxx, Jim Parker, and Wes Unseld.[155]

text: Other professional sports franchises in the state include five affiliated minor league baseball teams, one independent league baseball team, the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team, two indoor football teams, three low-level outdoor soccer teams, and the Chesapeake Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse. Maryland is also home to one of the three races in horse racing's annual Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, which is run every spring at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

text: The Congressional Country Club has hosted three golf tournaments for the U.S. Open and a PGA Championship.

text: The official state sport of Maryland, since 1962, is jousting; the official team sport since 2004 is lacrosse.[156] The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame is located on the Johns Hopkins University campus in Baltimore. In 2008, intending to promote physical fitness for all ages, walking became the official state exercise. Maryland is the first state with an official state exercise.[157]