George Calvert 

First Lord Baltimore
Ca. 1579 -April 15, 1632

The oldest son of an obscure Yorkshire gentleman, George Calvert gained wealth, status, and influence in the England of his time.  Knighted in 1617 and a member of the Parliament in 1621, Calvert served as secretary of state for James I and a Privy Counselor.  As a recent convert to Catholicism, Calvert resigned from his government posts in 1625, when anti‑Catholic legislation was being debated in Parliament.  Named Baron of Baltimore in 1625, with large estates in County Longford, Ireland, Calvert devoted the next seven years of his life to colonization projects in America.  Having sponsored a small colony at Ferryland in his Province of Avalon, Newfoundland, as early as 1620, Lord Baltimore visited his American possessions in 1627 and 1629, and by the latter date, was determined to obtain lands in a friendlier climate.  Charles I agreed to his petition for a large colonial grant with unprecedented powers, located north of the Potomac River, but Calvert died before the charter for Maryland was officially granted on June 20, 1632.

More about George Calvert

The Calvert Vision