Baltimore

Baltimore, GEORGE CALVERT, first LORD, born at Kipling, in Yorkshire, about 1580, entered parliament in 1609, was knighted in 1617, and in 1619 became Secretary of State. In 1625 he declared himself a Catholic, and resigning his office, received the rank of Baron Baltimore in the Irish peerage. His Irish estates were at the same time confirmed to him, and thither he retired. As early as 1621, Calvert had despatched colonists to a small settlement in Newfoundland, and in 1627 he visited the place. In the following spring he returned with his family, and stayed till the autumn of 1629. The severe winter induced him to sail southward in search of a more genial country; but his attempts to settle in Virginia led to disputes, and he returned home to obtain a fresh charter. He died, April 15, 1632, before the completion of the patent, which was granted in June to his son, Cecil, second Lord Baltimore. See MARYLAND, and Life by Neill (Balt. 1869).