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Maryland - America in Miniature.

Maryland

Spiro Agnew, the 39th Vice President of the United States, was born in Maryland. Other famous Marylanders include the authors Upton Sinclair and Leon Uris, the composer Philip Glass and the actor and assassin of Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth.

The state bird of Maryland is the Baltimore oriole. It got its name because its colours are similar to those on the coat of arms of Lord Baltimore which are used on the state's flag. Baltimore's baseball team is also named the Baltimore Orioles.

Maryland was admitted to the Union on the 28th of April 1788, making it the 7th state of the USA>

The town of Glen Echo in Maryland was the home of the founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton. She founded the organisation in 1881 after she had visited Europe and witnessed the work of the International Red Cross during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.

Maryland enjoys the highest median household income of all 50 US states. In 2010 the median household income in Maryland was $66,334 compared to Mississippi which had the lowest at $35,693.

The state tree of Maryland is the white oak. One in particular, the Wye Oak in the town of Wye Mills in Maryland, was the oldest and tallest of all known white oaks when it was destroyed during a storm in 2002. It was around 500 years old and stood 96 feet or 29 metres tall.

Maryland has approximately 3,190 miles or 5,130 km of coastline. This means that, by proportion of area, Maryland has the longest coastline of all the US states.

The state crustacean of Maryland is the blue crab, also known as the Atlantic blue crab or the Chesapeake blue crab. In 1993 Chesapeake Bay (between Maryland and Virginia) harvested 125,000 tons of blue crab. The creatures numbers have dwindled over the years and by 2004 the catch was only 28,000 tons. Since then measures have been taken in an effort to sustain the blue crab population.

Maryland is the 42nd largest of the 50 US states in terms of area. It covers 12,407 square miles or 32,133 square km2. That's just over half the size of Wales.

As well as 'the Old Line State' Maryland has several other nicknames. Why not play this fun quiz and test your knowledge of the Terrapin State, the Queen State, the Free State, the Oyster State, Chesapeake State, the Monumental State, the Cockade State and America in Miniature?

For a closer look at the pictures please click on them to enlarge.

1 .

The Maryland State House is the oldest state capitol building still in use. In which city is it?

Baltimore

Columbia

Germantown

Annapolis

Annapolis was historically not only the capital of Maryland. Between 1783 - 1784 it was the capital of the United States of America. Building started on the State House in 1772 and it was there that the Treaty of Paris, which brought to an end the Revolutionary War, was signed.

Baltimore, Columbia and Germantown are the three largest cities in Maryland with populations of approximately 621 100,000 and 86,000 respectively

2 .

What is Maryland's official state flower (pictured)?

Crooked-nosed Kate

Black-eyed Susan

Bent-backed Brenda

Sun-flower Sally

The black-eyed Susan was adopted by Maryland in 1918. It has many other names including brown-eyed Susan, brown Betty, yellow daisy, poorland daisy, yellow ox-eye daisy and golden Jerusalem.

The plant was used by Native Americans to treat conditions as varied as colds, worms, earaches and worms!

3 .

This is Baltimore, Maryland's largest city. It was named after the English lord Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore who was Maryland's first governor. He used the province as a haven for which people?

English Catholics

Irish Catholics

French revolutionaries

Scottish rebels

During the English Civil War of the 17th Century Catholics were persecuted by protestants. Lord Baltimore was himself a Roman Catholic and his province in America (which he never visited) became a place of religious tolerance

4 .

The flag of Maryland is the heraldic coat of arms of which historical Englishman?

Charles the I, King of Great Britain and Ireland

Sir Francis Drake, explorer and naval officer

Lord Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales and eldest so of James I

Yes, that's right - it's him again! The flag merges two coats of arms which were used by Lord Baltimore - the black and gold of the Calvert family and the red and white of the Crossland family from whom Lord Baltimore was also descended. It was officially adopted as the flag of Maryland in 1904

5 .

The first Roman Catholic cathedral to be built in the USA is located in Maryland. To which saint is it dedicated?

Saint Catherine the Martyr

Saint Paul the Apostle

Saint Mary the Virgin

Saint Peter the Apostle

The Basilica was built between 1806 and 1821 and was designed by Benjamin Latrobe who also designed the United States Capitol. It seems appropriate that the cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin Mary as it sits in a state which shares her name!

6 .

This historical American flag with 15 stars and 15 stripes was the one which inspired the nation's anthem The Star-Spangled Banner. What was the name of the man who wrote the words to the song?

Francis Scott Key

George Washington

Scott Joplin

Thomas Jefferson

Key was a lawyer and an author who hailed from Maryland. On the night of September the 13th 1814, during the Battle of Baltimore which took place in the 1812-1815 war between Great Britain and the USA, Key watched on as British forces bombarded Fort McHenry but in the morning the American flag was still flying. This inspired him to write the words to what was to become the USA's national anthem.

The tune which Key fitted his words to was written by the British composer, John Stafford Smith, as the official song of an amateur musicians' club based in London

7 .

This man (seen here performing in 1975) was born in Maryland in 1940. He went on to become a musician, songwriter, composer, recording engineer, record producer and film director. What is his name?

Photograph courtesy of Carl Lender

Bob Dylan

Captain Beefheart

Cat Stevens

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa was the artist's real name and not a stage name as some might think. He was born in Baltimore and during his career he recorded more than 60 albums, either solo or with his band The Mothers of Invention. Sadly, he passed away in 1993 aged only 52 but he is recognised as one of the greatest artists of all time

8 .

What is the official state insect of Maryland?

The Baltimore Draughtsboard Butterfly

The Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly

The Baltimore Harlequin Butterfly

The Baltimore Chessboard Butterfly

The Baltimore checkerspot butterfly can be found in the eastern part of North America. It is unusual in that it spends the winter time, not as an egg as most species of butterflies do, but as a caterpillar

9 .

The Great Seal of the State of Maryland shows the Calvert coat of arms held up by two men. Around the edge of the seal is the motto Scuto Bonæ Voluntatis Tuæ Coronasti Nos. How does this Latin phrase translate into English?

With riches wilt thou endow us for our wealth

With favour wilt thou compass us as with a shield

With strength wilt thou equip us for your glory

With joy wilt thou bless us with your grace

The line is taken from the Vulgate Bible, Psalm 5, verse 2. The date of Maryland's foundation, 1632, is also around the edge of the seal.

The two men on the seal are a ploughman and a fisherman who represent the state's industries of agriculture and fishing. The seal also shows the Calvert family motto Fatti maschii, parole femine which translates into English as Strong deeds, gentle words

10 .

Born in Baltimore in 1895 this man went on to become perhaps the most famous of all baseball players. What was his name?

Joe Jackson

Cy Young

Babe Ruth

Joe DiMaggio

"Babe" was born George Herman Ruth, Jr. on the 6th of February 1895. He played for 22 seasons in his career for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees and the Boston Braves and his team won the World Series 7 times. Individually Ruth scored more home runs than any other player in 12 of his 22 seasons!

Author: Graeme Haw