On
this date in 1634, English settlers emerged from two ships, the
Ark and the Dove,
and first stepped foot onto the soil of what later became Maryland.
Today,
the people of Maryland celebrate their history with special school
programs, a festival in the capital city of Annapolis, art
exhibitions, and re-enactments.
What's
in a name?
Maryland
was named after the French wife of King Charles I of England. The
Queen's name was Henrietta Maria, but the English people called her
Queen Mary.
Maryland's
largest city, Baltimore, was named after Lord Baltimore, the first
leader of the colony. Lord Baltimore was a member of the Irish House
of Lords, and the name Baltimore itself comes from the Irish Gaelic
term Baile an Ti Mhoir, which means “town of the big house.”
Maryland's
capital city, Annapolis, was named after two different Annes. An
earlier name was Anne Arundel's Towne, after the wife of Lord
Baltimore, and when the city was renamed Annapolis, it was in honor
of the Princess Anne of Denmark and Norway, who was soon to be the
queen of Great Britain.
Not
a name, but two names and two crests: Maryland's colorful flag
combines the family crests of the Calvert and Crossland families, two
families in Lord Baltimore's background. The gold-and-black pattern
used to be the Maryland flag. When Maryland sided with the Union
during the Civil War, some confederate Marylanders started using the
red-and-white cross pattern as their flag. After the war, in an
attempt to reunify the two sides, the flag became a combination of
the two crests.
Find
out more at Maryland Kids' Page.
Also
on this date:
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