Famous People from Maryland

Maryland Biographies, Famous People from Maryland

Alexander McGillivray

Clara Barton (1821 - 1912) Founded the American Red Cross, with headquarters located in a home in Glen Echo.

Eubie Blake (1883 - 1983) Ragtime musician and composer who wrote The Charleston Rag, in 1899; born in Baltimore.

John Wilkes Booth (1838 - 1865) The assassin of President Abraham Lincoln; born in Bel Air.

Tom Clancy (1947 - ) Author of many best-selling books, including The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games; born in Baltimore.

Frederick Douglass (1817 - 1895) Abolitionist leader who was born a slave in Maryland

Matthew Henson (1866 - 1955) One of the first two men to reach the North Pole; born in Baltimore.

Francis Scott Key (1779 - 1843) He wrote the national anthem on September 14, 1814 while watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812; born in Frederick county.

Johns Hopkins (1795 - 1873), Merchant, banker, and philanthropist, who founded the hospital and university that bear his name; born in Anne Arundel County.

Thurgood Marshall (1908 - 1993) First African-American justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849) Famous author and poet; born in Massachusetts, spent writing years in Baltimore and died there.

Cal Ripken Jr. (1960 - ) One of the best shortstops in baseball history that holds the record for the most consecutive games played, at 2,632; born in Havre de Grace and a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

George Herman Babe Ruth (1895 - 1948) One of the greatest players in baseball history that held the record for the most home runs in a single season; born in Baltimore.

Harriet Tubman (1820 - 1913) A leading figure in the Underground Railroad, a nurse, spy, and scout for the Union army, and a womans rights activist; born in Dorchester County.

Upton Beall Sinclair (1878 - 1968) Writer, social critic, author of the novel The Jungle, whose revelations led to reforms in the meat-packing industry; born in Baltimore.

More Famous People of Maryland

Spiro T. Agnew vice president, Baltimore

Benjamin Banneker mathematician, astronomer, Oella/Ellicott City

John Barth writer, Cambridge

Francis X. Bushman actor, Baltimore

James M. Cain writer, Annapolis

Samuel Chase jurist, Sumerset Cty

John Dickinson statesman, Talbot Cty

Christopher Gist frontiersman, Baltimore

Philip Glass composer, Baltimore

Billie Holiday jazz-blues singer, Baltimore

Reverdy Johnson lawyer, statesman, Annapolis

Thomas Johnson political leader, Calvert Cty

H. L. Mencken writer, Baltimore

Charles Willson Peale painter, naturalist Queen Annes Cty

Roger B. Taney jurist, Calvert Cty

Leon Uris author, Baltimore

Frank Zappa singer, Baltimore

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