Maryland Trivia & Tidbits

Looking for Maryland trivia? Try our list Maryland little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

In 1888, Baltimore's Isaac E. Emerson created a headache remedy from granular effervescent salt and named it "Bromo-Seltzer." By 1891, Bromo-Seltzer had become so popular that Emerson decided to incorporate his business as Emerson Drug Co.

first appeared: 10/18/2009

Russ Snowberger, a racecar driver and owner who was active on the racing circuit from the 1920s through the 1950s, was born in 1901 in Denton (pop. 2,960). Following his retirement from racing, Snowberger continued to be involved with the Indianapolis 500 race by sponsoring entries.

first appeared: 10/4/2009

Reggie Lewis, a native of Baltimore and standout basketball player at Northeastern University in Boston, was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1987. He twice averaged more than 20 points per game and became team captain before dying of a heart condition at the age of 27.

first appeared: 9/20/2009

Composer Philip Glass, born in 1937, grew up in Baltimore and began playing violin at the age of 6. Since then, he has forged a career that includes compositions for opera, dance, theater, chamber ensemble, orchestra and film. Glass' music often draws on Eastern influences and traditions.

first appeared: 9/6/2009

In 1897, John Jacob Abel, the first full-time professor of pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, reported the isolation of a derivative of epinephrine (adrenaline). His development of a device to remove toxins from the blood of animals is seen as the forerunner of the artificial kidney.

first appeared: 8/23/2009

The Bob Dylan song "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" was inspired by the fatal caning of barmaid Hattie Carroll at a Baltimore ball in 1963. The song became an American folk music classic.

first appeared: 8/9/2009

Robert Garrett, of Baltimore, returned home from the first modern Olympics in 1896 in Athens with two gold medals and two silver medals in track and field. During the next Olympics, in 1900 in Paris, he earned two bronze medals.

first appeared: 7/26/2009

—Founded in 1789, Georgetown Preparatory School, in North Bethesda (pop. 38,610), is the only Jesuit boarding school in the United States. Its all-male student body comes from around the world.

first appeared: 7/12/2009

—Leon Day (1916-1995), of Baltimore, was a pitcher in the 1930s and '40s for baseball's Negro Leagues. In 1942, he set a Negro Leagues record with 18 strikeouts in a game. In 1995 he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

first appeared: 6/28/2009

—Dr. William S. Halsted, the first surgeon-in-chief at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital, established the first formal surgical residency training program in the U.S. He also perfected surgical techniques, including the use of fine silk sutures, and began the practice of operating with surgical gloves.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

—Baltimore acquired the nickname "Monument City" after an 1827 visit to the city by President John Quincy Adams. He is said to have proposed the following toast to the city, whose skyline was filled with monuments and church steeples: "Baltimore: the Monumental City. May the days of her safety be as prosperous and happy, as the days of her dangers have been trying and triumphant."

first appeared: 5/31/2009

—Taneytown (pop. 5,128), founded in 1754 as one of the area's first land grants, takes its name from Raphael Taney, who designed its layout.

first appeared: 5/17/2009

—Founded in 1929, the Victory Racing Plate Co. in Baltimore will be forever linked to the legendary 1938 match between Seabiscuit and War Admiral at the city's Pimlico Race Course. The company made the shoes that Seabiscuit wore-a lightweight, aluminum shoe made especially for racehorses.

first appeared: 5/3/2009

–The Shriver Homestead, located in Union Mills, north of Westminster (pop. 16,731), was established in 1797. A gristmill, sawmill, tannery, copper shop and blacksmith's shop were added later.

first appeared: 4/19/2009

—A monument at Terra Rubra farm in Carroll County marks the birthplace of Francis Scott Key, who composed The Star Spangled Banner.

first appeared: 4/5/2009

—Aunt Hattie's Place in Baltimore provides troubled young people a chance to follow a different path. The concept was launched when founder Hattie Washington met a struggling inner-city youth and invited him to live in her home and explore his own potential. Aunt Hattie's Place is now made up of three group homes.

first appeared: 3/22/2009

—Following the Panic of 1873, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and other railways reduced their workers’ wages and hours, a move that led to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 in Maryland and other states. The strike ended after federal troops were called in to restore order.

first appeared: 3/8/2009

—A form of folk art that began in East Baltimore, window screen painting dates back to 1913 when Czechoslovakian grocer William Oktavec painted his store’s screens to depict his produce. Soon, screens were being painted throughout the neighborhood, with the art form booming from the 1920s to 1940s.

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—The boxing brothers of Baltimore, Joe and Vince Dundee, each earned a championship belt: Joe won the World Welterweight title in 1927, and Vince captured the New York State Middleweight title in 1933.

first appeared: 2/8/2009

—Hagerstown’s nickname of the “Hub City” originated from the large number of railroads that served the city. Hagerstown (pop. 36,687) was the center of the Western Maryland Railway as well as being an important stop on the Pennsylvania, Norfolk and Western, Baltimore and Ohio, and Hagerstown and Frederick railroads.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

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