Maryland Trivia & Tidbits - Page 14

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

Baltimore-born author Upton Sinclair (1878-1968), known mostly for his novel The Jungle (1906) and other social exposés, ran for governor of California in 1934. Though he lost, he received 900,000 votes.

first appeared: 3/3/2002

Hospitality magnate J. Willard Marriott Jr. owns a mansion overlooking the ninth green at Avenel Golf Course in Potomac.

first appeared: 2/24/2002

Churchville-born John Archer (1741-1810) in 1768 received the first medical degree awarded in the United States.

first appeared: 2/17/2002

Civil rights activist Juanita Jackson Mitchell (1913-1992) was the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Maryland Law School.

first appeared: 2/10/2002

The skipjack, the last working boat under sail in North America, was named the state boat in 1985. It’s used for dredging oysters in the Chesapeake Bay.

first appeared: 2/3/2002

Maryland, in 1962, was the first state to adopt an official sport—jousting (using hanging rings, not riders, as targets).

first appeared: 1/27/2002

Francis Asbury (1745-1816), appointed first general superintendent or bishop of American Methodism in Baltimore, led the American Methodist Church to become one the largest Protestant denominations in the United States.

first appeared: 1/20/2002

Marylander Harry Gilmor (1838-1883) was a Confederate raider who led guerillas during the Civil War. He wrote an account of his activities in Four Years in the Saddle.

first appeared: 1/13/2002

Ouija Boards were manufactured in Baltimore by the Ouija Novelty Co. from 1891 to 1966, when the rights to the so-called “talking board” game were sold to Parker Brothers.

first appeared: 1/6/2002

State Sen. Thomas Kennedy (1776-1832) of Scottish Presbyterian origins fought successfully against the practice of excluding from public office those who would not profess the Christian faith.

first appeared: 12/30/2001

The Fire Museum in Luther-ville (a Baltimore neighborhood) has the country’s largest working collection of fire alarm systems.

first appeared: 12/23/2001

Dinah Nuthead, the wife of Maryland’s first printer, became the first woman in America, in 1696, to become a fully licensed printer.

first appeared: 12/16/2001

Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, the Baltimore Oriole’s retired pitcher who holds the Oriole record for most games won, went by the nickname, “Cakes,” because of his fondness for eating pancakes on the days he pitched.

first appeared: 12/9/2001

Native Marylander Henry Stevenson administered the nation’s first inoculation against smallpox in 1769.

first appeared: 12/2/2001

Garry Moore (1915-1974), the bow-tied, crew-cut comedian and Maryland native, hosted a popular CBS variety show from 1958-1967. That show was frequently on the top 10 list of prime-time programs.

first appeared: 11/25/2001

Maryland, My Maryland was adopted as the state song in 1939. Written in 1861 by James Ryder Randall, the song is set to the melody of the Christmas carol, O Tannenbaum.

first appeared: 11/18/2001

Western Maryland was opened to large-scale commerce when the railroad arrived in Cumberland (pop. 21,518) in 1842.

first appeared: 11/11/2001

The state’s 1896 shield law, designed to protect sources of information, was the nation’s first protection for the journalism profession.

first appeared: 11/4/2001

The rare red-cockaded woodpecker, native to Maryland, is known by its large white face patch. It feeds on pines infected with red-heart fungus.

first appeared: 10/28/2001

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Oakland (pop. 1,930) is called the “Church of the Presidents,” because among those who attended were Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), James Garfield (1831-1881), Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901), and Grover Cleveland (1837-1908).

first appeared: 10/21/2001

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