George
Calvert was born in Kipling, Yorkshire, in 1580. He was elected to
the House of Commons in 1609 and was appointed
secretary of state in 1619.
Calvert resigned office in 1625 and declared himself a Roman
Catholic. He moved to his Irish estates and was granted the title,
Lord Baltimore.
In 1628 Balitmore decided to create a safe haven in America for Catholics
being persecuted for their religious beliefs in England. Calvert and
his son, Leonard Calvert spent the summer
in Newfoundland but its severe winter encouraged him to sail south
in search of better land. He landed in Virginia but the English colonists
rejected him and he went back to Ireland.
In 1632 Calvert sent Leonard Calvert
and 300 settlers back to America. However, he died before his son
established Maryland in 1633.
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