Charles Benedict Calvert (August 23, 1808 – May 12, 1864) was an American politician who was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from the sixth district of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, serving one term from 1861 to 1863. He was an early backer of the inventors of the

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

, and in 1856 he founded the Maryland Agricultural College, the first agricultural research college in America, now known as the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. He was a direct descendant of the

Lords Baltimore Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore, County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 and ended in 1771, upon the death of its sixth-generation male heir, aged 40. Holders of the title were usually known as Lord Baltimor ...

, proprietary governors of the

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryland ...

from 1631 until 1776.

Early life

Calvert was born on August 23, 1808, at his family's estate at Riversdale,

. His mother was Rosalie Eugenia Stier (1778–1821), the daughter of a wealthy Flemish aristocrat, Baron Henri Joseph Stier (1743–1821) and his wife Marie-Louise Peeters. The Stiers had fled to America in the late eighteenth century as French Republican armies occupied their hometown of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. Calvert's father, the wealthy planter

George Calvert George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632), was an English politician and colonial administrator. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I. He lost mu ...

(1768–1838), was the son of the

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

politician Benedict Swingate Calvert (c.1730–1788) – a natural son of the penultimate Proprietary Governor of Maryland, Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore – and Benedict's wife Elizabeth Calvert (1731–1788).

Education

Calvert completed his preparatory studies at

Bladensburg Academy Bladensburg can mean: Australia *Bladensburg National Park, a former pastoral station and homestead in Queensland United States *Bladensburg, Maryland, a town in Prince George's County *Bladensburg, Iowa Bladensburg is a small unincorporated comm ...

of Maryland. Later, he received a certificate of completion from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

in 1827, even though he attended the university spuriously, and engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock breeding.

Science and agriculture

Calvert inherited a plantation from his family, called Riverdale. He "introduced scientific agriculture to the plantation, adopted ideas published in journals and newspapers, exhibited at county and state fairs, and introduced a number of his own innovations. He could implement these innovations because of the large number of slaves – as many as 55 in 1850 – at his command." Calvert was a strong backer of the inventors of the

, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail. On April 9, 1844, Morse and Vail successfully tested their device by transmitting a message from the nation's capital to the Calvert home, Riversdale. This test came 45 days before the more celebrated event when Morse sent the message "

What hath God wrought "What hath God wrought" is a translation of a phrase from the Book of Numbers (Numbers 23:23), and may refer to: *"What hath God wrought", the official first Morse code message transmitted in the US on May 24, 1844, to officially open the Baltimor ...

?" from Washington to Baltimore, along telegraph lines that ran above the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

line near Riversdale. Calvert became president of the

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...

Agricultural Society and the Maryland State Agricultural Society, and served as vice president of the United States Pomological Society. He founded the first agricultural research college in America (later known as the Maryland Agricultural College at College Park, and presently known as the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

) which was chartered in 1856. Calvert was also one of the early advocates for the establishment of the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

Politics

Calvert served as a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

in 1839, 1843, and 1844. Calvert was elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-seventh Congress representing Maryland's Sixth Congressional District in an election held on June 13, 1861."The Election", ''Baltimore Sun'', June 14, 1861, p. 2 In the election of November 4, 1863, he sought reelection as a Conditional (Conservative) Unionist candidate in the Fifth Congressional District (the Sixth District having been abolished), but was defeated. After leaving office, he resumed agricultural pursuits until his death on May 12, 1864, at Riversdale, and is interred in Calvert Cemetery.

References

Sources

. Retrieved 2009-03-31

External links

Calvert Family Tree
Retrieved July 10, 2013
The Calverts and Stiers of Riversdale
Retrieved November 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Calvert, Charles Benedict 1808 births 1864 deaths American slave owners Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland American people of Belgian descent Presidents of the University of Maryland, College Park People of Maryland in the American Civil War People from Riverdale Park, Maryland University of Virginia alumni

Charles Benedict Calvert Charles Benedict Calvert (August 23, 1808 – May 12, 1864) was an American politician who was a U.S. Representative from the sixth district of Maryland, serving one term from 1861 to 1863. He was an early backer of the inventors of the ...

Maryland Unionists Unionist Party members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians