The governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers in both the state and local governments, as specified by the Maryland Constitution. Because of the extent of these constitutional powers, the governor of Maryland has been ranked as being among the most powerful governors in the United States.
Governor of Maryland
Thomas Johnson, the first governor of Maryland after independence. He served from 1777 to 1779.
Former Maryland governor and U.S. vice president Spiro Agnew
Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The state borders Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, Delaware to its east, the Atlantic Ocean, and the national capital of Washington, D.C. With a total area of 12,407 square miles (32,130 km2), Maryland is the ninth-smallest state by land area, and its population of 6,177,224 ranks it the 18th-most populous state and the fifth-most densely populated. Maryland's capital is Annapolis, and the most populous city is Baltimore. Occasional nicknames include Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after Henrietta Maria, the French-born queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland during the 17th century.
The bombardment of Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner".
The Battle of Antietam in 1862 was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War with nearly 23,000 casualties.
Ruin left by the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904
Great Falls on the Potomac River