Charles Benedict Calvert | |
|---|---|
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's6th district | |
| In office June 1861 – November 1863 | |
| Preceded by | George Wurtz Hughes |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Member of theMaryland House of Delegates | |
| In office 1839–1846 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1808-08-23)August 23, 1808 Riversdale,Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | May 12, 1864(1864-05-12) (aged 55) Riverdale Park, Maryland, U.S. |
| Resting place | Calvert Cemetery |
| Party | Democratic (1839–1860) Union (1861–1863) |
| Children | 6, includingCharles |
| Parent(s) | George Calvert Rosalie Stier Calvert |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia |
| Profession | Businessman, landowner |
Charles Benedict Calvert (August 23, 1808 – May 12, 1864) was an American politician who was aU.S. representative from thesixth district ofMaryland, serving one term from 1861 to 1863. He was an early backer of the inventors of thetelegraph, and in 1856 he founded the Maryland Agricultural College, the first agricultural research college in America, now known as theUniversity of Maryland. He was a direct descendant of theLords Baltimore, proprietary governors of theProvince of Maryland from 1631 until 1776.
Calvert was born on August 23, 1808, at his family's estate atRiversdale,Maryland. His mother wasRosalie-Eugénie Stier (1778–1821), the daughter of a wealthy Flemish aristocrat, Baron Henri-Joseph Stier (1743–1821) and his wife Marie-Louise Peeters. The Stiers, descendants of Flemish painterPieter Paul Rubens, had fled to America in the late eighteenth century as French Republican armies occupied their hometown ofAntwerp. Calvert's father, the wealthy planterGeorge Calvert (1768–1838), was the son of theLoyalist politicianBenedict Swingate Calvert (c.1730–1788) – a natural son of the penultimate Proprietary Governor of Maryland,Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore – and Benedict's wifeElizabeth Calvert (1731–1788).
Calvert completed his preparatory studies atBladensburg Academy of Maryland. Later, he received a certificate of completion from theUniversity of Virginia atCharlottesville in 1827, even though he attended the university spuriously, and engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock breeding.
Calvert inherited a plantation from his family, called Riverdale.[1] 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."[2]
Calvert was a strong backer of the inventors of thetelegraph,Samuel Morse andAlfred 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.[3] This test came 45 days before the more celebrated event when Morse sent the message "What hath God wrought?" from Washington to Baltimore, along telegraph lines that ran above theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad line near Riversdale.
Calvert became president of thePrince George's County, Maryland Agricultural Society and the Maryland State Agricultural Society, and served as vice president of the United States Pomological Society.[4] He founded the first agricultural research college in America (later known as the Maryland Agricultural College at College Park, and currently known as theUniversity of Maryland, College Park), which was chartered in 1856. Calvert was also one of the early advocates for the establishment of theUnited States Department of Agriculture.
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Calvert served as a member of theMaryland House of Delegates in 1839, 1843, and 1844.[5] The outbreak of theAmerican Civil War provided an opportunity for Calvert to enter national politics as an opponent ofsecession. In 1861, he was elected as anUnionist to the37th United States Congress representingMaryland's 6th congressional district.[6] The issuance of theEmancipation Proclamation divided Maryland's unionists. As a candidate for reelection in 1863, Calvert identified himself with the conservative element of the Union Party and castigated the radical Union League candidates; he was defeated in a three-way race againstBenjamin G. Harris, the victorious Democrat, and John C. Holland, theUnconditional Unionist.[7][8] After leaving office, he resumed agricultural pursuits until his death on May 12, 1864, at Riversdale, and is interred in Calvert Cemetery.
He married inBaltimore on June 6, 1839 Charlotte Augusta Norris (Baltimore, March 11, 1816 - December 7, 1876), and had six children; through one of his sons and one of his paternal grandsons descend, though through an illegitimate ancestor, the last patrilineal Calverts in both Great-Britain and Ireland and the United States of America:[9]
| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the Maryland Agricultural College 1860 (acting) | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's 6th congressional district March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863 | Succeeded by seat abolished |
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| National | |
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