Baltimore | History, Population, & Facts (2024)

Baltimore, city, north-central Maryland, U.S., about 40 miles (65 km) northeast of Washington, D.C. It lies at the head of the Patapsco River estuary, 15 miles (25 km) above Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is Maryland’s largest city and economic centre and constitutes the northeastern hub of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. The city, separated from Baltimore county in 1851, is the only city in Maryland not located within a county. Inc. town, 1729; city, 1796. Area city, 92 square miles (238 square km). Pop. (2010) 620,961; Baltimore-Towson Metro Area, 2,710,489; (2020) 585,708; Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Metro Area, 2,844,510.

History

Baltimore was established in 1729 and named for the Irish barony of Baltimore (seat of the Calvert family, proprietors of the colony of Maryland). It was created as a port for shipping tobacco and grain, and soon local waterways were being harnessed for flour milling. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, it was a bustling seaport and shipbuilding centre. Baltimore clippers plied the seas, and trade extended to the Caribbean. The U.S. Navy’s first ship, the Constellation, was launched in Baltimore in 1797, and its namesake, the last all-sail warship built (1854) for the navy, has been moored in the city’s harbour since 1955; in the late 1990s the ship underwent extensive restoration. The Continental Congress met in Baltimore (December 1776–March 1777) when it was feared that the British would attack Philadelphia, then the national capital.

During the War of 1812 the British tried to capture Baltimore; U.S. forces’ successful defense (September 13–14, 1814) of nearby Fort McHenry (now a national monument and historic shrine) was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key’s poem “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The eastern terminus for the nation’s first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio (1827), was the city’s Mount Clare Station; the station has been preserved and is now the site of a railroad museum. During the American Civil War (1861–65), though Maryland did not secede from the Union, many of its citizens had Southern sympathies. Union troops occupied Baltimore throughout the war, and the city recovered only gradually from that period of severe disruption.

A fire on February 7, 1904, razed most of the business district, but recovery was rapid. At the beginning of World War I, Baltimore began to develop industrially with the construction of steelworks, oil refineries, and related war industries. In the 1920s and early ’30s Baltimore acquired an intellectual aura from the work of essayist and editor H.L. Mencken and his circle, including journalists on the Sun newspaper. A period of urban decay in the city centre after World War II was followed by a major renovation of the downtown and waterfront areas.

The contemporary city

Baltimore is now a major seaport with ship-repair facilities and a highly diversified economy. The port opens to the sea through Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is a major automobile-shipping point. Services, including health care, education, finance, and insurance, are a major component of the economy. The headquarters of the Federal Social Security Administration is in the city, and other federal government services and the military are also important. Manufactures include automobiles, electronics, steel, processed foods, paper and plastic products, and aircraft parts.

The city is part of the busy Northeast Corridor passenger rail system. Baltimore/Washington International Airport, just south of the city, also serves Washington, D.C. The Baltimore Harbor (1957) and Fort McHenry (1985) tunnels and Francis Scott Key Bridge (1977) cross the Patapsco River. The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on March 26, 2024, after being struck by a ship. There is a dense network of interstate highways and other roads between Baltimore and Washington.

Baltimore and the surrounding area is a centre of higher education. Located there are the renowned Johns Hopkins University (1876), which includes the Peabody Institute Conservatory of Music (1857; affiliated with Johns Hopkins since 1977); Coppin State University (1900), Towson University (1866), the University of Maryland, Baltimore (1807), and the University of Baltimore (1925), all part of the University of Maryland system; Loyola University Maryland (1852); the Notre Dame of Maryland University (1873); Morgan State University (1867); the Maryland Institute College of Art (1826); Goucher College (1885); and Baltimore City Community College (1947).

Among the city’s other cultural institutions are the Enoch Pratt Free Library (1882), the Baltimore Museum of Art (1914), the Walters Art Museum (1934; formerly called Walters Art Gallery), a symphony orchestra, and opera and theatre companies. The Baltimore Civil War Museum (1997) has exhibits on the city’s role in the Underground Railroad. The Inner Harbor area, revitalized in the 1980s, includes the National Aquarium in Baltimore and other attractions.

In 1789 Baltimore became the first Roman Catholic diocese in the United States, and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1806–21) was the nation’s first Roman Catholic cathedral; St. Mary’s Seminary and University was founded in 1791. The Shot Tower (1828) is a 234-foot (71-metre) shaft once used to manufacture round shot. The Washington Monument (1829), a 178-foot (54-metre) Doric column, was designed by architect Robert Mills, who later designed the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. Hampton National Historic Site, Aberdeen Proving Ground, and Pimlico Race Course (home of the Preakness Stakes) are nearby, as are several state parks, including Gunpowder Falls (northeast), Hart-Miller Island (east), North Point (southeast), and Patapsco Valley (west).

The city’s representatives in professional sports are the Orioles (baseball) and the Ravens (American football). The celebrated Oriole Park at Camden Yards (1992), just west of the Inner Harbor, was the first of the retro-style ballparks designed to look like those built in the early 20th century. Near the stadium is the birthplace of baseball player Babe Ruth, preserved as a shrine and museum, as well as the grave of another Baltimore native, writer Edgar Allan Poe. The Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame at Johns Hopkins University attests to the popularity of the old Native American game in Baltimore.