Baron Baltimore

Barony of Baltimore
Creation date	1625
Monarch	James I
Peerage	Peerage of Ireland
First holder	George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore
Present holder	Extinct
Remainder to	the male heirs of the body lawfully begotten
Extinction date	4 September 1771

Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore Manor in County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1624 for George Calvert and became extinct on the death of the sixth Baron in 1771. The title was held by several members of the Calvert family who were proprietors of the palatinates Avalon in Newfoundland and Maryland (later the U.S. state of Maryland). In the context of United States history, the name Lord Baltimore usually refers to Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore after whom the city of Baltimore, Maryland, is named. His younger brother Leonard Calvert was the first Governor of Maryland.

As members of the Irish peerage, the Lords Baltimore were able to sit in the British House of Commons. Irish peerages were often used as a way of creating peerages which did not grant a seat in the British House of Lords and so allowed the grantee to sit in the House of Commons in London. As a consequence, many Irish peers had little or no connection to Ireland.

Though the barony is extinct, the Barons Baltimore left a number of descendants, including:

There are several locations in Maryland named after the Barons Baltimore ("Lords Baltimore"), including Baltimore County, Baltimore City. Calvert County, Cecil County, Charles County, Frederick County, Leonardtown, St. Leonard and Calvert Cliffs. There is also Charles Street and Calvert Street in Baltimore.

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