Annapolis is not only the capital of the state of Maryland, but also served as the temporary national capital of the United States from 1783 to 1784.

It is named after the English queen Henrietta Maria, known in England as Queen Mary, who was the wife of King Charles I.

Before its coastline was discovered by Europeans in the 16th century, Maryland was inhabited by several groups of Native Americans, mostly by the Algonquin, and to a lesser degree by the Iroquois and Sioux.

Maryland was founded by George Calvert, a Catholic convert who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England. Unlike the Pilgrims and Puritans, however, who rejected Catholicism in their settlements, Calvert envisioned a colony where people of different religious sects would coexist under the principle of toleration. In 1649, the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act Concerning Religion, which enshrined this principle by penalizing anyone who "reproached" a fellow Marylander based on religious affiliation.

Jousting tournaments have been held in Maryland since colonial times. Retaining the pageantry and customs of medieval tournaments, men (referred to as knights) and women (referred to as maids) dress in colorful costumes to compete in non-contact "ring tournaments" where competitors on horseback with lance in hand try to spear hanging rings of various sizes while quickly riding by three arches.

Maryland was unique in its reaction to prohibition. It was the only state to never pass a state enforcement act, proudly labeling itself as a wet state and permitting the use and sale of alcohol even though it was illegal in the rest of the country.

Chevy Chase, Maryland was noted as "the most educated town in America" in a study conducted by the Stanford Graduate School of Education, with 93.5 percent of adult residents having at least a bachelors degree. The town was named in the 1800's, long before the former Saturday Night Live star was born.

The Battle of Baltimore was a pivotal engagement during the War of 1812, culminating in the bombardment of Fort McHenry, during which Francis Scott Key wrote a poem that would become "The Star-Spangled Banner", which was eventually designated as the American national anthem in 1931.

The Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) received its name from the resemblance of the male's colors to those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore, the first Proprietor of the Province of Maryland.

The Maryland 400 were members of the 1st Maryland Regiment who repeatedly charged a numerically superior British force during the Battle of Long Island during the Revolutionary War, sustaining heavy casualties, but allowing General Washington to successfully evacuate the bulk of his troops to Manhattan. This action is commemorated in Maryland's nickname, the "Old Line State". A monument in Brooklyn and multiple plaques were put up in the memory of this regiment and the fallen soldiers.