Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore

Portrait of Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore

Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore (born March 21, 1679 in England , † April 16, 1715 ibid) was Lord Proprietor of the colony of Maryland .

Life

Benedict Leonard Calvert was the second born son of Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore and his wife Jane Lowe.

By his father's right, he was formally governor of the colony of Maryland in 1684 and 1688 . But since he was practically unable to exercise this office due to his youth (born 1679), this appointment was purely a title. Because they were Catholics , he and his father lost their claims to Maryland as part of the Glorious Revolution in 1688, fled into exile in France and were only allowed to return to England in 1698.

On January 2, 1699, he married Lady Charlotte Lee, daughter of Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield . He had six children with her. In 1705 he sold the Woodstock Park estate near Woodstock in Oxfordshire, which came from his wife's fortune, to the Crown, which shortly afterwards was given to the Duke of Marlborough and expanded into Blenheim Palace .

1714 was elected to the British House of Commons as the Torys MP for the constituency of Harwich . When his father died on February 21, 1715, he inherited his Irish title of nobility, Baron Baltimore . However, he only survived his father by two months. He was buried in Epsom , Surrey . To regain his rights to Maryland, he converted to the Church of England in 1713 - his death preceded a decision by the Crown. He was followed by his son Charles (1699–1751) as 5th Baron Baltimore, who finally got Maryland back.

Web links

• Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore, on thepeerage.com , accessed September 18, 2016.

predecessor	Office	successor
Charles Calvert	Baron Baltimore 1715	Charles Calvert