George Calvert was born in Kipling, Yorkshire, in 1580. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1609 and was appointed secretary of state in 1619.

Calvert resigned office in 1625 and declared himself a Roman Catholic. He moved to his Irish estates and was granted the title, Lord Baltimore.

In 1628 Baltimore decided to create a safe haven in America for Catholics being persecuted for their religious beliefs in England. Calvert and his son, Leonard Calvert spent the summer in Newfoundland, Canada but a severe winter encouraged him to sail south in search of better land. He landed in Virginia but the English colonists rejected him and he went back to Ireland.

In 1632 Calvert sent Leonard Calvert and 300 settlers back to America. However, he died before his son established Maryland in 1633.