CALVERT, Charles Benedict (1808—1864)

Contributed by A. Newell

CALVERT, Charles Benedict, a Representative from Maryland; born in Riverdale, Prince Georges County, Md., August 24, 1808; completed preparatory studies at Bladensburg Academy, Md.; was graduated from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1827; engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock breeding; member of the State house of delegates in 1839, 1843, and 1844; president of the Prince Georges County Agricultural Society and the Maryland State Agricultural Society; vice president of the United States Agricultural Society; founded the first agricultural research college in America (later the Maryland Agricultural College at College Park), chartered in 1856; one of the early advocates for the establishment of the United States Department of Agriculture; elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1861-March 3, 1863); was not a candidate for renomination in 1862; resumed agricultural pursuits; died in Riverdale, Prince Georges County, Md., May 12, 1864; interment in Calvert Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present