The following are some notable people from the American state of Maryland, listed by their field of endeavor. This list may not include federal officials and members of the United States Congress who live in Maryland but are not actual natives.
Politicians, jurists, and statesmen
Spiro T. Agnew, former governor of Maryland and vice president of the United States John R. Bolton, 25th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Charles Joseph Bonaparte, former attorney general of the United States; founder of the FBI; grand-nephew of French emperor Napoleon I Anthony Brown, United States congressman, former lieutenant governor of Maryland Charles Carroll of Carrollton, lawyer, politician, and signer of the Declaration of Independence John Lee Carroll, 36th governor of Maryland Samuel Chase, United States Supreme Court Justice Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen; head of the NHTSA in the Carter administration J. Joseph Curran Jr., state attorney general and former lieutenant governor Frederick Douglass, abolitionist Doug Duncan, county executive Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., former governor of Maryland and member of the U.S. House of Representatives Christopher Emery, assistant White House chief usher Merrick Garland, U.S. attorney general John Hanson, ninth president of the Continental Congress; first elected under the Articles of Confederation Ellen Lipton Hollander, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland Steny Hoyer, current and former House majority leader, U.S. House of Representatives Sarah T. Hughes, federal judge who administered the presidential oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson Brett Kavanaugh, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Philip Barton Key, U.S. representative and U.S. district judge Allan H. Kittleman, former Maryland state senator and county executive for Howard County, Maryland Ernest Lyon, former U.S. ambassador to Liberia and founder of Maryland Industrial and Agricultural Institute for Colored Youths Thurgood Marshall, first African-American Supreme Court justice in the history of the United States Kweisi Mfume, congressman and former NAACP leader J. William Middendorf, United States diplomat, secretary of the Navy Aruna Miller, lieutenant governor of Maryland and former Maryland state delegate Charles E. Miller, politician, businessman, and philanthropist Wes Moore, author, nonprofit executive and current governor of Maryland David Nolan, activist and politician Johnny Olszewski, Baltimore County executive and former Maryland state delegate Katie O'Malley, state district judge and wife of Martin O'Malley Martin J. O'Malley, former governor of Maryland and 2016 candidate for president of the United States William Paca, signer of the Declaration of Independence Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the United States House of Representatives Edgar Allan Poe, Maryland attorney general (1911–1915) John P. Poe Sr., attorney general of Maryland (1891–1895) Neilson Poe, judge for Baltimore City and grandfather of Poe brothers Kevin B. Quinn, chief executive officer and administrator of the Maryland Transit Administration William Donald Schaefer, former governor Sargent Shriver, politician, former vice presidential candidate Michael S. Steele, lieutenant governor of Maryland (2003–2007) Roger Taney, chief justice of the United States Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (Democratic Party), former lieutenant governor of Maryland and oldest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy Jeffrey Zients, director of the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama Dawn Zimmer, mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey
Architects Otto Eugene Adams George Archer Richard Snowden Andrews Ephraim Francis Baldwin Henry F. Brauns William Buckland Wright Butler Charles L. Carson Albert Cassell Charles E. Cassell Thomas Dixon George A. Frederick Jackson C. Gott Nathaniel Henry Hutton William Rich Hutton Edmund George Lind J. Crawford Neilson John Rudolph Niernsee Edward L. Palmer Jr. Theodore Wells Pietsch, architect of Stieff Silver Company Factory (Baltimore) Bruce Price Howard Van Doren Shaw (died in Baltimore) Gideon Shryock Mathias Shryock (born in Frederick, Maryland) Joseph Evans Sperry Philip E. Thomas, first president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad John Appleton Wilson James Bosley Noel Wyatt
Scientists and inventors Beatrice Aitchison, mathematician, statistician, topologist, and transportation economist Hattie Alexander, pediatrician and microbiologist, developed first effective remedies for Haemophilus influenzae Shirley Montag Almon, economist noted for the Almon lag model Richard R. Arnold, NASA astronaut, high school biology teacher Benjamin Banneker, surveyor, astronomer, mathematician and almanac author Brady Barr, herpetologist Ruth Bleier, neurophysiologist and feminist scholar Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google John H. Brodie, physicist Ben Carson, former neurosurgeon, politician, and 2016 presidential candidate Rachel Carson, environmentalist Teresa Cohen, mathematician Robert Curbeam, astronaut, engineer, and US naval officer George Dantzig, mathematical scientist George Delahunty, physiologist, endocrinologist, and professor at Goucher College Olive Dennis, railroad engineer and first female member of the American Railway Engineering Association Wendell E. Dunn Jr., chemical engineer, metallurgist, and inventor Roger L. Easton, principal inventor of GPS Charles Fefferman, mathematician Henry Gantt, mechanical engineer Solomon Golomb, mathematician who invented pentominoes Michael Griffin, NASA administrator Harold E. Harrison and Helen C. Harrison, husband-and-wife research team in pediatrics Ethel Browne Harvey, embryologist Arlo Hemphill, explorer/ocean conservationist Georgeanna Seegar Jones, reproductive endocrinologist Howard W. Jones, gynecological surgeon Thomas David Jones, NASA astronaut, US Air Force pilot Kate Breckenridge Karpeles, first woman to be appointed a contract surgeon by the United States Army Nick Katz, mathematician Mark Mattson, neuroscientist John Mauchly, physicist who, with J. Presper Eckert, invented the first general-purpose electronic computer Edmund McIlhenny, inventor of Tabasco brand pepper sauce Florence Marie Mears, mathematician Bessie Moses, gynecologist, obstetrician and Director of the Baltimore Bureau for Contraceptive Advice Ayub K. Ommaya, neurosurgeon Helen Dodson Prince, astronomer Mila Rechcigl, biochemist Robert Empie Rogers, chemist Arthur William Savage, inventor of the Savage Model 99 Paul Reed Smith, luthier Elsie Shutt, computer programmer and founder of software company Terry W. Virts, NASA astronaut, US Air Force pilot Douglas C. Wallace, geneticist, evolutionary biologist John Archibald Wheeler, theoretical physicist Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut, US Navy aviator Edward Witten, physicist, mathematician Jean Worthley, naturalist and TV host of Hodgepodge Lodge and On Nature's Trail Jill Zimmerman, computer scientist and professor at Goucher College
Authors, journalists
Devin Allen, photojournalist and photographer John Barth, author Carl Bernstein, journalist and author Hanne Blank, author Ann Brashares, author Pat Brown, author, criminal profiler Emma Alice Browne, poet Mindie Burgoyne, author and businessperson Erin Burnett, journalist and CNN anchor James M. Cain, journalist and author Christine Michel Carter, author Kiran Chetry, journalist Connie Chung, television journalist Tom Clancy, author Lucille Clifton, poet Ta-Nehisi Coates, writer, journalist Annie McCarer Darlington, poet Mark Davis, columnist, radio talk show host Minnie S. Davis, author, mental scientist Frank Deford, journalist and author Matt Drudge, journalist, radio talk show host Alex Epstein, author, energy theorist Nellie Blessing Eyster, journalist, writer, reformer Roland Flint, poet Courtney Friel, entertainment reporter for Fox News Marianne Githens, political scientist, feminist, author, and professor Jesse Glass, poet, folklorist Meredith Goldstein, advice columnist and reporter Sara Haardt, author and professor Mary Downing Hahn, author Dashiell Hammett, author James Alexander Henshall, author Karen Hesse, author Nancy Hubbard, author and business professor Zora Neale Hurston, author Julia Ioffe (born 1982), journalist Mary E. Ireland, writer, translator, poet Nina Kasniunas, political scientist, author, and professor Sophie Kerr, author Michael Kimball, author Cliff Kincaid, investigative journalist Gayle King, editor Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN football analyst Munro Leaf, children's author Rick Leventhal, correspondent for Fox News Walter Lord, author H. L. Mencken, journalist and social critic Emily J. Miller, senior editor of Washington Times opinion pages Frank Miller, writer and artist Ogden Nash, humorous poet Suzan-Lori Parks, playwright and screenwriter Edgar Allan Poe, poet, writer, and literary critic Adrienne Rich, poet and feminist Hester Dorsey Richardson, writer Nora Roberts, author Thomas Roberts, news anchor for MSNBC John Thomas Scharf, author, historian, lawyer, politician, and Confederate soldier and sailor Karl Shapiro, poet Laura Amy Schlitz, children's literature author Upton Sinclair, author Norman Solomon, journalist, media critic Bud Sparhawk, science fiction author John Steadman, sportswriter Flora E. Strout, teacher, social reformer, non-fiction writer, lyricist Mary Spear Tiernan, writer Anne Tyler, author Sanford J. Ungar, journalist and Goucher College president emeritus Leon Uris, author Scott Van Pelt, ESPN anchor and radio host Amelia B. Coppuck Welby, poet Fredricka Whitfield, CNN reporter and anchor Emma Howard Wight, writer, newspaper correspondent Michael Wilbon, ESPN personality (Pardon the Interruption) and The Washington Post sports columnist Ella B. Ensor Wilson, social reformer, non-fiction writer Ibbie McColm Wilson, poet James Wolcott, journalist, social critic
Musicians
Bernard Addison, jazz guitarist Scott Ambush, jazz bassist Tori Amos, singer-songwriter BT, born Brian Transeau, electronic musician Jack Barakat, lead guitarist of the rock band All Time Low Niki Barr, singer-songwriter Keter Betts, jazz bassist Eubie Blake, ragtime, jazz and pop composer, lyricist Bossman, rapper Toni Braxton, singer Mark Bryan, guitarist for the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish Randy Blythe, vocalist for heavy metal band Lamb of God David Byrne, singer/guitarist of rock band Talking Heads Bill Callahan, singer/songwriter formerly known as Smog Cab Calloway, jazz singer and bandleader Eva Cassidy, singer-songwriter Cex, electronic musician JC Chasez, singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, producer, and member of pop group *NSYNC John Christ, former guitarist of the hard rock band Danzig Cordae, rapper Rian Dawson, drummer for the band All Time Low Dan Deacon, electronic musician Deakin (Joshua Dibb), co-founder of Animal Collective Jeff Draco, independent singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist John Duff, singer-songwriter Adam Duritz, singer of rock band Counting Crows Cass Elliot, singer of pop band The Mamas & the Papas Sam Endicott, singer of rock band The Bravery Entrance, born Guy Blakeslee, singer/songwriter John Fahey, folk/blues guitarist Brent Faiyaz, singer, record producer Neil Fallon, lead singer for the band Clutch Mark Fax, composer Dean Felber, bass guitarist for the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish Gallant, singer-songwriter Alex Gaskarth, lead singer and guitarist for the rock band All Time Low Johnny Gill, singer Danny Gatton, guitarist Geologist (Brian Weltz), co-founding member of Animal Collective Ginuwine, R&B singer Philip Glass, composer Robert Gordon, rockabilly singer Tamyra Gray, singer/actress Hilary Hahn, concert violinist, two-time Grammy winner Greg Hawkes, keyboardist of The Cars Billie Holiday, singer Ron Holloway, tenor saxophonist Scott Hull, guitarist, music producer Eric Hutchinson, musician JPEGMafia, music producer, experimental hip hop artist