Baltimore
is an
independent
city
located in
the
state of
Maryland
in the
United
States of
America.
As of 2006,
the
population
of Baltimore
City was
631,366.
The city is
a major U.S.
seaport,
situated
closer to
major
Midwestern
markets than
any other
major
seaport on
the East
Coast. Once
an
industrial
town with an
economic
base in
manufacturing,
Baltimore's
economy has
now shifted
primarily to
a
service
sector-oriented,
with its
largest
employer no
longer
Bethlehem
Steel
but
The Johns
Hopkins
University
and The
Johns
Hopkins
Hospital.
During the
17th
century,
various
towns called
"Baltimore"
were founded
as
commercial
ports at
various
locations on
the upper
Chesapeake
Bay. The
Maryland
colonial
General
Assembly
created the
port (at
Locust Point)
in 1706 as a
tobacco
port of
entry.
The present
city dates
from
July 30,
1729,
and is named
after
Lord
Baltimore,
who was the
first
Proprietary
Governor
of the
Province of
Maryland.
