1. In 1861, Maryland voted not to secede from the Union during the Civil War. The state's position as a border state between the Northern and Southern states made this decision particularly significant.

2. On February 1, 1884, the first electric streetcar in the United States made its debut in Baltimore, Maryland. The streetcar traveled from 25th Street and North Avenue to downtown Baltimore.

3. In 1902, the Maryland State Normal School (now known as Towson University) was established. It was the first teacher training institution in Maryland and one of the first in the country.

4. Maryland native Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 28 medals, was born on February 1, 1985 in Baltimore.

5. On February 1, 2013, Maryland became the first state in the country to pass a law prohibiting the sale of certain types of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. The law was enacted in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut.