1. In 1607, Captain John Smith and a group of English settlers reached the Chesapeake Bay and explored various sites in Maryland, including what is now St. Mary's City, becoming the first Europeans to establish a settlement in the state.

2. On May 14, 1815, the Treaty of Ghent was ratified by the United States Senate, officially ending the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. Maryland played a prominent role in the war, as it was the site of several crucial battles and served as a major supply base for the American army.

3. The Maryland State House, located in Annapolis, was completed on May 14, 1779. The State House is the oldest continuously used state capitol in the nation and served as the temporary capital of the United States from November 1783 to August 1784.

4. John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, was born in Bel Air, Maryland on May 14, 1838. Booth was a well-known actor and Confederate sympathizer who sought to strike a blow against the Union by killing the President.

5. On May 14, 2005, Maryland became the first state in the nation to ban the sale of products containing ephedra, a popular herbal supplement that had been linked to numerous deaths and heart attacks. The ban was enacted after a series of high-profile deaths and illnesses were linked to the use of the supplement.