History Articles
History of the Maryland Bible Society
April 8, 2009The Maryland Bible Society (MBS) was organized in 1810 by a butcher, a teacher, a dry goods merchant, a milliner, a stationer, a surveyor, a silk dyer, the collector of the port of Baltimore, the President of the Athenian...
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MBS Historical Timeline
- 1810 - Baltimore Bible Society was founded in Baltimore City
- 1813 - Dr. James McHenry, Aide de Camp of George Washington, served in the Maryland Legislature, member of the Continental Congress, President of the Bible Society
- 1813 - copies of the Scriptures were distributed in the Louisiana Territory by the Baltimore(Maryland) Bible Society
- 1813 - During the war of 1812, by December 1813, the Society was incorporated by the General Assembly of Maryland
- 1814 - Six hundred dollars was given to print a French version of the Bible for the Louisiana Territory
- 1815 - The Society published a major address on the founders of the Society in Baltimore - first President was Rev. Joseph G.J. Bend, rector of St Pauls - receipts for the first year were $1,427.50
- 1816 - Representatives of Maryland Bible Society attended a meeting in New York City to formally organize what became the American Bible Society
- 1833 - Year of Re-Organization - consolidation with the YOung Men's Bible Society considered - State Bible Convention was called, which May 1, 1833, at First Presbyterian Church and lasted three days; William Wirt became the first president of the newly formed Maryland (State) Bible Society
- 1833 - Dr. Nevins, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church issued a pamphlet "Why the World Should Have the Bible"
- 1859 - Rev. Isaac P. Cook - President during the time of the Civil War
- 1862-1864 - Maryland Bible Society became the pivotal Mason Dixon Border State to provide New Testaments for soldiers of both the Northern and Southern Armies
- 1904 - Bible House destroyed by the Great Fire of Baltimore, used the second floor of the Central YMCA until moving to 10 and 12 E. Fayette
- 1909 - Rev. Dr. John F. Goucher, founder of Goucher College, became president of the Maryland Bible Society until 1923
- 1913 - MBS gave ABS $10,000 for the revision and publication of the fourth edition of the Reference Bible in Arabic
- 1916 - MBS agreed to pay $50,000 over ten years for the construction of the Bible House at Cristobal, Panama in honor of ABS's 100th Anniversary
- 1926 - Secretaries Conference held in Hartford, Connecticut and New York with ABS with ten Societies present, including Maryland
- 1926 - Washington City Bible Society and Maryland Bible Society formed the National Capital Agency
- 1928 - The Maryland Bible Society contributed nearly $60,000 for the building of the first Bible House in China in Beijing
- 1963 - Maryland Bible Society had again made a Grant to the American Bible Society of $50,000 for the building of the Bible House in Mexico City for the Bible Society of Mexico
- 1976 - Rev. Dr. W. McCarl Roberts became Executive Director and during his years at the Bible Society, massive renovation took place in the building and the largest distribution of Scriptures in the history of the Bible Society
- 1996 - Rev. Dr. Raymond Moreland became Associate Executive Director with Dr. Roberts and then became Executive Director when Dr. Roberts retired in 1997
- 1996 - Maryland Bible Society took over the fiduciary responsibility for the disbanded Washington City Bible Society, and the interest from that fund was restricted to Scripture Grants for ministries in the Washington metropolitan area
- 1997 - until the present - Dr. Moreland brought the entire operation of the Bible Society into the computer age and business software as well as the development of website for info and sales for the Bible Society developed by New Village Media
- 2001 - Because of the attack on 9/11 Maryland Bible Society spent the entire year providing nearly 7 million copies of Bibles, New Testaments, and selections for ministries all over the nation, plus it was the beginning of a new campaign for "Bibles for Soldiers"
