Thomas Bladen

At the 1734 British general election he stood for parliament at Amersham, where he was defeated then and at a by-election in February 1735.

[2] In 1744, he bought 4 acres (16,000 m2) of land in Annapolis from Stephen Bordley and commenced construction of a building,[8] now McDowell Hall, St. John's College, as a governor's residence.

[7] He quickly disagreed with the Legislature about its architecture[8] and became involved in a lawsuit with Bordley, the previous owner, and construction halted.

[9] Bladen quickly became an unpopular governor,[8] and was dismissed from office by October 1746 because he was "tactless and quarrelsome".

He returned to England in 1746, when he was succeeded by Samuel Ogle, husband of his niece Anne Tasker.

Soon after his marriage he acquired the Glastonbury Abbey estate from the Duke of Devonshire for £12,700, reportedly after beating him at dice.

[8] The town of Bladensburg, Maryland, which was incorporated in the first year of his governorship as Garrison's Landing, was renamed after him.