Below is a list of events that occurred first in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Worcester firsts
- 1776 – July 14, the Declaration of Independence was first publicly read in Massachusetts by Isaiah Thomas in Worcester.
- 1840 – The monkey wrench was invented by Loring Coes of the Coes Knife Company.
- 1847 – The first commercial valentine card was mass-produced in Worcester by Esther Howland.
- 1848 – Worcester blacksmith Albert Tolman is said to have invented the rickshaw for a missionary traveling to South America. (There are, however, numerous other theories about the origin of the rickshaw.)
- 1850 – October 23 and 24, the National Women's Rights Convention was first held in Worcester.
- 1855 – Worcester resident Joshua C. Stoddard invented the steam calliope.
- 1867 – Candy Cummings is reputed to have thrown the first ever curveball pitch in Worcester while playing for the Brooklyn Stars.
- 1880 – June 12, Lee Richmond of the Worcester Worcesters pitched the first perfect game in Major League Baseball history.
- 1892 – The founding meeting of the American Psychological Association was held at Clark University.
- 1895 – Worcester resident Henry Perky became the first to mass-produce shredded wheat.
- 1902 – Albert A. Michelson, chairman of Clark University's Physics Department, was named America's first Nobel Prize winner for his experiments relating to his calculation of the speed of light.
- 1914 – Dr. Robert H. Goddard of Worcester Polytechnic Institute's class of 1908 and later Clark University patented the first liquid fuel rocket.
- 1963 – Harvey Ball designed the world famous Smiley face.
- 2010 – The David Clark Company designed and built a pressure suit for Felix Baumgartner's world-record skydive attempt.
References
- "Worcester, July 24…On Monday last a number of patriotic gentlemen of this town…assembled on the green near the liberty pole…". AAS Catalog Record. 1776-07-24. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- , "Method of constructing screw-wrenches", issued 1841-04-16
- Valentine Exhibition- Origins of the Valentine
- Stone, Lucy; National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection (Library of Congress); Susan B. Anthony Collection (Library of Congress), eds. (1851). The proceedings of the Woman's Rights Convention, held at Worcester, October 23d & 24th, 1850. Boston: Published by Prentiss & Sawyer.
- "Calliope (ii)". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.04610. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- "Candy Cummings". Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- 125 years of the American Psychological Association. Pickren, Wade E.,, Rutherford, Alexandra, 1971- (First ed.). Washington, DC. ISBN 978-1-4338-2790-7. OCLC 1004369830.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - Albert Abraham Michelson 1852-1931
- Garner, Rob (2015-02-11). "Dr. Robert H. Goddard, American Rocketry Pioneer". NASA. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- Stamp, Jimmy. "Who Really Invented the Smiley Face?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
 City of Worcester | ||
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| Nickname(s): The City of the Seven Hills, The Heart of the Commonwealth, Wormtown, Woo-town, The Woo | ||
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See also: Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts | |
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