Worcester, Massachusetts firsts

Below is a list of events that occurred first in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Worcester firsts

Worcester resident Harvey Ball's iconic smiley face

• 1776 – July 14, the Declaration of Independence was first publicly read in Massachusetts by Isaiah Thomas in Worcester.[1]
• 1840 – The monkey wrench was invented by Loring Coes of the Coes Knife Company.[2]
• 1847 – The first commercial valentine card was mass-produced in Worcester by Esther Howland.[3]
• 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.[4]
• 1855 – Worcester resident Joshua C. Stoddard invented the steam calliope.[5]
• 1867 – Candy Cummings is reputed to have thrown the first ever curveball pitch in Worcester while playing for the Brooklyn Stars.[6]
• 1880 – June 12, Lee Richmond of the Worcester Worcesters pitched the first perfect game in Major League Baseball history.[7]
• 1892 – The founding meeting of the American Psychology Association was held at Clark University.[8]
• 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.[9]
• 1914 – Dr. Robert H. Goddard of Worcester Polytechnic Institute's class of 1908 and later Clark University patented the first liquid fuel rocket.[10]
• 1963 – Harvey Ball designed the world famous Smiley face.[11]
• 2010 – The David Clark Company designed and built a pressure suit for Felix Baumgartner's world-record skydive attempt.

References

1. "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.
2. , "Method of constructing screw-wrenches", issued 1841-04-16
3. Valentine Exhibition- Origins of the Valentine
4. 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.
5. "Calliope (ii)". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.04610. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
6. "Candy Cummings". Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
7. "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
8. 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.CS1 maint: others (link)
9. Albert Abraham Michelson 1852-1931
10. Garner, Rob (2015-02-11). "Dr. Robert H. Goddard, American Rocketry Pioneer". NASA. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
11. Stamp, Jimmy. "Who Really Invented the Smiley Face?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-08.