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

• The Declaration of Independence was first publicly read in Massachusetts by Isaiah Thomas in Worcester in July 1776.[1]
• The monkey wrench was invented by Loring Coes of the Coes Knife Company in 1840.[2]
• In 1847, the first commercial valentine was mass-produced in Worcester by Esther Howland.[3]
• Worcester blacksmith Albert Tolman is said to have invented the rickshaw in 1848 for a missionary traveling to South America (There are, however, numerous other theories about the origin of the rickshaw.)[2]
• The first national convention of women advocating women's suffrage was held in Worcester on October 23 and 24, 1850.[2]
• Worcester resident Joshua C. Stoddard invented the steam calliope in 1855.[4]
• Candy Cummings is reputed to have thrown the first ever curveball pitch in Worcester in 1867 while playing for the Brooklyn Stars. It was a strike.[2]
• Lee Richmond of the Worcesters pitched the first perfect game in major league baseball history on June 12, 1880.[2]
• The founding meeting of the American Psychology Association was held at Clark University in 1892.[5]
• Worcester resident Henry Perky became the first to mass-produce shredded wheat in 1895.[2]
• Albert A. Michelson, chairman of Clark University's Physics Department, was named America's first Nobel Prize winner in 1902 for his experiments relating to his calculation of the speed of light.[6]
• Dr. Robert H. Goddard of Worcester Polytechnic Institute's class of 1908 and later Clark University patented the first liquid fuel rocket in 1914.
• The combined oral contraceptive pill was developed by the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in the Worcester suburb of Shrewsbury.[2]
• Harvey Ball designed the world famous Smiley face in 1963.[2]
• The David Clark Company designed and built a pressure suit for Felix Baumgartner's world-record skydive attempt in 2010.

References

1. Declaration of Independence: First Public Readings
2. Regional Info >> Unique Worcester County Facts
3. Valentine Exhibition- Origins of the Valentine
4. Mechanical Music Digest - Calliope
5. Psychology Department ~ Clark University
6. Albert Abraham Michelson 1852-1931