List of people from Worcester, Massachusetts
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The following is a list of prominent people who were born in Worcester, Massachusetts, lived in Worcester, or for whom Worcester is a significant part of their identity.
Academics and inventors
- Richard T. Antoun, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Binghamton University; stabbed to death by student in 2009
- Harvey Ball, inventor of the smiley face
- Robert Goddard, father of modern rocketry
- G. Stanley Hall, first president of Clark University
- Francis E. Reed, inventor and industrialist who founded F.E. Reed & Co.
Actors and artists
- John Wolcott Adams (1874–1925), artist
- H. Jon Benjamin, actor best known as voice of Sterling Archer on Archer, and the voice of Bob Belcher on Bob's Burgers
- Christopher Boffoli, photographer
- Elbridge Boyden, architect of Mechanics Hall
- Stephen DiRado, photographer
- Stephen C. Earle, architect
- Ryan Idol, adult film actor
- Rita Johnson, actress, co-starred opposite Spencer Tracy in Edison, The Man
- Jean Louisa Kelly, actress from Yes, Dear
- Arthur Kennedy, Oscar-nominated, Tony Award-winning actor
- Dorothy Stratton King, painter and printmaker
- Diane and Elaine Klimaszewski, actresses and models best known as the "Coors Light Twins"
- Jarrett J. Krosoczka, children's book author and illustrator; his Punk Farm optioned by DreamWorks Animation
- Denis Leary, actor and comedian
- John Lurie, actor, musician, and composer
- Nora Marlowe (1915-1977), actress
- Eddie Mekka, actor best known for playing Carmine Ragusa on Laverne and Shirley
- Alisan Porter, former child actress and winner of Season 10 of The Voice
- Sam Qualiana, actor and filmmaker involved with many low-budget horror films, including Snow Shark (2012)
- Renee Sands, former child actress and singer from Kids Incorporated and Wild Orchid
- Sam Seder, Air America radio host of Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder, actor, writer and director
- Joseph Skinger, silversmith, sculptor
- Doug Stanhope, comedian known for abrasive style and for The Man Show
- Lewis Stone (1879-1953), actor, The Secret Six, Grand Hotel, Andy Hardy series
- Erik Per Sullivan, actor, Malcolm in the Middle
- David Whitney, art curator
- Alicia Witt, actress, singer-songwriter
- Hildegard Woodward, children's book illustrator
Athletes
- Jerry Azumah, former NFL defensive back[1]
- Frank Carroll, US figure skater and coach, 1960 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, actor[2]
- Tim Collins, relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals[3]
- Bob Cousy, Hall of Fame basketball player; attended the College of the Holy Cross; currently lives in Worcester[4]
- Ken Doane, professional wrestler[5]
- Rich Gedman, Boston Red Sox catcher, manager of the Worcester Tornadoes[6]
- Bill Guerin, former Pittsburgh Penguins right winger[7]
- Aaron Haddad, professional wrestler in WWE[8]
- Tom Heinsohn, NBA Hall of Fame, Boston Celtics great; attended College of Holy Cross
- Gordon Lockbaum, attended Holy Cross College; twice finished in the top five in the Heisman Trophy balloting[9]
- Tom Poti, former NHL defenseman[10]
- J.P. Ricciardi, MLB executive, former general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays[11]
- José Antonio Rivera, WBA light middleweight champion[citation needed]
- Richard Rodgers, starting tight end for the Green Bay Packers; played for St. John's High School
- Edwin Rodríguez, boxer[12]
- Tanyon Sturtze, former MLB pitcher[13]
- Major Taylor, track cycling champion[14]
- Bill Toomey, gold medal decathlete, 1968 Olympics; attended Worcester Academy
- Vinnie Yablonski, NFL player[15]
Musicians
- John Coolidge Adams, popular composer
- Duncan Arsenault, musician
- Norman Bailey, big band trumpet player from The Lawrence Welk Show
- Jaki Byard, jazz pianist and composer
- Frank Capp, jazz drummer and bandleader
- Don Fagerquist, jazz trumpeter
- Duke Levine, guitarist[16]
- Four Year Strong, rock band
- J. Geils, Lead in J. Geils Band, attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- J. Geils Band, formed in Worcester as a fraternity party band at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, as Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels
- Georgia Gibbs, 1950s pop singer
- The Hotelier, rock band
- Orpheus, a band that enjoyed popularity in the 1960s and early 1970s
- Jordan Knight, member of the boy band New Kids On The Block
- Cole Porter, Broadway composer, student at Worcester Academy ca. 1912
- Andy Ross, guitarist for rock band OK Go
Politicians
- Charles Allen (1797–1869), United States Congressman from Massachusetts[17]
- George Bancroft, 17th United States Secretary of the Navy, founder of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, author of the first comprehensive history of the United States[18]
- John Binienda, Massachusetts state legislator[19]
- Alexander H. Bullock, Governor of Massachusetts (1866–1868)[20]
- John Curtis Chamberlain, US Representative[21]
- Dorothea Dix, reformer and activist
- Dwight Foster, Massachusetts Attorney General and Associate Justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court[22]
- Roger Sherman Baldwin Foster, lawyer[23]
- Emma Goldman, Lithuanian-American anarchist; owned ice cream parlor in Worcester[24]
- Thomas Wentworth Higginson, abolitionist, literary mentor to Emily Dickinson[25]
- Abbie Hoffman, radical activist[26]
- Abby Kelley Foster, abolitionist, suffragette[27]
- Levi Lincoln Sr., American revolutionary
- Levi Lincoln Jr., Governor of Massachusetts
- Albert L. Nash, politician and businessman[28]
- Kenneth P. O'Donnell, Appointments Secretary and Political Adviser to President John F. Kennedy[29]
- John Rucho, politician and businessman[30]
- Charles F. Sullivan, Mayor of Worcester and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, 1949–1953
- Benjamin Swan, longest-serving Vermont State Treasurer[31]
- Charles G. Washburn, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Writers and journalists
- Jane G. Austin, writer
- S. N. Behrman, playwright, author of memoir The Worcester Account
- Robert Benchley, writer and member of the Algonquin Round Table
- Elizabeth Bishop, poet and writer
- John Dufresne, novelist and screenwriter
- Esther Forbes, writer
- Samuel Fuller, screenwriter, producer and director
- John Michael Hayes, writer of the Alfred Hitchcock films Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, and The Man Who Knew Too Much
- Stanley Kunitz, Poet Laureate
- Frank O'Hara, poet
- Charles Olson, modernist poet
- Normand Poirier, writer
- Ernest Lawrence Thayer, poet and journalist, known for "Casey at the Bat"
- Isaiah Thomas, publisher of the Massachusetts Spy
Other
- Lillian Asplund, last survivor of the RMS Titanic who remembered the actual sinking
- William Austin Burt, 19th-century explorer and surveyor in Michigan
- Timothy Bigelow, Revolutionary War patriot
- Jonas Clark, founder of Clark University
- Edgar C. Erickson (1896-1989), United States Army Major General and Chief of the National Guard Bureau
- Myra Kraft, philanthropist, wife of New England Patriots Owner Bob Kraft
- Joe Morrone, Connecticut Huskies soccer coach
- Charley Parkhurst, stagecoach driver and horseman
- Irving Price, co-founder of Fisher Price toys and games
- Stephen Salisbury III, founder of the Worcester Art Museum
- Richard B. Sellars (1915–2010), Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson[32]
- Ichabod Washburn, founder of Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Geoffrey Zakarian, Iron Chef, Food Network Channel celebrity chef
References
- ^ "MEET JERRY AZUMAH". ASAP. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ "Rink Master". Holy Cross. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ "Tim Collins". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ "Bob Cousy". Pro-Basketball Reference . Com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ "Ken Doane". 2013, Canoe Inc. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ "Rich Gedman". Pro-Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ "Bill Guerin". Hockey Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ "Aaron Haddad". 2013, Canoe Inc. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ Glassboro High School Hall of Fame (1989 Inductees). Accessed August 6, 2007.
- ^ "Tom Poti". Hockey Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ "J.P. Ricciardi". Pro-Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ "Andre Ward pummels Edwin Rodriguez". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ "Tanyon Sturtze". Pro-Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ "Marshall Taylor". 2000 - 2002 Major Taylor Association, Inc. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ "VINNIE YABLONSKI". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ http://dukelevine.com/
- ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Marquis Who's Who. 1967.
- ^ "George Bancroft Secretary of the Navy 1800 - 1891". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ Votesmart.org.-John Binienda, Sr.
- ^ "Massachusetts Governor Alexander Hamilton Bullock". NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ "CHAMBERLAIN, John Curtis (1772-1834)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ Davis, William Thomas (1900), History of the Judiciary of Massachusetts: Including the Plymouth and Massachusetts Colonies, The Province of Massachusetts Bay, and The Commonwealth, Boston, MA: The Boston Book Company, p. 194.
- ^ "THE ANCESTRY OF SALLY SLEEPER RUSSELL OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS (1919-1983)". Ancestry.com. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
- ^ "People & Events: Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919)". American Experience. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ "Thomas Wentworth Higginson". Civil War Trust. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ "Abbie Hoffman, 60's Icon, Dies; Yippie Movement Founder Was 52". The New York Times. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ "Abigail Kelley Foster". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ '1973-1974 Public Officials of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Biographical Sketch of Albert L. Nash, pg. 252
- ^ "Biographical Profiles: Kenneth P. O'Donnell". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ '1977-1978 Public Officials of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Biographical Sketch of John Rucho, pg. 282
- ^ Henry Swan Dana, History of Woodstock, Vermont, 1889, page 485
- ^ Abelson, Reed. "Richard B. Sellars, Former Chief of Johnson & Johnson, Dies at 94", The New York Times, June 26, 2010.
Nickname(s): The City of the Seven Hills, The Heart of the Commonwealth, Wormtown, Woo-town, The Woo | ||
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