Worcester, Massachusetts Firsts

=Worcester firsts=

* The Declaration of Independence was first publicly read in Massachusetts by Isaiah Thomas in Worcester in July 1776. [ [http://www.american.edu/heintze/declar.htm Declaration of Independence: First Public Readings ] ]
* The monkey wrench was invented by Loring Coes of the Coes Knife Company in 1840. [http://www.worcester.org/unique-facts.html Regional Info >> Unique Worcester County Facts ] ]
* In 1847, the first commercial valentine was mass produced in Worcester by Esther Howland [ [http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Exhibitions/Valentines/howland.htm Valentine Exhibition- Origins of the Valentine ] ] .
* 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.)
* Similarly, many lists of Worcester inventions include barbed wire, which seems to be dubious.Fact|date=February 2007
* The first national convention of women advocating women's suffrage was held in Worcester on October 23 and 24, 1850.
* Worcester resident Joshua C. Stoddard invented the steam calliope in 1855 [ [http://mmd.foxtail.com/Calliope/ Mechanical Music Digest - Calliope ] ] .
* 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.
* J. Lee Richmond of the Worcesters pitched the first perfect game in major league baseball history on June 12, 1880.
* Candlepin bowling was first developed in Worcester in 1880.Fact|date=February 2007
* The founding meeting of the American Psychology Association was held at Clark University in 1892. [ [http://www.clarku.edu/~psydept/ Psychology Department ~ Clark University ] ]
* Worcester resident Henry Perky became the first to mass produce shredded wheat in 1895.
* Between September 6-10, 1909, Sigmund Freud delivered his only American lectures at Clark University ("Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis" later published as "On Psychoanalysis"). Carl Jung joined him, and William James attended.Fact|date=February 2007
* 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. [ [http://www.aip.org/history/gap/Michelson/Michelson.html Albert Abraham Michelson 1852-1931 ] ]
* 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.
* Charles Olson, a poet and Worcester native, coined the term "postmodern" in his 1958 essay "The Present is Prologue".Fact|date=February 2007
* Harvey Ball designed the world famous Smiley face in 1963.
* Charles Hill Morgan patented a direct-action hydraulic elevator and installed the first one.Fact|date=February 2007

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