Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the most populous cities in the US. It has a humid continental climate having scorching and humid summers, cold snowy winters, and mild spring and fall. Moreover, it houses a significant population of about 667,137 (as of 2016). From this vast (and often transient) population, many famous icons have emerged.
Check out these prominent people who have lived in Boston, Massachusetts:
1. John F. Kennedy
The 35th President of the United States of America was the first Roman Catholic to hold the office. He was also the youngest to be elected to the highest office. Kennedy was born on Beale Street in Brookline on May 29, 1917, and famously died from an assassination In Dallas at the age of 46 on November 22, 1963.
2. Edward W. Brooke
Often called the first African-American Senator in the United States, Brooke was actually the first of the twentieth century. Immediately after the Civil War, when Federal Troops occupied the defeated Southern States, a few African-Americans were appointed by their state legislatures. (All U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures prior to the 1913 passage of the 17th amendment, so Brooke was indeed the first African-American to be popularly elected to the upper chamber.)
This trend quickly came to an end, however, when the congressional compromise that gave the presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes stipulated that all Union Troops be removed from the South. Without the military presence enforcing the rights the newly enfranchised black population, terror and Jim Crow laws stripped the region’s African-Americans of all political power.
The eventual Massachusetts Republican was born on October 26, 1919, served two terms in the Senate and died on January 3, 2015, at the age of 95. In 2000, the Edward W, Brooke Courthouse in downtown Boston opened as part of the Commonwealth’s trial court system.
3. Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin, now more associated with Philadelphia, is known as one of greatest scientists. He invented the flexible urinary catheter, Franklin stove, glass harmonica, and lightning rod. He was born on January 17, 1706, right here in Boston, and attended Boston Latin, the country’s first public high school.
4. Louisa May Alcott
Alcott was a famous novelist and poet who wrote famous books like Little Women, Little Men, and Jo’s Boys. A longtime resident of Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, she was born on November 29, 1832, and died from the stroke at age 55 in Boston on March 6, 1888.
5. Ben Foster
Foster is an actor, born on October 29, 1980, known for his role as Logan in X-Men in 2006. He also plays on various big-budget films such like Alpha Dog (2006), The Messenger (2009), and Lone Survivor (2013).
6. Dr. Jonathan Max Mann
He was a researcher who was one of the pioneers in the campaign of the World Health Organization against AIDS. He is also a founder of the movement to link health issues with those of human rights. He died on a Swissair Flight on September 2, 1998, at the age of 51.
