List of people from Massachusetts
This is a list of people from Massachusetts. It includes both people born in the state, and people famous for association with it.
Architects
Artists
- Frank Weston Benson, painter
- Lilla Cabot Perry (1848—1933), American impressionist
- John Singleton Copley, painter
- Thomas Dewing, painter
- Charles Dana Gibson, graphic artist
- Duff Goldman, cake artist
- Nancy Graves (1939–1995), sculptor, painter, engraver and film director.
- Childe Hassam, painter
- Winslow Homer, painter
- Peter Laird, co-creator of the comic book success, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Fitzhugh Lane, painter
- Shawn McManus, comic book artist
- Willard Metcalf, painter
- Ted Rall, political cartoonist
- Robert Reid, painter
- Norman Rockwell, artist
- Paul Ryan, cartoonist
- Albert Pinkham Ryder, painter
- Mark Shasha, painter, author
- Stass Shpanin, visual artist listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest professional artist in the world
- Edward Simmons, painter
- Frank Stella, artist
- Edmund Charles Tarbell, painter
- Abbott Handerson Thayer, painter
- James Abbott McNeill Whistler, artist
Sculptors:
Athletes
- Harry Agganis, baseball player
- Chris Alexander, baseball player
- Tony Amonte, hockey player
- Prince Amukamara, football player
- Paul Azinger, golfer, golf analyst
- Jerry Azumah, football player
- Jeff Bagwell, baseball player
- Tom Barrasso, hockey player
- Dana Barros, basketball player
- Shawn Bates, hockey player
- David Bavaro, football player
- Mark Bavaro, football player
- Jason Bere, baseball player
- Mark Bellhorn, baseball player
- Joe Bellino, football player, Heisman Trophy Winner
- Travis Best, basketball player
- Ron Brace, football player
- Andy Brickley, hockey player
- Chris Capuano,Baseball player
- Gosder Cherilus, football player
- Erika Lawler, U.S Olympic Women's Hockey Team
- John Cena, professional wrestler
- Jacques Cesaire, football player
- Alex Cobb, baseball player
- Mickey Cochrane, Hall-of-Fame baseball player
- Tim Collins, baseball player
- Todd Collins, football player
- Marc Colombo, football player
- Tony Conigliaro, baseball player
- Stephen Cooper, football player
- Bob Cousy, Hall of Fame basketball player
- Jim Craig, USA Olympic hockey player, 1980 Lake Placid
- Honey Craven, equestrian
- Ron Darling, former starting pitcher, color commentator
- Manny Delcarmen, relief pitcher for the Seattle Mariners
- Vinny Del Negro, basketball player, head coach
- Zak DeOssie, football player for the New York Giants
- Mike DeVito, football player for the New York Jets
- Art Ditmar, baseball pitcher
- Rich Dubee, pitching coach for the Philadelphia Phillies
- Mike Eruzione, USA Olympic Hockey Player, 1980 Lake Placid
- Patrick Ewing, Hall of Fame basketball player
- Mark Fidrych, Baseball player, 1976 MLB AL. rookie of the year
- Ray Fitzgerald, baseball player
- Kenny Florian, UFC Fighter
- Doug Flutie, NFL, Hall of Fame CFL Football Player, Heisman Trophy winner, founder of Flutie Flakes and The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism
- Peter Giunta, football coach
- Tom Glavine, baseball pitcher
- Brandon Gomes, baseball pitcher
- Tony Gonzalez, football player
- Tom Grieve, baseball player, sportscaster
- Josh Grispi, WEC Fighter
- Bill Guerin, hockey player
- Marvin Hagler, boxer
- Matt Hasselbeck, football player
- Tim Hasselbeck, football player
- Fran Healy, baseball player, announcer
- Rich Hill, baseball pitcher
- Erik Howard, football player
- Jarrett Jack, went to school in Worcester, Mass.
- Tim Keefe, 19th century baseball pitcher
- Nancy Kerrigan, Olympic figure skater
- Bill Laimbeer, basketball player
- Joe Lauzon, UFC Fighter
- Michael Leach, tennis player
- Howie Long, hall of fame football player
- Rocky Marciano, boxer
- Lou Merloni, baseball player
- Alex Meyer, Olympic open water swimmer
- Mike Milbury, hockey player
- Joe Morris, football player
- Jay Pandolfo, hockey player
- Carlos Peña, baseball player
- Joe Philbin, offensive coordinator
- Tom Poti, hockey player
- Kassim Osgood, football player
- John Quinlan, professional wrestler
- Alexandra Raisman (born 1994), gymnast
- Jeff Reardon, baseball player
- Jerry Remy, baseball player, announcer
- Jorge Rivera (fighter), UFC fighter
- Jeremy Roenick, hockey player
- David Sacco, hockey player
- Joe Sacco, hockey player
- Alicia Sacramone, olympic gymnast
- Craig Smith, basketball player
- Lofa Tatupu, football player
- Keith Tkachuk, hockey player
- Jordan Todman, football player
- Micky Ward, boxer
- Jerry White, baseball player
- Jermaine Wiggins, football player
- Mark Wohlers, baseball pitcher
- Wilbur Wood, baseball pitcher
- Antoine Wright, basketball player
- Paul Wylie, Olympic figure skater
- Gosder Cherilus, NFL Player
Authors (Novelists, Poets, Playwrights, etc)
See under Literature Dr. Seuss
Business
- Sheldon Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
- Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P.
- Amar Bose, inventor
- Safra A. Catz, President of Oracle Corporation
- Al Davis, former owner of the Oakland Raiders (deceased 2011)
- Elias Hasket Derby, Reportedly America's first millionaire
- William Durant, founder of General Motors and Chevrolet
- Aaron Feuerstein, inventor
- Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix
- Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine.
- Howard Deering Johnson, founder of the Howard Johnson's chain
- Leo Kahn, co-founder of Staples Inc.
- Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots
- Sumner Redstone, entertainment mogul
- Henry Huttleston Rogers, industrialist
- Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric 1981-2001
- Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin
Crime
Entertainment
Comedians
Bo Burnham comedian
- Bill Burr comedian
- Louis C.K. comedian, director
- Mario Cantone comedian
- Steve Carell comedian, actor, The Office US
- Robert Carlock, producer, writer, 30 Rock
- Dane Cook comedian, stand up, and actor
- Nate Corddry comedian, actor, The Daily Show
- Rob Corddry comedian, The Daily Show
- Lenny Clarke comedian, stand up, and actor
- Nick DiPaolo comedian
- Rachel Dratch comedian
- John Ennis comedian, actor, Mr. Show with Bob and David
- Spike Feresten, comedy writer, TV personality
- Penn Jillette comedian, illusionist, juggler, writer
- John Krasinski comedian, actor The Office US
- Denis Leary comedian and actor
- Jay Leno comedian and talk show host
- BJ Novak comedian, actor, and head writer of The Office US
- Conan O'Brien comedian and talk show host
- Patrice O'Neal comedian, writer
- Amy Poehler comedian, actress
- Joe Rogan comedian, actor
- Faith Salie comedian, actress, radio host, Significant Others
- Matt Selman writer, producer, The Simpsons
- Jenny Slate comedian, actress, Saturday Night Live
- Doug Stanhope comedian
- Steve Sweeney comedian and actor
- Maura Tierney actress
- Nancy Walls comedian, actress
- Steven Wright comedian, actor
Actors and film people
- Jack Albertson, actor
- Jane Alexander, actress
- Ben Affleck, Oscar-winning screenwriter, director & actor
- Casey Affleck, actor
- Christopher Allport, actor
- John Ashton, actor
- Elizabeth Banks, actress
- Susan Batson, actress, producer
- Michael Beach, actor
- Traci Bingham, actress, model
- Vail Bloom, actress
- Verna Bloom, actress
- Eric Bogosian, actor, playwright
- Ray Bolger, actor
- Walter Brennan, actor
- Paget Brewster, actress
- Phil Brown, actor
- Wally Brown, actor
- Jere Burns, actor
- Richard Carle, actor
- Corey Carrier, actor
- Max Casella, actor
- Peggy Cass, actress, comedian
- Kevin Chapman, actor
- Michael Chiklis, actor
- Etan Cohen, screenwriter
- Misha Collins, actor
- Jennifer Coolidge, actress
- Marcia Cross, actress
- Monique Gabriela Curnen, actress
- Jane Curtin, actress
- Matt Damon, Oscar-winning screenwriter & actor
- Bette Davis, actress
- Geena Davis, Oscar-winning actress
- Jeffrey Donovan, actor
- Anne Dudek, actress
- Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-winning actress
- Eliza Dushku, actress
- Richard Dysart, actor
- Lisa Edelstein, actress
- Ben Edlund, producer, writer
- Charles H. Eglee, Emmy-winning TV producer and writer
- John Enos III, actor
- Kathryn Erbe, actress
- Chris Evans, actor
- Guy Ferland, film & TV director
- Betty Field, actress
- Alison Folland, actress
- Ben Foster, actor
- Arlene Francis, actress
- Samuel Fuller, director, screenwriter
- Christos Gage, screenwriter
- Pamela Gidley, actress
- Ray Girardin, actor
- Paul Michael Glaser, actor, director
- Nick Gomez, director
- Ruth Gordon, actress
- Sprague Grayden, actress
- Adam Green, actor, director, screenwriter
- Lynnie Greene, actress, writer, producer
- Clark Gregg, actor, screenwriter
- Scott Grimes, actor
- Paul Guilfoyle, actor
- Anthony Michael Hall, actor
- Pooch Hall, actor
- Jane Hamsher, film producer
- Van Hansis, actor
- Jay Harrington, actor
- John Michael Higgins, actor
- Nichole Hiltz, actress
- Marin Hinkle, actress
- Judith Hoag, actress
- Hal Holbrook, actor
- Ann Jillian, actress
- Amy Jo Johnson, actress
- Chris J. Johnson, actor
- JoJo, actress, singer
- David E. Kelley, Emmy-winning writer and producer
- Jean Louisa Kelly, actress
- Arthur Kennedy, actor
- John Krasinski, actor
- Ben Kurland, actor
- Matt LeBlanc, actor
- Rex Lee, actor
- Jack Lemmon, Oscar-winning actor
- Joseph E. Levine, producer
- Richard Libertini, actor
- Alexander Mackendrick, director
- Neal McDonough, actor
- Melinda McGraw, actress
- Terrence E. McNally, actor
- Julie McNiven, actress
- Maria Menounos, actress
- Jan Miner, actress
- William Monahan, screenwriter
- Agnes Moorehead, Emmy-winning actress
- David Morse, actor
- Robert Morse, actor, singer
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach, actor
- Bridget Moynahan, actress
- Peter Murnik, actor
- Donna Murphy, actress
- Alexandra Neil, actress
- Barry Newman, actor
- Leonard Nimoy, actor, director
- Edward Norton, actor, director
- Tricia O'Kelley, actress
- Gretchen Palmer, actress
- Estelle Parsons, actress
- Elizabeth Perkins, actress
- John Bennett Perry, actor
- Matthew Perry, actor
- Rebecca Pidgeon, actress
- Joseph Pilato, actor
- Maryann Plunkett, actress
- Ellen Pompeo, actress
- Robert Preston, actor
- Alan Rachins, actor
- Joseph D. Reitman, actor
- James Remar, actor
- Patrick Renna, actor
- Robert Richardson, Oscar-winning cinematographer
- Eli Roth, director, screenwriter, actor
- Harold Russell, Academy Award-winning actor
- Kurt Russell, actor
- Alex Schemmer, actor
- Taylor Schilling, actress
- Fred J. Scollay, actor
- Tom Everett Scott, actor
- John Slattery, actor
- Talisa Soto, actress
- James Spader, Emmy-winning actor
- Andrew Stanton, director, screenwriter, producer
- Skipp Sudduth, actor
- Erik Per Sullivan, actor
- Julie Taymor, director
- Robin Thomas, actor
- Uma Thurman, actress
- Nancy Travis, actress
- Jonathan Tucker, actor
- Paige Turco, actress
- Anne Twomey, actress
- TJ Thyne, actor
- Steven Van Zandt, actor
- Johnny Washbrook, child actor
- Sam Waterston, actor
- Donnie Wahlberg, actor and musician
- Mark Wahlberg, actor and former musician
- William A. Wellman, Oscar-winning director
- Brian J. White, actor, dancer
- Kristen Wilson, actress
- Alicia Witt, actress
- Kenny Wormald, dancer, actor
- Greg Yaitanes, director
- Michael Yebba, actor, screenwriter
Models
Radio
Hosts, Sportscasters, and TV Personalities
- Tom Bergeron, an American television personality and game show host
- Michelle Bonner, ESPN SportsCenter anchor & ESPNEWS anchor
- Susie Castillo, current MTV VJ and 2003 Miss USA
- Liz Claman, anchor for Fox Business Network's Countdown to the Closing Bell
- S.E. Cupp, conservative pundit and Fox News contributor
- Fred Cusick, play-by-play announcer for the Boston Bruins
- Arwa Damon, video correspondent for CNN International and CNN based in Iraq
- Damien Fahey, current MTV VJ
- John King, CNN journalist/anchor, John King, USA
- Josh Lewin, play-by-play announcer for the Texas Rangers
- Maria Menounos, actress and television presenter known for hostess/correspondent work on both Entertainment Tonight and later Access Hollywood
- Dave O'Brien, ESPN sportscaster
- Lawrence O'Donnell, political commentator on MSNBC and host of The Last Word
- Don Orsillo, play-by-play announcer for the Boston Red Sox
- John Sencio, current host Cash In The Attic for HGTV, prominent MTV VJ during the 1990s, occasional actor and musician.
- George Stephanopoulos, chief political correspondent for ABC News, co-anchor of Good Morning America
- Barbara Walters, television personality
Founders
Literature
- Herbert Baxter Adams, educator, historian
- Louisa May Alcott, author, (Concord, Little Women)
- Horatio Alger, Jr., author
- Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, author (Concord, In the forests of the night, Demon in my View)
- Mike Barnicle, journalist
- Peter Beinart, journalist (Cambridge)
- Edward Bellamy, author and socialist
- Elizabeth Bishop, poet (Worcester)
- Anne Bradstreet, poet
- Augusten Burroughs (Amherst, Running with Scissors)
- Robert Ellis Cahill, folklorist, author (Salem, some three dozen books on New England History and Lore)
- Robert Cormier, author, columnist (Leominster)
- Bernard Cornwell, (Chatham, created Richard Sharpe (fictional character))
- William Cullen Bryant, poet
- e.e. cummings, poet (Cambridge)
- Stephen Daye, printer
- Emily Dickinson, poet (Amherst)
- E. J. Dionne, liberal op-ed columnist for The Washington Post (Boston)
- W. E. B. Du Bois, author, editor, historian (Great Barrington, The Souls of Black Folk)
- Andre Dubus III, author
- Dave Eggers, author
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet (Concord, Nature, The Transcendentalist)
- Robert Frost, poet (Lawrence)
- Nicholas Gage, writer and journalist (Worcester)
- John Kenneth Galbraith, author, educator, and public official
- Khalil Gibran, artist, poet, writer
- Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr.Seuss, author, poet and illustrator (Springfield)
- Edward Gorey, author and illustrator
- Nathaniel Hawthorne, author (Salem, The Scarlet Letter)
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet and essayist (Cambridge)
- Helen Maria Hunt Jackson, author
- Sebastian Junger, author, journalist
- Jack Kerouac, author (Lowell, On the Road)
- Peter King, sportswriter, author
- Jonathan Kozol, author, educator, activist
- Stanley Kunitz, poet (Worcester, Poet Laureate of the United States)
- Peter Laird, Comic book creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Timothy Leary, psychologist, author (Springfield, Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out)
- Dennis Lehane, author
- Henry Cabot Lodge, author and public official
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Portland, ME, 1807 – Cambridge, MA, 1882), author
- James Russell Lowell, poet (Fireside Poets)
- Michael Patrick MacDonald, author, activist (South Boston, All Souls)
- William Manchester, author and biographer
- Stephen McCauley, (Woburn, The Object of My Affection)
- Robin Moore, author (Boston, The Green Berets)
- Marvin Olasky, author, editor-in-chief of WORLD Magazine
- Charles Olson, poet (Worcester)
- Thomas Paine, (Common Sense)
- Daniel Pipes, author (Boston, Cambridge, In the Path of God)
- Sylvia Plath, poet, author, and essayist (Boston, The Bell Jar)
- Edgar Allan Poe, author and poet (Boston, "The Raven", "The Fall of the House of Usher")
- Douglas Preston, author (Cambridge, The Book of the Dead)
- R.A. Salvatore, author (Leominster)
- George Santayana, philosopher, essayist, poet, novelist (Boston, The Life of Reason)
- Daniel Scott (writer), author (Braintree, Some of Us Have to Get Up in the Morning, Pay This Amount)
- Anne Sexton, poet (Newton)
- Mark Shasha, author
- Kyle Smith, film critic, novelist, essayist
- Jeff Stein, columnist
- Michelle Tea, (Chelsea, Rent Girl)
- Henry David Thoreau, philosopher, author (Concord, Walden)
- John Updike (Reading, Pa, 1932 – Danvers, MA, 2009)
- Edith Wharton, author
- Thomas E. Woods, Jr., author, American historian (North Andover)
- John Greenleaf Whittier, poet and abolitionist
- Jane Yolen, author
Military
- General John Galvin (Retired), US Army. Former Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University. Graduate of the United States Military Academy.
- George Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy and founder of the US Naval Academy
- William Francis Buckley, US Army officer and CIA operative. Died in 1985 while being tortured by the Islamist group, Hezbollah.
- George W. Casey, Jr., US Army general and Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
- Adolphus Greely, Polar explorer, a United States Army officer and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
- Clarence Lionel Adcock, US Army, Deputy to General Lucius D. Clay in 1946
- Cyprian Howe (1726–1806), Colonel in the American Revolutionary War
Music
Classical Music
- John Coolidge Adams (1947), American composer (contemporary classical with strong roots in minimalism).
- Samuel Adler, American composer and conductor of Jewish and German descent, he lived and studied for a time in Massachusetts before moving to New York.
- Leroy Anderson (1908–1975), composer of short, light concert pieces.
- Leonard Bernstein, conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist of Ukrainian Jewish descent.
- Sarah Caldwell (1924–2006), opera conductor, impresario and stage director of opera.
- Michael Gandolfi, composer of contemporary classical music.
- Serge Koussevitzky (Russian: Сергей Александрович Кусевицкий. Vyshny Volochyok, Russia, 1874 - Boston, 1951), composer and conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra) of Russian Jewish descent. Professor to Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Adler and Sarah Caldwell.
- Yoyo Ma, famous cellist
- Roger Sessions (Roger Huntington Sessions, 1896–1985), composer, critic and teacher.
- Walter Piston (1894–1976), composer, music theorist and professor of Italian-American descent.
- Randall Thompson (1899–1984), composer of choral works.
Rock and other music
- Musicians
- Lou Barlow, alternative rock musician and songwriter
- Frank Black, singer and guitarist of the Pixies
- Bobby Brown singer
- Nuno Bettencourt singer and guitarist of Extreme
- Michael Burkett aka Fat Mike singer, bassist of NOFX and owner of Fat Wreck Chords, born in Massachusetts.
- Neil Cicierega, singer and internet cult icon
- Rich Cronin, singer (LFO)
- Danny Davis, country musician
- Brad Delp, deceased, lead singer of former bands (Boston, RTZ)
- John Flansburgh, one half of They Might Be Giants
- Stephen Foster, composer (folk music, traditional music)
- Norman Greenbaum, singer
- Barry Goudreau guitars,backing vocals (Boston, RTZ, Ernie and the Automatics)
- Kay Hanley singer (Letters to Cleo)
- Sib Hashian drums, percussion, backing vocals (Boston, RTZ, Ernie and the Automatics)
- Juliana Hatfield, guitarist/singer-songwriter
- Tom Hamilton Bassist Aerosmith
- JoJo, singer
- Sonya Kitchell, singer-songwriter
- Joey Kramer, Drummer Aerosmith
- Phil Labonte, singer (All That Remains)
- Aaron Lewis, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Staind
- Mary Lou Lord, singer/guitarist
- John Linnell, one half of They Might Be Giants
- J Mascis, singer, guitarist and songwriter for Dinosaur Jr.
- Jo Dee Messina, country artist
- Andrew McMahon, singer/pianist
- Spider One, singer
- Joe Perry, guitarist, singer Aerosmith, The Joe Perry Project
- Linda Perry singer and songwriter
- Wanda Perry-Josephs, singer
- Bobby "Boris" Pickett, singer (Monster Mash)
- Ruth Pointer, singer, song writer The Pointer Sisters
- Jonathan Richman songwriter, singer in The Modern Lovers
- Tom Scholz musician, composer for the band Boston
- Carly Simon musician, singer, composer
- Slaine, hip hop MC
- Chad Stokes Urmston, Pete Francis Heimbold; of Dispatch
- Donna Summer singer, songwriter
- James Taylor musician, singer, composer
- Brad Whitford singer/guitarist Aerosmith
- Alan Wilson (musician), guitarist and singer for the band Canned Heat
- Rob Zombie singer, director
- Akrobatik, hip hop artist
- Bands
Native people
People involved in the American Revolution
Public office
See Governor of Massachusetts for a complete list of governors from 1620 to the present.
- John Adams, 2nd U.S. president and 1st vice president
- John Quincy Adams, 6th U.S. president
- Joe Arpaio, Sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona
- Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City
- James Bowdoin, colonial governor
- Edward Brooke, U.S. Senator
- George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st U.S. president
- Andrew Card, State Rep., U.S. Secretary of Transportation, White House Chief of Staff
- Paul Cellucci, governor and U.S. Ambassador to Canada
- Calvin Coolidge, mayor, state representative, senator and governor, 30th U.S. president
- P.J. Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs under President Barack Obama
- James Michael Curley, Mayor of Boston and Governor of Massachusetts
- Paul Douglas, senator of Illinois from 1949–1967
- Michael Dukakis, governor and 1988 Democratic nominee for president
- Thomas Finneran, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1996 to 2004
- Richard Goodwin, speechwriter for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator Robert F. Kennedy; congressional investigator probing the 1950s Twenty One quiz show scandal
- John Hancock, Governor of Massachusetts and President of the Continental Congress
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
- Thomas Hutchinson, governor
- Edward Kennedy, U.S. Senator
- John F. Kennedy, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator, 35th U.S. president
- Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator (New York)
- John Forbes Kerry, U.S. Senator and 2004 Democratic nominee for president
- Harold Hongju Koh, Legal Adviser of the Department of State under President Barack Obama
- David Kris, Assistant Attorney General under President Barack Obama
- Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., U.S. Senator, U.S. Ambassador, and 1960 Republican nominee for Vice-President
- Ed Markey, Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives
- Thomas Menino, current mayor of Boston
- Tip O'Neill, 55th Speaker of the House, from 1977 -1987
- Peter Orszag, Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Barack Obama
- Frances Perkins, U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933–1945 and first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet
- Mitt Romney, former governor
- Cass Sunstein, Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under Barack Obama
- Jane Swift, first and only female governor of Massachusetts
- John Volpe, U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President Nixon and Governor of Massachusetts
Religion
- Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), spiritual teacher
- Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Unitarian and Transcendentalist
- Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam leader
- Edward Everett Hale, religious leader
- John Harvard, clergyman and namesake of Harvard University
- Bernard Francis Law, archbishop and cardinal
- Cotton Mather, minister
- Increase Mather, minister
- Dwight Lyman Moody, evangelist
- Edmund Sears, Unitarian parish minister who penned "It Came upon the Midnight Clear" in 1849.
Science
- Ethan Allen, co-inventor of the single-action revolver
- Nima Arkani-Hamed, theoretical physicist
- Alexander Graham Bell, inventor
- Luther Burbank, horticulturist
- Daniel Dennett, cognitive scientist and philosopher
- Bob Doyle, scientist, inventor, and philosopher
- Benjamin Franklin, scientist and public official
- Robert Goddard, inventor
- Elias Howe, inventor
- Dan Itse, chemical engineer and NH public official
- Melvin Johnson, prominent firearms designer
- Richard Karp, computer scientist, computational theorist
- Alan Kay, computer scientist
- Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, Jr., mechanical engineer
- Arthur Little, chemist and chemical engineer
- John McCarthy, computer scientist, cognitive scientist
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse, inventor and artist
- William T.G. Morton, dentist and physician
- Richard Muther, industrial engineer
- Lloyd Ohlin, sociologist and criminologist
- Gregory Pincus, scientist, developed birth control pill
- Albert Sacco, chemical engineer and Payload Specialist for NASA
- John Henry Schwarz, theoretical physicist
- Andrew Strominger, theoretical physicist
- Benjamin Thompson, physicist and inventor
- Edward Thorndike, psychologist
- Worcester Warner, mechanical engineer, astronomer
- Samuel Wellman, inventor of the crucible steel furnace
- Daniel Wesson, prominent firearms designer
- Eli Whitney, inventor
- Robert Wood, physicist, inventor
- Henrietta Swan Leavitt, astronomer, luminosity of Cepheid variable stars.
- Albert Abraham Michelson, physicist, First American to receive Nobel Prize in Science.
- Percival Lowell, astronomer, Famous for Mars's canals, now discredited.
- William D. Coolidge, physicist.
Others
- Susan B. Anthony, reformist
- F. Lee Bailey
- Harvey Ball, inventor of the smiley face
- David Bossie, president of conservative political action committee Citizens United
- Becky DelosSantos, Playboy Playmate of the Month April 1994
- Elizabeth Freeman, slave in Sheffield, sued for and won freedom on basis of state constitution, 1781
- William Lloyd Garrison, abolitionist
- Kevin Hassett, economist, specializing in macroeconomics and tax policy
- Abbie Hoffman, political activist, member of the Chicago Seven
- Shawnae Jebbia, Miss USA 1998
- Horace Mann, educationist and abolitionist
- Grover Norquist, president of tax reform advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform
- Charles Sanders Peirce, logician, mathematician, philosopher, and scientist
- Nathaniel Raymond, human rights investigator and anti-torture advocate
- Ed Rollins, Republican campaign consultant and advisor
- Lothrop Stoddard, political scientist, historian, journalist, anthropologist, eugenicist
- Charles Pomeroy Stone, soldier, explorer, and engineer
- Quock Walker, slave in Worcester County, won freedom on basis of state constitution, 1781
- Capt. Marty Welch, Schooner Captain
Famous politicians and other residents
- Abigail Adams, advocate for women's rights and against slavery, second First Lady, wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams,
- John Adams, 1st Vice President of the U.S., 2nd President of the U.S., 1800 Federalist presidential nominee
- John Quincy Adams, Congressman, Senator, 6th President of the U.S.
- Samuel Adams, Patriot in the American Revolutionary War
- Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross
- James "Whitey" Bulger, leader of The Winter Hill Gang and wanted fugitive
- William Bulger, former President of the Massachusetts State Senate and former president of the University of Massachusetts.
- George H. W. Bush, 43rd Vice President of the U.S., 41st President of the U.S.
- Paul Cellucci, Governor and United States Ambassador to Canada
- Calvin Coolidge, 29th Vice President of the U.S., 30th President of the U.S.
- Michael Dukakis, Governor, 1988 Democratic presidential nominee
- Mark Foley, the disgraced U.S. Congressman, was born in Newton.
- Abby Kelley Foster, suffragist and abolitionist
- Margaret Fuller, feminist
- Elbridge Gerry, Congressman, Governor, 5th Vice President of the U.S., namesake of gerrymandering
- John Hancock, Governor, President of the Continental Congress
- Abbie Hoffman, political activist and founder of the Yippies
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Supreme Court Justice
- James Michael Curley, Governor, Congressman, Mayor of Boston
- Edward M. Kennedy, incumbent U.S. Senator, 1980 Democratic presidential candidate
- John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senator, 35th President of the U.S.
- Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Senator (representing New York), 1968 Democratic presidential candidate
- John F. Kerry, incumbent U.S. Senator, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee
- Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. Senator, led the Senate opposition to the League of Nations
- Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., U.S. Senator, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., 1960 Republican vice presidential candidate
- Barry McCaffrey, (4-star) Army General, Drug Czar
- John W. McCormack, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- Tip O'Neill, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
- Paul Revere, Patriot in the American Revolution
- Theodore Sedgwick, President pro tempore of the Senate, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
- Lucy Stone, suffragist and abolitionist
- Paul Tsongas, U.S. Senator, 1992 Democratic presidential candidate
- Henry Wilson, U.S. Senator, 18th Vice President of the U.S.
Inventors
- Alexander Graham Bell, Salem (telephone)
- Rachel Fuller Brown, Springfield (antibiotics)
- Robert Goddard, Worcester ("father of modern rocketry")
- Charles Goodyear, Woburn (Vulcanized Rubber)
- Elias Howe, Specer (sewing machine)
- Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Lexington (Internet) MIT Professor
- Samuel Morse, Charlestown (Morse code)
- Benjamin Thompson, Woburn (Rumford fireplace, Thermal underwear)
- An Wang, inventor, computer engineer, cofounder of Wang Laboratories
- Eli Whitney, Westborough (cotton gin)
- Sylvester Graham, Northampton (Graham Cracker)
Television and film
- Ben Affleck, Cambridge (Good Will Hunting, The Town)
- Eric Bogosian, Woburn (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
- Steve Carell, Acton (The Office, The 40-Year-Old Virgin)
- John Cena, West Newbury (WWE Champion)
- Dane Cook, Arlington (Retaliation, Harmful If Swallowed)
- Rob Corddry and Nate Corddry, Weymouth (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Studio 60)
- Marcia Cross, Marlborough (Desperate Housewives)
- Matt Damon, Cambridge (Good Will Hunting, The Bourne Identity, The Departed)
- Geena Davis, Wareham (Thelma and Louise)
- Ken Doane, Worcester (WWE Superstar)
- Jeffrey Donovan, Amesbury (Burn Notice)
- Rachel Dratch, Lexington (Saturday Night Live)
- Chris Evans, Sudbury (Fantastic Four)
- John Hodgman, Brookline (The Daily Show, "I'm a PC" in Get a Mac)
- Denis Leary, Worcester (The Sandlot, Wag the Dog)
- Matt LeBlanc, Newton (Friends)
- Jay Leno, Andover (The Tonight Show)
- Mindy Kaling, Cambridge (The Office)
- Ben Karlin, Needham (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report)
- John Krasinski, Newton (The Office)
- Ben Kurland, Newton (The Artist)
- Ed McMahon, Lowell (The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Star Search)
- Maria Menounos, Medford
- Leonard Nimoy, Boston (Star Trek, IMAX voiceover)
- Edward Norton, Boston (American History X, Fight Club)
- B.J. Novak, Newton (The Office)
- Conan O'Brien, Brookline (Late Night with Conan O'Brien)
- Amy Poehler, Burlington (Saturday Night Live)
- Ellen Pompeo, Everett (Old School, Grey's Anatomy)
- Eli Roth, Newton (Hostel)
- Kurt Russell, Springfield (Escape from New York)
- James Spader, Boston (Secretary)
- Liam Kyle Sullivan, Boston (The "Kelly" Skits)
- Uma Thurman, Amherst (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill)
- Steven Tyler, Lynn (Aerosmith)
- Mark Wahlberg, Dorchester (Entourage, The Departed)
- Nancy Walls, Cohasset (Saturday Night Live, The Office)
- Barbara Walters, Boston (journalist)
- Lyle R. Wheeler, Woburn (Academy Award-winning art-director)
- Alicia Witt, Worcester (actress)
- Steven Wright, Burlington (stand-up comedian)
- Rob Zombie, Haverhill (The Devil's Rejects)
References