Brian J. White, actor, best known for his role in ''
The Shield
''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...
''
Artists
*
David Bowes, painter
*
Mickie Caspi, artist, calligrapher
*
Tama Hochbaum, artist and photographer
*
Plane Jane (Andrew Dunayevsky), drag performer and competitor on season 16 of ''
RuPaul's Drag Race
''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...
''
*
Roger Kellaway
Roger Kellaway (born November 1, 1939) is an American composer, arranger and jazz pianist who has recorded over 250 albums, and composed over 20 film scores
Life and career
Kellaway was born in Waban, Massachusetts, United States. He is an alum ...
, Oscar-nominated and Grammy-winning composer, arranger, and pianist
*
Bow Sim Mark
Bow-sim Mark (born 1942) is a Chinese martial arts grandmaster who lives in Newton, Massachusetts, US. She is the mother of martial arts film star, Donnie Yen.
Training
Mark was born in Guangzhou, Republic of China in 1942. She began studying ...
,
wushu
Wushu may refer to:
Martial arts
* Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China
* Wushu (sport)
Wushu () (), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern ...
practitioner; mother of actor
Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen Chi-tan ( zh, c=甄子丹, p=Zhēn Zǐdān, j=, first=j; born 27 July 1963) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and action director. He is the recipient of various accolades, including three Golden Horse Fi ...
*
Florence Maynard, photographer
*
Arthur Polonsky, draughtsman, painter and academic
*
Nancy Schön
Nancy Schön (born 1928) is an American sculptor whose work is displayed internationally in museums, libraries, universities, private collections, and public outdoor spaces. She is best known for her work titled ''Make Way for Ducklings'', insta ...
, sculptor of the ''
Make Way for Ducklings
''Make Way for Ducklings'' is an American children's picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey. First published in 1941 by the Viking Press, the book centers on a pair of mallards who raise their brood of ducklings on an island ...
'' statues on
Boston Common
The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charl ...
; also did statues of
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by ...
and
Eeyore
Eeyore ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' books by A. A. Milne. He is an old, grey stuffed donkey and friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh. Eeyore is generally characterised as pessimistic, depressed, and an ...
at the
Newton Free Library
*
Sidewalk Sam
Sidewalk Sam was the pseudonym of Robert Charles Guillemin (May 4, 1939 – January 26, 2015), a Boston-based artist who resided in Newton, Massachusetts. He was best recognized for his reproductions of European masterpieces, chalked or painted ...
(Robert Guillemin), folk artist
*
Edwin Lord Weeks
Edwin Lord Weeks (1849 – November 1903) was an American painter, noted for his Orientalist works.
Life
Weeks was born in Boston, in 1849. His parents were spice and tea merchants from Newton, and as such they were able to finance their son ...
, painter
*
Morgan Bassichis, American comedic performer, writer, and artist
Authors, writers, journalists, poets
*
Binyamin Appelbaum, journalist
*
Tom Ashbrook
Thomas E. Ashbrook is an American journalist and radio broadcaster. He was formerly the host of the nationally syndicated, public radio call-in program '' On Point'', from which he was dismissed after an investigation concluded he had created a h ...
, journalist and radio broadcaster
*
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...
, prolific science fiction and non-fiction writer
*
Russell Banks
Russell Earl Banks (March 28, 1940 – January 8, 2023) was an American writer of fiction and poetry. His novels are known for "detailed accounts of domestic strife and the daily struggles of ordinary often-marginalized characters". He drew from ...
, writer of fiction and poetry
*
Alex Beam, columnist for the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
''
*
Thomas Bulfinch
Thomas Bulfinch (July 15, 1796 – May 27, 1867) was an American author born in Newton, Massachusetts, known best for '' Bulfinch's Mythology'', a posthumous combination of his three volumes of mythologies.
Life
Bulfinch belonged to a well-educa ...
, author of ''
Bulfinch's Mythology''
*
Ty Burr
Ty Burr (born August 17, 1957) is an American film critic, columnist, and author who reviews films for ''The Washington Post'' and writes the film and popular culture newsletter "Ty Burr's Watchlist". Burr worked as a film critic at ''The Boston ...
, film critic for the ''Boston Globe''
*
Virginia Lee Burton, illustrator and author of children's books
*
Russell Gordon Carter, writer
*
Anita Diamant
Anita Diamant (born June 27, 1951) is an American author of fiction and non-fiction books."Anita Diamant." ''Contemporary Authors Online''. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2015. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 2017-09-22. She has ...
, author of fiction and nonfiction books
*
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...
, essayist, poet, lecturer, philosopher
*
Bill Everett
William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie (comics), Zombie and Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil ...
, comic book writer, artist (creator of ''Sub-Mariner'', co-creator of ''Daredevil'')
*
Isabella Gardner, poet
*
Ellen Goodman
Ellen Goodman (born April 11, 1941) is an American journalist and syndicated columnist. She won a Pulitzer Prize in 1980. She is also a speaker and commentator.
Career
Goodman's career began as a researcher and reporter for ''Newsweek'' magazi ...
,
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
-winning syndicated columnist
*
Ann Warren Griffith, writer
*
Dan Harris, correspondent for
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
; anchor for ''
Nightline
''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...
''; co-anchor for the weekend edition of ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
''
*
Nate Kenyon, author
*
Dan Katz, Barstool Sports contributor
*
Raymond Kurzweil
Raymond Kurzweil ( ; born February 12, 1948) is an American computer scientist, author, entrepreneur, futurist, and inventor. He is involved in fields such as optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition te ...
, writer, futurist, inventor
*
Don Lessem, author
*
Barry Levy, screenwriter, best known for the 2008 film ''
Vantage Point''
*
Bill Lichtenstein, Peabody Award-winning journalist and filmmaker
*
Melissa Lozada-Oliva, poet and spoken word artist
*
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker.
He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
, playwright, screenwriter and film director
*
Adam Mansbach, novelist
*
Elizabeth McCracken
Elizabeth McCracken (born September 16, 1966) is an American author. She is a recipient of the PEN New England Award.
Life
McCracken, a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from Newton North Hig ...
, author
*
Tova Mirvis
Tova Mirvis (born 1972) is an American novelist. She is a graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University and holds a masters of fine arts degree in fiction writing from Columbia University School of the Arts. Mirvis' family has lived in Mem ...
, novelist
*
Diana Muir
Diana Muir, also known as Diana Muir Appelbaum, is an American historian from Newton, Massachusetts, best known for her 2000 book, ''Reflections in Bullough's Pond'', a history of the impact of human activity on the New England ecosystem.
Perso ...
, writer and historian
*
Charles J.V. Murphy, journalist and author
*
Michael Novak
Michael John Novak Jr. (September 9, 1933 – February 17, 2017) was an American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. The author of more than forty books on the philosophy and theology of culture, Novak is most widely known ...
, author
*
William Novak, author
*
Robert Pinsky
Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. He was the first United States Poet Laureate to serve three terms. Recognized worldwide, Pinsky's work has earned numerous accolades. Pinsky ...
, former
Poet Laureate of the United States
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writt ...
*
Caroline Mehitable Fisher Sawyer, writer, editor
*
Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey; November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional poetry, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book ''Live or Die (book ...
, poet, writer
*
Edward Sheehan, journalist and author
*
Samuel Shem, playwright
*
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...
, author of ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin
''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...
''
*
Andrew Szanton, collaborative memoirist
*
Celia Thaxter
Celia Thaxter (née Laighton; June 29, 1835 – August 25, 1894) was an American writer of poetry and stories. For most of her life, she lived with her father on the Isles of Shoals at his Appledore Hotel. How she grew up to become a writer is d ...
, poet and writer
*
Ben Ames Williams
Ben Ames Williams (March 7, 1889 – February 4, 1953) was an American novelist and writer of short stories; he wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. Among his novels are ''Come Spring'' (1940), ''Leave Her to Heaven'' (1944) ...
, novelist
*
Jonathan Wilson, novelist and critic
Business and industry
*
Roger Berkowitz, owner of
Legal Sea Foods
*
Charles Bilezikian, co-founder of
Christmas Tree Shops
Christmas Tree Shops (also known as Christmas Tree Shops andThat!, or simply andThat!) was an American chain of Big-box store, big-box specialty retail stores, headquartered in Middleborough, Massachusetts. At its peak, the chain operated 72 stor ...
*
Elizabeth Boit, textile manufacturer
*
Richard B. Carter, head of
Carter's Ink Company 1905–1949
*
Jim Davis, CEO of
New Balance
New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), doing business as New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Su ...
*
Semyon Dukach
Semyon Dukach (born 25 October 1968) is an American entrepreneur and former professional blackjack player. He is the founding partner of One Way Ventures, a venture capital fund that backs immigrant entrepreneurs.
He was the managing director o ...
, professional gambler, entrepreneur, writer
*
Leo Kahn, co-founder of
Staples
*
Jim Koch, co-founder and chairman of the Boston Beer Company
*
Louis K. Liggett
Louis Kroh Liggett (April 4, 1875 – June 5, 1946) was an American drug store magnate who founded L.K. Liggett Drug Company and then Rexall. He was later chairman of United Drug Company. He was a member of the Republican National Committ ...
, drug store magnate
*
Eddie Lowery
Edward Edgar Lowery (October 14, 1902 – May 4, 1984) was an American caddie, amateur golfer and multi-millionaire businessman.
Lowery is best known as the 10-year-old caddie of Francis Ouimet during the 1913 U.S. Open, held at The Country Cl ...
, golf caddy, auto dealer
*
John Palmer Parker, early Hawaiian rancher, married into Hawaiian royal family
*
Sumner Redstone
Sumner Murray Redstone ( Rothstein; May 27, 1923 – August 11, 2020) was an American billionaire businessman and media magnate. He was the founder and chairman of the second incarnation of Viacom, chairman of CBS Corporation (both companies m ...
, global media businessman
*
Francis Edgar Stanley (1849–1918), co-inventor of the
Stanley Steamer
The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was an American manufacturer of steam cars that operated from 1902 to 1924, going defunct after it failed to adapt to competition from rapidly improving internal combustion engine vehicles. The cars made by t ...
*
Freelan Oscar Stanley
Freelan Oscar Stanley (June 1, 1849 – October 2, 1940) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, hotelier, and architect. He made his fortune in the manufacture of photographic plates but is best remembered as the co-founder, with his brother Fra ...
(1849–1940), co-inventor of the
Stanley Steamer
The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was an American manufacturer of steam cars that operated from 1902 to 1924, going defunct after it failed to adapt to competition from rapidly improving internal combustion engine vehicles. The cars made by t ...
and builder of the
Stanley Hotel
*
Donald Valle
Donald Valle (1908 – September 17, 1977) was an American restaurateur who owned and managed the eponymously named Valle's Steak House, from 1933 until his death in 1977.
Early years
Valle was born in Lettomanoppello, Italy, in 1908 and immigra ...
, founder and owner of
Valle's Steak House
Valle's Steak House was an American chain of restaurants that operated on the East Coast of the United States from 1933 to 2000. The chain's menu focused on steaks and lobsters. A family-run business, Valle's aggressively expanded during the earl ...
*
Richard Valle, restaurateur; son of
Donald Valle
Donald Valle (1908 – September 17, 1977) was an American restaurateur who owned and managed the eponymously named Valle's Steak House, from 1933 until his death in 1977.
Early years
Valle was born in Lettomanoppello, Italy, in 1908 and immigra ...
; owner of Valle's Steak House
*
Peter Lynch
Peter Lynch (born January 19, 1944) is an American investor, mutual fund manager, author and philanthropist. As the manager of the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments between 1977 and 1990, Lynch averaged a 29.2% annual return, consistently m ...
, mutual fund manager and philanthropist
Colonial figures
*
Waban
Waban ( – ) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American of the Nipmuc group and was thought to be the first Native American convert to Christianity in Massachusetts.
Early life and first contact with the English
Little is known ...
, 17th-century
American Indian tribal chief
A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribal societies
There is no definition for "tribe".
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...
; lived in Nonantum
*
Ephraim Williams
Ephraim Williams Jr. (Wyllis Eaton Wright, Colonel Ephraim Williams, a documentary life' (1970), p. 4.Correct date of birth of February 24, 1714 is obtained from primary source: Massachusetts Vital Records "Newton Births 1674-1801 Book 1 Vol 10 ...
,
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
in the colonial militia during the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
and benefactor of
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...
*
Thomas Wiswall (1601–1683), prominent early citizen of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...
and Cambridge Village, Massachusetts
Environmentalists
*
Francis P. Farquhar (1887–1974), former president of the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...
Government, education and politics
*
Benigno Aquino Jr.
Benigno "Ninoy" Simeón Aquino Jr., (, ; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac (1963–1967). Aquino was the husband ...
and
Corazon Aquino
María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...
, Filipino public intellectual and political figures; lived with their five children in Newton, 1980–1983; Corazon eventually became the first female president of the Philippines (1986–1992); their third child and only son, Benigno III or "Noynoy", was elected president in 2010
*
Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Simeon Aquino III (; born Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines ...
, 15th president of the Philippines (assumed office June 2010; term ended June 2016), lived in Newton 1980–1983
*
Jake Auchincloss
Jacob Daniel Auchincloss ( ; born January 29, 1988) is an American politician, businessman, and military officer serving as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, h ...
, member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
for
Massachusetts's 4th congressional district
*
Thomas Cardozo, first African American State Superintendent of Education in Mississippi (1874–1876)
*
Evan Falchuk, founder of the
United Independent Party
The United Independent Party or UIP was a political party based in Massachusetts, United States. The chairman of the UIP was Evan Falchuk, a former health care executive who submitted enough signatures to be on the 2014 gubernatorial ballot. When ...
and candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2014
*
Barney Frank
Barnett Frank (born March 31, 1940) is a retired American politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Frank served as chairman of th ...
, former
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
for
Massachusetts's 4th congressional district
*
Joseph Healy, U.S. Representative from
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
*
Joseph Kennedy III, son of
Joseph P. Kennedy II and former
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
for
Massachusetts's 4th congressional district
*
Richard Lakin,
Freedom Rider, school principal, terrorism victim
*
Horace Mann
Horace Mann (May 4, 1796August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer, slavery abolitionist and Whig Party (United States), Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education, he is thus also known as ''The Father of A ...
, public educator, college president (
Antioch College
Antioch College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection and began operating in 1852 as a non-secta ...
) and U.S. Representative from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
*
Lisa Monaco
Lisa Oudens Monaco (born February 25, 1968) is an American attorney who served as the 39th United States Deputy Attorney General, United States deputy attorney general from 2021 to 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...
,
United States Deputy Attorney General
The United States deputy attorney general is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and oversees the day-to-day operation of the department. The deputy attorney general acts as attorney general during the ...
and former
Homeland Security Advisor
*
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...
, Shah of Iran; exiled after
Ayatollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...
took power; lived for a short time in Newton
*
Cyrus Peirce
Cyrus Peirce (1790–1860), American educator and Unitarian minister, was the founding president of the first American public normal school, which evolved into Framingham State University. , public educator, college president of
Framingham State College
Framingham State University (Framingham State or FSU) is a public university in Framingham, Massachusetts. The university, then known as the Normal School in Lexington was founded in 1839 as the first state-supported normal school in the United ...
(once located in West Newton); namesake of the
Peirce School
The Peirce School (also known as Old Peirce School) is a historic school building at 88 Chestnut Street, corner of Austin Street, in West Newton, Massachusetts. The brick building was built in 1895 and operated by the Newton Public Schools as ...
in West Newton
*
John Pigeon
John Pigeon (March 17, 1725 – February 5, 1778) was a merchant, a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, and Massachusetts Commissary General during the American Revolution. Born in Boston he became a successful merchant and insurer b ...
, representative of Newton to the
Massachusetts Provincial Congress
The Massachusetts Provincial Congress (1774–1780) was a provisional government created in the Province of Massachusetts Bay early in the American Revolution. Based on the terms of the colonial charter, it exercised ''de facto'' control over th ...
and served as Massachusetts Commissary General while a resident
*
Roger Sherman
Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an early American politician, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, ...
, only person to have signed all four basic documents of American sovereignty: the
Continental Association of 1774, the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
, the
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...
, and the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
; born and spent his first two years in Newton
*
Henry Lawrence Southwick
Henry Lawrence Southwick (June 21, 1863 – December 30, 1932) was the third president of Emerson College of Oratory (now Emerson College), located in the Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to teaching at the college, he was a noted inte ...
, author, actor and 3rd President of
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
(1908–1932)
*
Nguyen Van Thieu, exiled President of
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
*
Rochelle Walensky, Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...
*
John W. Weeks, mayor of Newton; U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senator from Massachusetts; U.S. Secretary of War under Harding
*
Sinclair Weeks
Charles Sinclair Weeks (June 15, 1893February 7, 1972), better known as Sinclair Weeks, was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts in 1944 and as United States Secretary of Commerce from 1953 until 1958 ...
, son of
John W. Weeks; born in West Newton; like his father, served as mayor of Newton and U.S. Senator; U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Dwight Eisenhower
*
Harry F. Stimpson Jr., lawyer who was the
United States Ambassador to Paraguay
Military
*
James S. Gracey, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard
Music
*
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
, composer, conductor, pedagogue, pianist.
*
Robert Beaser
Robert Beaser (born May 29, 1954, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American composer.
Biography
Beaser was brought up in a non-musical family. His father was a physician and mother was a chemist. He grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, where he disti ...
, composer, professor, The Juilliard School
*
Dai Buell, pianist, performed the first piano recital on radio in 1921, lived at the Aloha Bungalow
*
Ralph Burns
Ralph Joseph P. Burns (June 29, 1922 – November 21, 2001) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Early life
Burns was born in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, where he began playing the piano as a child. In 1938, he attend ...
, songwriter, bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and bebop pianist
*
Rob Chiarelli, multiple
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
winner
*
Catie Curtis
Catie Curtis (born May 22, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter working primarily in the folk rock idiom. Her most recent album recording, ''The Raft,'' was released in 2020.
Career
Curtis was raised in Saco, Maine. By the age of fifteen she ...
, folk/pop singer
*
Stephen Custer, cellist with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
, grew up in Newton
*
Fat Mike
Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He was the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the cofounder and bassist of the punk rock supergroup cov ...
, lead singer and bassist of punk rock band NOFX
*
Alfred Genovese, principal oboist of
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
and
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...
*
Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Noé Golijov (; born December 5, 1960) is an Argentine composer of classical music and music professor, known for his vocal and orchestral work.
Biography
Osvaldo Golijov was born in and raised in La Plata, Argentina, to a Jewish family ...
,
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
award-winning composer of classical music
*
Avi Jacob, singer-songwriter
*
Mike Mangini
Michael Anthony Mangini (born April 18, 1963) is an American musician, best known for his tenure with the progressive metal band Dream Theater, with whom he performed from 2010 to 2023. He has also played with artists and bands including Annihi ...
, drummer for
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards).
Dream Theat ...
*
Vaughn Monroe
Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter and big band leader who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and another f ...
, singer, trumpeter and big band leader
*
Jane Morgan
Jane Morgan (born Florence Catherine Currier; May 3, 1924) is an American former singer and recording artist of traditional pop. Morgan initially found success in France and the UK before achieving recognition in the US, receiving six gold re ...
, popular singer, specializing in traditional pop music
*
Jesse Novak
Jesse Novak is an American composer, best known for his work scoring television shows, including '' The Mindy Project'', ''BoJack Horseman'', '' Tuca & Bertie'', ''The Baby-Sitters Club'', and '' Superstore''. He is the brother of actor and produ ...
, composer
*
Aoife O'Donovan
Aoife Maria O'Donovan ( , ; born November 18, 1982) is an American singer and Grammy Award-winning songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer for the string band Crooked Still, as well as one-third of the supergroup folk trio I'm with Her ...
, singer-songwriter, lead singer of band
Crooked Still
*
Bijan Olia, film composer and songwriter
*
Seiji Ozawa
was a Japanese conductor known internationally for his work as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he served from 1973 for 29 years. After cond ...
,
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...
Music Director Laureate
*
Horatio Parker, composer, first Dean of
Yale School of Music
The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...
, born in
Auburndale (a village of Newton)
*
Rachel Platten
Rachel Ashley Platten (born May 20, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and author. After releasing two albums independently in 2003 and 2011, she signed with Columbia Records in 2015 and released her mainstream debut single, "Fight Song (Ra ...
, singer and songwriter
*
Seth Putnam
Seth Edward Putnam (May 15, 1968 – June 11, 2011) was an American musician best known as the founder and sole consistent member of grindcore band Anal Cunt. Throughout his career, Putnam was also involved in numerous side projects.
Biograph ...
, singer and leader of grindcore band
Anal Cunt
Anal Cunt, also called AxCx and A.C., was an American grindcore band that formed in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1988. From its inception, the band underwent a number of line-up changes and never had a bassist. The band, known for its flippant and ...
*
Fritz Richmond
John B. "Fritz" Richmond (July 10, 1939 – November 20, 2005) was an American musician and recording engineer. Richmond was a washtub bassist and was also a professional jug player.
Richmond, born in Newton, Massachusetts, on July 10, 1939, was ...
, jug and washtub bass player
*
Mark Sandman, lead singer of the alternative rock band
Morphine
Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...
*
Jason Solowsky, composer
Philosophy, religion and spirituality
*
Ram Dass
Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and writer. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...
(Dr. Richard Alpert), author, philosophic and religious guru
*
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy (née Baker; July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author, who in 1879 founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, the ''Mother Church'' of the Christian Science movement. She also founded ''The C ...
, founder of the
Church of Christ, Scientist
The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Mary Baker Eddy, author of '' Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,'' and founder of Christian Science. The church was founded "to commemorate the word and ...
; her last home has been preserved as the
Dupee Estate-Mary Baker Eddy Home
*
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...
, author, psychologist, lecturer at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
, advocate of L.S.D.-25 (''i.e.'',
lysergic acid diethylamide
Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a Semisynthesis, semisynthetic, Hallucinogen, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and ...
) and other
entheogens
Entheogens are psychoactive substances used in spiritual and religious contexts to induce altered states of consciousness. Hallucinogens such as the psilocybin found in so-called "magic" mushrooms have been used in sacred contexts since ancien ...
Physicians
*
Donald Berwick
Donald M. Berwick (born September 9, 1946) is a former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Prior to his work in the administration, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Healthcare Im ...
, former Administrator of the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer ...
; candidate for Massachusetts Governor in 2014
*
Atul Gawande
Atul Atmaram Gawande (born November 5, 1965) is an American surgeon, writer, and public health researcher. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a professor in the Department ...
, general and endocrine surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital
*
Kurt Julius Isselbacher, M.D., American physician and the former
Mallinckrodt
Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals plc is an American-Irish domiciled manufacturer of specialty pharmaceuticals (namely, adrenocorticotropic hormone), generic drugs and imaging agents. In 2017, it generated 90% of its sales from the U.S. healthcare s ...
Distinguished Professor of Medicine at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
and
Director Emeritus of the
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...
Cancer Center
*
Sara Murray Jordan, gastroenterologist
Political activists
*
Charles Jacobs, founder of the
American Anti-Slavery Group
The American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) is a non-profit coalition of abolitionist organizations that engages in political activism to abolish slavery in the world. It raises awareness of contemporary slavery, particularly among the chattel slaves ...
and of
The David Project Center for Jewish Leadership
*
Andrea Levin, director of the
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), formerly the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, is an American non-profit pro-Israel media-monitoring, research and membership organization. ...
*
Leonard Zakim, prominent New England religious and civil rights leader
Producers and directors
*
Brad Falchuk
Bradley Douglas Falchuk (born March 1, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is best known for co-creating the television series ''Glee'', ''American Horror Story'', '' Scream Queens'', and '' Pose'' with Ryan Murph ...
, writer, director, and producer of ''
Nip/Tuck
''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States for six seasons from 2003 to 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime, black comedy, family drama, sati ...
'' and ''
Glee
Glee may refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album)
* ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album)
* Gle ...
''
*
Andrew Bujalski
Andrew Bujalski (; born April 29, 1977) is an American film director, screenwriter and actor, who has been called the "godfather of mumblecore."
Life and career
Bujalski, born in Boston in 1977, is the son of artist-turned-businesswoman Sheil ...
, film director, screenwriter, and actor
*
Lyn Greene, writer, director and producer of ''
Nip/Tuck
''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States for six seasons from 2003 to 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime, black comedy, family drama, sati ...
'', ''
Boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, ...
'' and ''
Masters of Sex
''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography '' Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s thro ...
''
*
Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, namely splatter films, having directed the films ''Cabin Fev ...
, film director, producer, actor
*
Bruce Sinofsky, director of documentary films, ''
Brothers Keeper'', ''The Paradise Lost Trilogy'', ''
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster'' (TV series), ''
Iconoclasts''
*
Julie Taymor
Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera, and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King (musical), The Lion King'' debuted in 1997 and received eleven Tony Awards, Tony Award nominations, with ...
, director of Broadway theatre and film
Psychologists and psychiatrists
*
Julian Jaynes
Julian Jaynes (February 27, 1920 – November 21, 1997) was an American psychologist who worked at the universities of Yale and Princeton for nearly 25 years and became best known for his 1976 book '' The Origin of Consciousness in the Break ...
, psychologist
*
Kenneth Levin, psychiatrist and historian
*
Kurt Lewin
Kurt Lewin ( ; ; 9 September 1890 – 12 February 1947) was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social psychology, social, industrial and organizational psychology, organizational, and applied psychology in the ...
, "the father of social psychology"
Radio, television personalities
*
Paula S. Apsell, television producer
*
Tom Ashbrook
Thomas E. Ashbrook is an American journalist and radio broadcaster. He was formerly the host of the nationally syndicated, public radio call-in program '' On Point'', from which he was dismissed after an investigation concluded he had created a h ...
, host of the NPR radio show ''On Point''
*
Andy Katz,
Big Ten Network
Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of College athletics, collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news ...
and former
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
College Basketball reporter
*
Dan "Big Cat" Katz, Host of
Pardon_My_Take and Barstool Sports Personality.
*
Maria Lopez, former judge, TV personality
*
Jade McCarthy, ESPN sportscaster
*
Suzyn Waldman, color commentator for
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
Science, medicine and technology
*
Michael Rosbash
Michael Morris Rosbash (born March 7, 1944) is an American geneticist and chronobiologist. Rosbash is a professor and researcher at Brandeis University and investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Rosbash's research group cloned th ...
, geneticist and chronobiologist at
Brandeis University
Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...
in 2017
*
Dan Bricklin
Daniel Singer Bricklin (born July 16, 1951) is an American businessman and engineer who is the co-creator, with Bob Frankston, of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program. He also founded Software Garden, Inc., of which he is currently president, ...
, with
Bob Frankston
Robert M. Frankston (born June 14, 1949) is an American software engineer and businessman who co-created, with Dan Bricklin, the VisiCalc spreadsheet program. Frankston is also the co-founder of Software Arts.
Early life and education
Frankst ...
, co-creator of
VisiCalc
VisiCalc ("visible calculator") is the first spreadsheet computer program for personal computers, originally released for the Apple II by VisiCorp on October 17, 1979. It is considered the killer application for the Apple II, turning the microco ...
, the first spreadsheet
*
Charles Stark Draper
Charles Stark "Doc" Draper (October 2, 1901 – July 25, 1987) was an American scientist and engineer, known as the "father of inertial navigation". He was the founder and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Instrumentat ...
, inventor of the aircraft inertial guidance system; founder of
MIT's Draper Labs
*
Wes Hildreth, a
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...
geologist born in Newton.
*
Reginald Fessenden
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (October 6, 1866 – July 22, 1932) was a Canadian-American electrical engineer and inventor who received hundreds of List of Reginald Fessenden patents, patents in fields related to radio and sonar between 1891 and 1936 ...
(1866–1932), inventor and radio pioneer; his
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
at 45 Waban Hill Road is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
*
Bob Frankston
Robert M. Frankston (born June 14, 1949) is an American software engineer and businessman who co-created, with Dan Bricklin, the VisiCalc spreadsheet program. Frankston is also the co-founder of Software Arts.
Early life and education
Frankst ...
, with
Dan Bricklin
Daniel Singer Bricklin (born July 16, 1951) is an American businessman and engineer who is the co-creator, with Bob Frankston, of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program. He also founded Software Garden, Inc., of which he is currently president, ...
, co-creator of
VisiCalc
VisiCalc ("visible calculator") is the first spreadsheet computer program for personal computers, originally released for the Apple II by VisiCorp on October 17, 1979. It is considered the killer application for the Apple II, turning the microco ...
, the first spreadsheet
*
Atul Gawande
Atul Atmaram Gawande (born November 5, 1965) is an American surgeon, writer, and public health researcher. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a professor in the Department ...
, surgeon, writer for ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
''
*
Ashish Jha
Ashish Kumar Jha (born December 31, 1970) is an Indian-American general internist physician and academic who served as the White House COVID-19 response coordinator from 2022–2023. He has been Dean of the Brown University School of Public Hea ...
, Dean of
Brown University School of Public Health
The Brown University School of Public Health is the public health school of Brown University, a private research university in Rhode Island. It is located along the Providence River, down the hill and about a quarter mile from Brown's central ...
and White House
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
Response Coordinator
*
Jonathan Mann, head of the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
's global AIDS project
*
Charles Johnson Maynard
Charles Johnson Maynard (May 6, 1845 – October 15, 1929) was an American naturalist and ornithologist born in Newton, Massachusetts. He was a collector, a taxidermist, and an expert on the vocal organs of birds. In addition to birds, he also s ...
, naturalist and ornithologist; lived in the
Charles Maynard House
*
Thomas C. Peebles, physician, responsible for first isolating the
measles
Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...
virus, setting the stage for the development of a vaccine
*
Judy Smith
Judy A. Smith (born October 27, 1958) is an American crisis manager, lawyer, author, and television producer. She is known as the founder, president, and CEO of the crisis management firm Smith & Company. Her work in crisis management is the i ...
, nurse who disappeared from Philadelphia in 1997; found murdered in North Carolina five months later
*
Rochelle Walensky,
Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...
and former Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...
*
Frank E. Winsor,
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
and chief engineer of the
Quabbin Reservoir
The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, United States, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, to the east, and 40 other cities and ...
project
How do you not have Rainer Weiss of Newton, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017 (?) for the detection of Gravitational waves, on this list?
Songwriters
*
Katharine Lee Bates
Katharine Lee Bates (August 12, 1859 – March 28, 1929) was an American author and poet, chiefly remembered for her anthem "America the Beautiful", but also for her many books and articles on social reform, on which she was a noted speaker.
B ...
, professor of English at
Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...
and author of the lyrics to "
America the Beautiful
"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Church (Newark), Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New ...
"
*
Samuel Francis Smith
Samuel Francis Smith (October 21, 1808 – November 16, 1895) was an American Baptist minister, journalist, and author. He is best known for having written the lyrics to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" (sung to the tune of "God Save the King"), which ...
,
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
minister and author of the lyrics to
My Country, 'Tis of Thee
"My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as "America", is an American patriotic song whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the ''de facto'' national anthems of the United States (along with songs like " Hai ...
, also known as "America"
Sports
Auto racing
*
Pete Hamilton
Peter Goodwill Hamilton (July 20, 1942 – March 21, 2017) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He competed in NASCAR for six years, where he won four times in his career (including the 1970 Daytona 500), three times driving ...
, NASCAR racer, winner of the 1970
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
Baseball
*The following are current and former players of the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
:
**
Matt Clement (former)
**
Jim Corsi (former) (born in Newton)
**
John Curtis
John Ream Curtis (born May 10, 1960) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Utah. A member of the Republican Party, Curtis served from 2017 to 2025 as the U.S. representative for Utah's 3rd congre ...
(former) (born in Newton)
**
Hal Deviney (former) (born in Newton)
**
JD Drew (former)
**
Bob Gallagher (former) (born in Newton)
**
Gabe Kapler
Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975), nicknamed "Kap", is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager who serves as the assistant general manager of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Kapler was a 57th- ...
(former)
**
Mark Loretta
Mark David Loretta (born August 14, 1971) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1995 and 2009 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox ...
(former)
**
Doug Mirabelli
Douglas Anthony Mirabelli (born October 18, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the San Francisco Giants (1996–2000), Texas Rangers (2001), Boston Red Sox (2001–2005), and San Diego Padres (2006) before r ...
(former)
**
Trot Nixon (former)
**
David Ortiz
David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican Americans, Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1997 ...
(former)
**
Wily Mo Peña (former)
**
Jimmy Piersall
James Anthony Piersall (November 14, 1929 – June 3, 2017) was an American baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five teams, from 1950 through 1967. Piersall was best known for his well-publicized b ...
(former)
** Jason Varitek (former)
** Ted Williams (former)
*The following also played Major League Baseball:
** Bob Barr (1930s pitcher), Bob Barr (born in Newton)
** Sean DePaula (born in Newton)
** Bob Dresser (born in Newton)
** Jake Fishman (born in Newton)
*The following play for a national team:
** Jake Fishman, American-Israeli (born in Newton; plays for Israel national baseball team, Team Israel)
**Ben Wanger, American-Israeli baseball pitcher (born in Newton; plays for Team Israel)
Basketball
* Geoffrey Gray (basketball), Geoffrey Gray (born 1997), American player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Tom Heinsohn (1934–2020), NBA player
* Jayson Tatum, NBA player
Boxing
*Joe DeNucci, middleweight boxer and MA State Auditor
Fencing
* Paul Friedberg, Olympic fencer
Figure skating
* Tenley Albright (born 1935 in Newton Centre), first American female skater to win an Olympic gold medal; other titles included 1952 Olympic silver medal, 1953 and 1955 World Champion, 1953 and 1955 North American champion, and 1952–1956 U.S. national champion
* Gracie Gold, 2014 and 2016 U.S. champion, Olympic team bronze medalist, born in Newton
* Jennifer Kirk, 2000 World Junior champion, born in Newton
* John Summers (figure skater), John Summers, 1978–80 national champion in ice dancing
Football
* Kiko Alonso, (former) linebacker for the Miami Dolphins
* Patrick Sullivan (American football executive), Patrick Sullivan, (former) general manager, New England Patriots
* Will Levis, (current) quarterback for the Tennessee Titans
Soccer
* Ben Brewster, Forward (association football), forward and coach
* Sam Brill, Defender (association football), defender
Skateboarding
*Andy Macdonald (skateboarder), Andy MacDonald, eight-time X Games gold medalist and eight-time World Cup Skateboarding champion
References
{{Reflist
Lists of American people by populated place, Newton, Massachusetts
Lists of people from Massachusetts, Newton people
People from Newton, Massachusetts, *