Brookline is a town in
Norfolk County,
, in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, and part of the
Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
's neighborhoods:
Brighton,
Allston
Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most pa ...
,
Fenway–Kenmore,
Mission Hill Mission Hills or Mission Hill may refer to:
Places Communities
;In the United States (alphabetically by state)
* Mission Hills, Santa Barbara County, California, a town north of the city of Lompoc
* Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California, in the S ...
,
Jamaica Plain, and
West Roxbury. The city of
Newton lies to the west of Brookline. Brookline was first settled in 1638 as a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...
in Boston, known as Muddy River; it was incorporated as a separate town in 1705.
At the time of the 2020 United States Census, the population of the town was 63,191.
It is the most populous municipality in Massachusetts to have a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares ...
(rather than city) form of government.
History

Once part of
Algonquian territory, Brookline was first settled by
European colonists in the early 17th century. The area was an outlying part of the colonial settlement of Boston and known as the hamlet of Muddy River. In 1705, it was incorporated as the independent town of Brookline. The northern and southern borders of the town were marked by two small rivers or brooks, which is the town's namesake. The northern border with Brighton (which was itself part of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...
until 1807) was
Smelt Brook. (That name appears on maps starting at least as early as 1852, but sometime between 1888 and 1925 the brook was covered over.) The southern boundary, abutting Boston, was the
Muddy River.
In 1843, deeds in Brookline
forbade resale of property to "any
negro or
native of Ireland."
The Town of
Brighton was merged with Boston in 1874, and the Boston-Brookline border was redrawn to connect the new Back Bay neighborhood with Allston-Brighton. This merger created a narrow strip of land along the
Charles River
The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles bac ...
belonging to Boston, cutting Brookline off from the shoreline. It also put certain lands north of the Muddy River on the Boston side, including what are now
Kenmore Square and
Packard's Corner. The current northern border follows Commonwealth Avenue, and on the northeast, St. Mary's Street. When
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co-d ...
designed the
Emerald Necklace of parks and parkways for Boston in the 1890s, the Muddy River was integrated into the
Riverway and
Olmsted Park
Olmsted Park is a linear park in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts, and a part of Boston's Emerald Necklace of connected parks and parkways. Originally named Leverett Park, in 1900 it was renamed to honor its designer, Frederick Law Olmsted. ...
, creating parkland accessible by both Boston and Brookline residents.
Throughout its history, Brookline has resisted being annexed by Boston, in particular during the
Boston–Brookline annexation debate of 1873. The neighboring towns of
West Roxbury and
Hyde Park connected Brookline to the rest of Norfolk County until they were annexed by Boston in 1874 and 1912, respectively, putting them in
Suffolk County. Brookline is now separated from the remainder of Norfolk County.
Brookline has long been regarded as a pleasant and verdant environment. In the 1841 edition of the ''Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', Andrew Jackson Downing described the area this way:
Brookline residents were among the first in the country to propose extending the vote to women.
Benjamin F. Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best ...
, in his 1882 campaign for Governor, advocated the idea.
Transportation history
Two branches of upper
Boston Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States.
The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. R ...
, established in the 1670s, passed through Brookline. Brookline Village was the original center of retail activity. In 1810, the Boston and Worcester Turnpike, now
Massachusetts Route 9, was laid out, starting on
Huntington Avenue in Boston and passing through the village center on its way west.
Steam railroads came to Brookline in the middle of the 19th century. The
Boston and Worcester Railroad was constructed in the early 1830s, and passed through Brookline near the Charles River. The rail line is still in active use, now paralleled by the
Massachusetts Turnpike
The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state l ...
. The Highland branch of the
Boston and Albany Railroad was built from Kenmore Square to Brookline Village in 1847, and was extended into Newton in 1852. In the late 1950s, this would become the
Green Line D branch
The Green Line D branch (also referred to as the Highland branch or Riverside Line) is a light rail line in Newton, Brookline, and Boston, Massachusetts, operating as part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line. Th ...
.
The portion of Beacon Street west of Kenmore Square was laid out in 1850.
Streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...
tracks were laid above ground on Beacon Street in 1888, from
Coolidge Corner to
Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue may refer to:
* Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston), Massachusetts
** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station), a subway station on the MBTA Orange Line
** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Silver Line station), a stati ...
in Boston, via Kenmore Square. In 1889, they were electrified and extended over the Brighton border at
Cleveland Circle. They would eventually become the
Green Line C branch.
Thanks to the
Boston Elevated Railway
The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) was a streetcar and rapid transit railroad operated on, above, and below, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Founded in 1894, it eventually acquired the West End Street Rai ...
system, this upgrade from
horse-drawn carriage
A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...
to electric trolleys occurred on many major streets all over the region, and made transportation into downtown Boston faster and cheaper. Much of Brookline was developed into a
streetcar suburb
A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...
, with large brick apartment buildings sprouting up along the new streetcar lines.
Etymology
Brookline was known as the hamlet of Muddy River and was considered part of Boston until the Town of Brookline was independently incorporated in 1705. (The
Muddy River was used as the Brookline–Boston border at incorporation.) It is said that the name derives from a farm therein once owned by Judge
Samuel Sewall. Originally the property of CPT
John Hull John Hull may refer to:
Politicians
*John Hull (MP for Hythe), MP for Hythe
*John Hull (MP for Exeter) (died 1549), English politician
*John A. T. Hull (1841–1928), American politician
*John C. Hull (politician) (1870–1947), Speaker of the Mas ...
and Judith Quincy Hull. Judge Sewall came into possession of this tract, which embraced more than 350 acres, through Hannah Quincy Hull (Sewall) who was the Hull's only daughter. John Hull in his youth lived in Muddy River Hamlet, in a little house which stood near the Sears Memorial Church. Hull removed to Boston, where he amassed a large fortune for those days. Judge Sewall probably never lived on his Brookline estate.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy
An economy is an area of th ...
, Brookline has a total area of , all but (0.44%) of which is land.
The northern part of Brookline, roughly north of the D-line tracks, is urban in character, as highly walkable and transit rich. The population density of this northern part of town is nearly , similar to the densest neighborhoods in nearby
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...
,
Somerville and
Chelsea, Massachusetts (the densest cities in New England), and slightly lower than that of central Boston's residential districts (Back Bay, South End, Fenway, etc.). The overall density of Brookline, which also includes suburban districts and grand estates south of the D-line, is still higher than that of many of the largest cities in the United States, especially in the South and West. Brookline borders
Newton (part of
Middlesex County) to the west and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
(part of
Suffolk County) in all other directions; it is therefore non-contiguous with any other part of Norfolk County. Brookline became an
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of Norfolk County in 1873, when the neighboring town of
West Roxbury was annexed by Boston (and left Norfolk County to join
Suffolk County). Brookline refused to be annexed by Boston after the
Boston–Brookline annexation debate of 1873.
Brookline separates the bulk of the city of Boston (except for a narrow neck or corridor near the
Charles River
The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles bac ...
) from its westernmost neighborhoods of
Allston–Brighton, which had been the separate town of Brighton until annexed by Boston in 1873.
Neighborhoods
There are many neighborhood associations, some of which overlap.
Neighborhoods, squares, and notable areas of Brookline include:
* Aspinwall Hill
* Beaconsfield
* Brookline Hills
*
Brookline Village
Brookline Village is one of the major commercial and retail centers of the town of Brookline, Massachusetts. Located just north of Massachusetts Route 9 and west of the Muddy River, it is the historic center of the town and includes its major c ...
* Buttonwood Village
*
Brookline High School, Near Pierce District
*
Chestnut Hill, which also extends into
Newton and Boston
*
Coolidge Corner
* Corey Farm
* Corey Hill
*
Cottage Farm
* Fisher Hill
* Griggs Park
* JFK Crossing
* Longwood
* North Brookline
*
Pill Hill (also known as "High Street Hill")
* The Point (originally "Whiskey Point")
* The Runkle District
* South Brookline ("Sobro")
* The Heights (just west of Washington Square)
*
Washington Square
* Woodland Heath
Climate
The climate of Brookline is
humid continental Dfa.
Brookline falls under the
USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
6b Plant
Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 58,732 people, 24,891 households, and 12,233 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 26,448 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 73.3%
White
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 3.4%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.12%
Native American, 15.6%
Asian (6.7%
Chinese, 2.6%
Indian, 2.3%
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
, 1.8%
Japanese), 0.03%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...
, 1.01% from
other races, and 3.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 5.0% of the population (0.9%
Mexican, 0.8%
Puerto Rican). (Source: 2010 Census Quickfacts)
There were 25,594 households, out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18, living with them, 38.4% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.2% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the town, the population distribution was wide, with 16.6% under the age of 18, 11.7%, from 18 to 24, 37.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $66,711, and the median income for a family was $92,993. Males had a median income of $56,861 versus $43,436 for females. The per capita income for the town was $44,327. About 4.5% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 5.3% of those under the age of 18 and 7.5% of those ages 65 and older. The poverty rate of Brookline’s residents rate rose form 9.3% in 2000 to 13.1% in 2010.
Serving as a residential zone for nearby academic and medical institutes such as
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...
and
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...
, Brookline was reported as the town with the most doctoral degree holders (14.0% of the total population in 2012) in the United States.
Arts and culture
* Brookline, along with the nearby Boston neighborhood of Brighton and the city of Newton, is a cultural hub for the Jewish community of Greater Boston.
* The
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.
Archbishop
On May 11, 2019, the church's Holy ...
Metropolis of Boston is headquartered in Brookline.
* Brookline Village is home to
Puppet Showplace Theater
Puppet Showplace Theater is a nonprofit puppet theater in Brookline, Massachusetts. The organization was founded in June 1974 by Mary Churchill. Since 1981, it has been located at 32 Station Street. The theater presents performances by local and ...
, New England's only dedicated puppet theater and center for puppetry arts. The theater is located in the historic 32 Station Street building directly across from the Brookline Village MBTA Green Line stop.
* There have been three Poet Laureates of Brookline: Judith Steinbergh,
Jan Schreiber
Jan Schreiber (born 1941) is an American poet, translator, and literary critic who has been part of the renascence of formal poetry that began in the late twentieth century. He is the author of five books of verse, two books of verse translation ...
, and, currently, Zvi Sesling.
* Along with
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
and
Quincy, it has a large
Irish American
, image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png
, image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state
, caption = Notable Irish Americans
, population =
36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...
presence.
Points of interest
The following historic buildings are open to the public:
* The
birthplace of John F. Kennedy stands in Brookline and is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
. It is maintained by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...
and is open to the public from May through September.
* "Fairsted", the 100-year-old business headquarters and design office for renowned landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co-d ...
and the
Olmsted Brothers
The Olmsted Brothers company was a Landscape architecture, landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape ar ...
firm, has been carefully preserved as the
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, on of landscaped grounds at 99 Warren Street.
*
John Goddard House
The John Goddard House is a historic house at 235 Goddard Avenue in Brookline, Massachusetts, US. The two-story wood-frame house was originally built by Joseph Goddard in 1670 and re-built by his grandson John Goddard in 1767, a farmer. It is on ...
, an historic house at 235 Goddard Avenue, was built in 1767 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
*
Larz Anderson Park is in Brookline on the estate once owned by
Larz Anderson and
Isabel Weld Perkins. The park contains the
Larz Anderson Auto Museum, the oldest automobile collection in the country, as well as
Putterham School
Putterham School, built 1768, is a one room schoolhouse in Brookline, Massachusetts. Originally built at the juncture of Grove and Newton Streets, in 1966 the school was moved from its original site to its present location at Larz Anderson Park. ...
, a
one-room schoolhouse
One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...
from
colonial times.
Other historic and cultural sites include:
*
St. Aidan's Church was where John F. Kennedy was baptized and where the Kennedy family and other prominent Irish-Americans were parishioners. The church was designed by architect Charles Maginnis, who was awarded the
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to ...
' gold medal. Although it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, St. Aidan's Church has been closed and converted into housing.
*
The Dutch House, one of only five surviving buildings from the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, h ...
of 1893 was relocated to Brookline.
* There were two stops on the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
in Brookline:
9 Toxteth Street and 182 Walnut Street.
*
The Country Club, an exclusive sporting club in the town, was the first private club in the United States formed exclusively for outdoor activities. It is most famous as a golf club; it was one of the five clubs that formed what is now the
United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rule ...
and has hosted the
U.S. Open three times and the
Ryder Cup Matches once.
*
Coolidge Corner, which is located at the crossing of
Beacon Street and Harvard Street, is one of Brookline's two primary retail districts (the other being
Washington Square). It includes a number of historically significant sites, including the
S.S. Pierce Building, and the
Coolidge Corner Theatre.
* Brookline is home to part of
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co-d ...
's
Emerald Necklace of park systems, including
Olmsted Park
Olmsted Park is a linear park in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts, and a part of Boston's Emerald Necklace of connected parks and parkways. Originally named Leverett Park, in 1900 it was renamed to honor its designer, Frederick Law Olmsted. ...
.
* The
Puppet Showplace Theatre, one of the four oldest puppet theatres in the United States, is located in Brookline Village.
Government
Brookline is governed by a
representative (elected) town meeting, which is the legislative body of the town, and a five-person
Select Board that serves as the executive branch of the town.
New and existing laws
In 2017, a Brookline Town Meeting voted to recognize Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day.
In 2019, Brookline banned the distribution of carry out plastic bags at grocery stores and other places of business.
In 2021, Brookline became the first town in America to ban the sale of all tobacco products and electronic and vaping cigarettes to young people born after January 1, 2000. Flavored tobacco products have been banned also. Vendors and small business owners have filed a lawsuit against the town, citing a loss of business and an inability to hire new employees in the near future.
Education
Public schools
The town is served by the
Public Schools of Brookline
Public Schools of Brookline (PSB) is the school district of Brookline, Massachusetts.
it had over 7,500 students. They operate eight elementary (K-8) schools and one high school in the Town of Brookline.
Schools
; Senior high school:
* Brookli ...
. The student body at
Brookline High School includes students from more than 76 countries. Many students attend Brookline High from surrounding neighborhoods in Boston, such as Mission Hill and Mattapan through the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (
METCO) system.
There are eight elementary schools in the Brookline Public School system:
Baker School
A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
History
Ancient history
Si ...
,
Coolidge Corner School, Driscoll,
Heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
, Lawrence,
Lincoln, Pierce, and
Runkle. As of December 2006, there were 6,089 K–12 students enrolled in the Brookline public schools. The system includes one early learning center, eight grades K–8 schools, and one comprehensive high school. The Old Lincoln School is a surplus building used by the town to temporarily teach students in when another school building is being renovated. It was rented in 2009 as the venue for the play
Sleep No More.
As of the 2012-13 school year, the student body was 57.4% White, 18.1% Asian, 6.4% Black, 9.9% Hispanic, and 8.2% multi-race. Approximately 30% of students came from homes where English is not the first language.
Private schools
Several private primary and secondary schools are located in Brookline.
*
Beaver Country Day School
*
Brimmer and May School – partly in Newton
*
Dexter Southfield School
*
Ivy Street School
The Ivy Street School is a school that offers multiple programs aimed at providing the skills and healing for neurodivergent youth to thrive. Through its educational, residential, and community-based programs, Ivy Street supports adolescents and y ...
*
Maimonides School
*
The Park School
*
Saint Mary of the Assumption School
*
Mount Alvernia Academy (Chestnut Hill)
Chestnut Hill is an affluent New England village located west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is located within one or more incorporated municipal entities. It is located pa ...
Higher education
Several institutes of higher education are located in Brookline.
*
Pine Manor College
*
Hellenic College &
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
* Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis
Also, parts of the following are located in Brookline:
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...
including
Wheelock College
Wheelock College (Wheelock) was a private college in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1888 by Lucy Wheelock as Miss Wheelock's Kindergarten Training School, it offered undergraduate and graduate programs that focused on the Arts & Sciences, ...
,
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifi ...
, and
Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU) is a private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in Charlotte, North C ...
's
Parsons Field.
Newbury College closed in 2019.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Light rail and subway
Brookline is served by the
C and
D branches of the
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
's
Green Line
Green Line may refer to:
Places Military and political
* Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II
* Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours
** City Line ( ...
trains, with inbound service to downtown
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
and outbound service to Newton. The
B line runs along the town's northern border of
Commonwealth Avenue in
Allston
Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most pa ...
.
Bus
Brookline is served by several
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
bus routes.
Public libraries
Public Library of Brookline 361 Washington St., Brookline, MA 02445
* Coolidge Corner Branch Library, 31 Pleasant St., Brookline, MA 02446
* Putterham Branch Library, 959 West Roxbury Pkwy., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Fire department
The town of Brookline is protected full-time by the 158 paid, professional
firefighters of the Brookline Fire Department (BFD). It currently operates out of five fire stations located throughout the town, under the command of a Deputy Chief per shift. The BFD also operates a fire apparatus fleet of four engines, two ladders, one quint, one cross-staffed rescue (special operations), two squads, one special operations unit, one haz-mat decon trailer, two maintenance units, as well as numerous other special, support, and reserve units. The Brookline Fire Department responds to approximately 8,500 emergency calls annually. The current Chief of Department is John F. Sullivan.
Cemeteries
*
The Old Burying Ground, also known as Walnut Street Cemetery. 1717 – 1.54 acres (Walnut Street at Chestnut Street)
*
Walnut Hills Cemetery 1875 – 45.26 acres (Grove Street and Allandale Road)
Notable people
*
Jeff Adrien (born 1986),
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...
Huskies basketball captain and
power forward
*
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; ( Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Grea ...
, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX) of Thailand lived his infancy in Brookline while his father the prince studied at Harvard Medical School
*
Eddie Andelman, sports radio host and businessman, moved to Brookline as child, graduated from Brookline High
*
Larz Anderson, U.S. Ambassador to Japan
*
Ray Atherton, first
, born and raised in Brookline
*
Lily Batchelder, professor at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
. She was the former chief tax counsel to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee under the Obama administration and appointed to head Joe Biden's IRS transition team
*
Linda Barnes, novelist
*
Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only w ...
, Nobel Prize-winning novelist, lived the last 12 years of his life in Brookline
*
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...
, professional basketball player, lived in Brookline while he played for the
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...
*
Ran Blake, jazz pianist and composer
*
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...
, Mayor of New York City 2002–2012, lived in Brookline as a child
*
Marita Bonner
Marita Bonner (June 16, 1899 – December 7, 1971), also known as Marieta Bonner, was an American writer, essayist, and playwright who is commonly associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Other names she went by were Marita Occomy, Marita Odette B ...
(1899–1971), writer, essayist, and playwright
*
Zabdiel Boylston, physician who introduced inoculation against smallpox to the North American colonies in 1721
*
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with whic ...
, lived in Brookline while quarterback of the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
*
Gisele Bündchen, supermodel and former wife of Tom Brady
*
Richard Burgin, author, editor of
Boulevard (magazine)
*
Michael A. Burstein
Michael A. Burstein (born 1970) is an American writer of science fiction.
Background
Michael A. Burstein was born in New York City, and grew up in Forest Hills in the borough of Queens. He attended Hunter College High School in Manhattan ...
, science-fiction writer
*
Stanley Cavell (born 1926), professor of philosophy, winner of a
MacArthur Fellowship]
*
Gene Clapp (born 1949), silver medalist
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972 ...
*
Herman Chernoff
Herman Chernoff (born July 1, 1923) is an American applied mathematician, statistician and physicist. He was formerly a professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Stanford, and MIT, currently emeritus at Harvard University.
Early ...
(born 1923), statistician
*
Ida Conquest
Ida Conquest (February 26, 1876 – July 12, 1937) was a leading lady of Broadway in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Family
Ida Conquest was from Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of John Alfred Stokes Conquest and the for ...
, actress
*
Zach Cone
Biker Boy is a fictional superhero character created and portrayed by Zach Cone. Biker Boy promotes bicycle, bicycling as an alternative to walking and driving, and primarily aims to increase the use of Bicycle helmet, helmets, among both childr ...
, creator and player of
Biker Boy
Biker Boy is a fictional superhero character created and portrayed by Zach Cone. Biker Boy promotes bicycling as an alternative to walking and driving, and primarily aims to increase the use of helmets, among both children and adults. Biker Boy ...
*
Harvey Cushing, "father of modern neurosurgery"
*
Thomas Aspinwall Davis (1798–1845), businessman and mayor of Boston
*
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
(born 1933), former
Governor of Massachusetts
The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.
Massachuse ...
and 1988
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Presidential candidate
*
Adam Edelman (born 1991), American-born four-time Israeli National Champion in skeleton event, and Israeli Olympian
*
Theo Epstein (born 1973),
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
President of Baseball Operations and former
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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...
general manager
*
Hank Eskin
Where's George? is a website that tracks the natural geographic circulation of American paper money. Its popularity has led to the establishment of a number of other currency tracking websites and sites that track other objects, such as used ...
, webmaster of ''
Where's George?''
*
Alice Ettinger
Alice Ettinger (October 8, 1899 – April 14, 1993) was a prominent radiologist and professor of medicine. A native of Germany, Ettinger trained there before coming to the Tufts University School of Medicine. She had come for a visit to Boston to ...
, radiologist
*
Frederick Perry Fish
Frederick Perry Fish (13 January 1855 – 6 November 1930) was an American lawyer and executive who served as president of American Telephone & Telegraph Corporation from 1901 to 1907. One of the leading patent attorneys of his age, representin ...
(1855–1930), pioneering
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
attorney
*
Kenny Florian, professional mixed martial artist
*
Terry Francona, manager of the
Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
*
David Frankel, venture capitalist and entrepreneur
*
Edward Fredkin, digital physics pioneer, inventor of the
trie
In computer science, a trie, also called digital tree or prefix tree, is a type of ''k''-ary search tree, a tree data structure used for locating specific keys from within a set. These keys are most often strings, with links between nodes d ...
data structure, the
Fredkin gate and the
Billiard-Ball Computer Model for
reversible computing
Reversible computing is any model of computation where the computational process, to some extent, is time-reversible. In a model of computation that uses deterministic transitions from one state of the abstract machine to another, a necessary c ...
*
Fayette F. Forbes (1851–1935), water engineer, plant collector, and botanist with a particular interest in algae and diatoms
*
Irwin Freedberg
Irwin Mark Freedberg (born c. 1933, Brookline, Massachusetts; died July 17, 2005, New York City) was an American dermatologist. He taught dermatology at Harvard Medical School, was Director of the Department of Dermatology at Johns Hopkins Univer ...
, dermatologist
*
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan (born May 3, 1987 in Intibucá, Honduras) is an Honduran American transgender rights activist and the first openly transgender person to work as a White House staffer. She was also the first openly transgender legislative st ...
, LGBTQ activist and first openly transgender White House staffer
*
Peter Gammons, baseball writer and ESPN commentator
*
King Gillette, popularizer of the safety razor
*
Sheldon Glashow (born 1932), Nobel Prize-winning physicist
*
Robert R. Glauber
Robert Rudolf Glauber (March 22, 1939February 14, 2021) was an American academic who was a lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a visiting professor at the Harvard Law School. He was the former chairman, president, board member a ...
, Harvard faculty, former Chairman of
NASD
*
Robert Goldwyn (1930–2010), editor-in-chief of ''Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery'' for 25 years, Professor of Surgery at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...
, and Chief of
Plastic Surgery
Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes cranio ...
at the
Beth Israel Hospital
*
Ellen Goodman (born 1941), American journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist
*
Minnie Goodnow (1871–1952), WWI nurse and nurse educator
*
Roland Hayes (1887–1977), lyric tenor and composer
*
John Hodgman (born 1971), author and contributor for ''
This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...
'' and ''
The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form fr ...
''
*
Sybil Holmes
Sybil Henry Holmes (June 20, 1889 – July 22, 1979) was an American politician who was the first woman elected to the Massachusetts Senate.
Early life and legal career
Holmes was born on June 20, 1889 in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts to Hel ...
(1889–1979), first female member of the
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
*
Levi Yitzchak Horowitz (1921–2009), the Bostoner Rebbe
*
Isabella Howland
Isabella Howland (1895–1974) was an American painter, sculptor, and caricaturist.
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Howland was associated with Maine for much her career; she also lived and worked in New York City. Several of her works are ow ...
(1895–1974), painter and sculptor
*
Peter Ivers (1946–1983), musician, singer, songwriter, and television personality
*
Richard Jones Richard Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*F. Richard Jones (1893–1930), American filmmaker
*Dick Clair (Richard Jones, 1931–1988), American producer, actor and TV writer
*Richard Jones (The Feeling), British bass guitarist
*Richard J ...
, US ambassador to Israel, lived in Brookline with his family
*
Victor Kac (born 1943), mathematician, MIT faculty, creator of Kac-Moody algebras, creator of Superalgebra
*
Jeffrey Karp, biomedical researcher
*
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
(1961–63), born and lived first 10 years of his life in Brookline
*
Rosemary Kennedy (1918–2005), sister of President
John F. Kennedy, born in Brookline
*
Kathleen Agnes Kennedy (Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington) (1920–1948), sister of President
John F. Kennedy, born in Brookline
*
Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921–2009), sister of President
John F. Kennedy, born in Brookline
*
Patricia Kennedy Lawford (1924–2006), sister of President
John F. Kennedy, born in Brookline
*
Robert F. Kennedy (1925–1968),
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
,
US Senator, brother of President
John F. Kennedy, born in Brookline
*
Louise Andrews Kent (1886–1969), author
*
Robert Kraft (born 1941),
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
owner
*
Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling non-fiction books—'' Into the Wild''; '' Into Thin Air''; '' Under the Banner of Heaven''; and '' Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pa ...
(born 1954, raised in
Corvallis, Oregon), author of ''
Into the Wild'' and ''
Into Thin Air'', columnist for ''Outside'' magazine
*
Louis Krasner (1903–1995), American violinist
*
Michio
Michio (written: 道夫, 道雄, 道郎, 通夫 or 三知男) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese shogi player
*, Japanese dancer and choreographer
* Michio Kaku (born 1947), American theoretical p ...
, leader of the worldwide macrobiotic movement
*
Amos Adams Lawrence (1814–1886), merchant and abolitionist
*
Abbott Lawrence Lowell (1856–1943), former president of Harvard University
*
Lester Lefton
Lester A. Lefton (born July 27, 1946) is an American academic and higher education administrator. He was the President of Kent State University (2006–2014). He has 35 years of experience in higher education, having served for 25 years at a publi ...
, president of
Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in A ...
*
Tony Levin (born 1946), musician
*
Amy Lowell (1874–1925), poet
*
Eddie Lowery (1903–1984), 10-year-old
caddie of
Francis Ouimet during 1913 U.S. Open held in Brookline
*
Larry Lucchino (born 1945), co-owner of
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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...
*
Ananda Mahidol
Ananda Mahidol ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล; ; 20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946), posthumous reigning title Phra Athamaramathibodin ( th, พระอั� ...
, His Majesty King Ananda Mahidol (King Rama VIII) of Thailand, lived during age 1–3 years in Brookline while his father the prince studied at Harvard Medical School
*
Albert and David Maysles, documentary filmmakers
*
Arthur Chute McGill
Arthur Chute McGill (1926–1980) was a Canadian-born American theologian and philosopher.
Biography
Born in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, on August 7, 1926, McGill moved to Brookline, Massachusetts, later that year where he attended Rivers Country D ...
(1926–1980), theologian, philosopher, author and editor, Harvard professor 1971–1980
*
Joey McIntyre, youngest member of musical group New Kids on the Block, lived in Brookline
*
Henry J. Meade
Henry J. Meade (August 8, 1925 – June 22, 2006) was Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1925, Meade was an ordained Roman Catholic priest. He graduated from Saint Anselm College and Saint J ...
, Chief of Chaplains of the
U.S. Air Force
*
Jean Baker Miller (1927–2006), psychoanalyst, feminist, author, social activist
*
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country and pop hits " King of the Road", " Dang Me", and "Engl ...
, rock musician
*
George Minot (1885–1950), winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
*
Marvin Minsky
Marvin Lee Minsky (August 9, 1927 – January 24, 2016) was an American cognitive and computer scientist concerned largely with research of artificial intelligence (AI), co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, a ...
(1927–2016),
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, moveme ...
theorist, inventor, author, professor
*
Abelardo Morell
Abelardo Morell (born 1948, Havana, Cuba) is a contemporary artist widely known for turning rooms into camera obscuras and then capturing the marriage of interior and exterior in large format photographs. He is also known for his 'tent-camera,' a ...
(born 1948), photographer, professor at Massachusetts College of Art
*
William Murphy (1892–1987), winner of 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
*
Nicholas Nixon, photographer, professor at Massachusetts College of Art
*
Joel Mark Noe (1943–1991), pioneering reconstructive
plastic surgeon, longtime resident
*
Conan O'Brien (born 1963), television host, comedian, writer, producer
*
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co-d ...
(1822–1903),
landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...
*
Francis Ouimet (1893–1967), amateur golfer who won the
U.S. Open in 1913
*
Edith Pearlman
Edith Ann Pearlman ('' née'' Grossman; June 26, 1936 – January 1, 2023) was an American short story writer. (born 1936), short story writer
*
Paul Pender (1930–2003), boxer, middleweight champion
*
Esther Petrack
The fifteenth cycle of ''America's Next Top Model'' premiered on September 8, 2010 and was the ninth cycle to be aired on The CW network.
Several changes were made to the show in a bid to place greater emphasis on high fashion, including a line ...
, contestant on ''
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15
The fifteenth cycle of '' America's Next Top Model'' premiered on September 8, 2010 and was the ninth cycle to be aired on The CW network.
Several changes were made to the show in a bid to place greater emphasis on high fashion, including a lin ...
''
*
Henry Varnum Poor, creator of the
Standard & Poor's
S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is co ...
Index
*
Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa
Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa (also known as "Dr. Q") is a Mexican-American neurosurgeon, author, and researcher. Currently, he is the William J. and Charles H. Mayo Professor and Chair of Neurologic Surgery and runs a basic science research la ...
, M.D., neurosurgeon and author
*
Norman Ramsey (1915–2011), winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics
*
Rishi Reddi, short story writer
*
Elliot Richardson
Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and public servant who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S. Attorney General, he was a prominent figure in the Watergate ...
, lieutenant governor and attorney general of Massachusetts, cabinet official in the Nixon and Ford administrations, ambassador and lawyer
*
Florida Ruffin Ridley (1861–1943), civil rights activist, suffragist, teacher, writer, and editor
*
Steve Rochinski (born 1954), jazz guitarist, recording artist, composer, arranger, author, jazz educator
*
John Rock (1890–1984), pioneer in the development of in vitro fertilization and the birth control pill
*
Neil Rolde (born 1932), writer and Maine politician
*
David L. Rose
David L. Rose (born February 19, 1967) is a product designer and entrepreneur, and the CEO of Clearwater AR.
Early life
Rose was born on February 19, 1967, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina when his father, James Rose, was in medical school.
Ro ...
(born 1967), tech entrepreneur and scientist at the MIT Media Lab
*
Dan Rosenthal
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
** Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Iv ...
(born 1966),
Assistant to the President in White House under
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...
*
Larry Ruttman
Lawrence Allen "Larry" Ruttman (born February 8, 1931) is an American attorney, author, and historian. He is best known for his two books of biographical cultural history, ''Voices of Brookline'' and ''American Jews and America's Game'', and for ...
(born 1931), attorney and author
*
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
(1874–1951), composer, lived at 1280 Beacon Street during the 1930s
*
Samuel Sewall (1652–1730), judge in the Salem witch trials
*
Charles Sprague Sargent
Charles Sprague Sargent (April 24, 1841 – March 22, 1927) was an American botanist. He was appointed in 1872 as the first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, and held the post until his death. He p ...
(1841–1927), first director of Harvard University's
Arnold Arboretum
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in ...
*
Conrad Salinger (1901–1962), longtime
orchestrator for
MGM musicals
*
Sarah Schechter
Sarah Schechter is the first female rabbi in the U.S. Air Force. She joined the Air Force as a chaplain candidate, and became a chaplain when she was ordained as a Reform rabbi in 2003. Her father was an Air Force chaplain in 1960.
She grew ...
(born 1976), film and television producer
*
Joseph B. Soloveitchik
Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( he, יוסף דב הלוי סולובייצ׳יק ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion o ...
(1903–1993), Jewish scholar
*
Sarah Smith (born 1947), novelist
*
Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as the 71st United States secretary of the treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as pr ...
, economist, president of Harvard University 2001–2006
*
Cindy Stumpo
Cindy Stumpo is an American entrepreneur and residential contractor. She is the founder of C. Stumpo Development, a privately owned custom home builder and developer based in eastern Massachusetts. Stumpo and her work have been featured in numer ...
, entrepreneur and residential contractor featured in numerous national publications
*
David Susskind, (1920-1967), producer of TV, movies, and stage plays; TV talk show host.
*
Paul Szep (born 1941), two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist
*
Karen Tarlow Karen Anne Tarlow (born September 19, 1947) is an American composer and music educator who has composed multi-media pieces and many choral works based on Hebrew texts.
Tarlow was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. She received a BM and MM from the U ...
(born 1947), composer
*
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, hav ...
, musician, owns a home in Brookline
*
Michelle Thomas
Michelle Doris Thomas (September 23, 1968 – December 23, 1998) was an American actress. She was known for her roles as Justine Phillips on the NBC sitcom '' The Cosby Show'' (1988–90), as Myra Monkhouse on the ABC/ CBS sitcom '' Family Ma ...
(1968–1998), actress who played Justine Phillips on ''
The Cosby Show
''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...
'' and
Myra Monkhouse
''Family Matters'' is an American sitcom revolving around the Winslow family, a Middle class, middle-class African-American family living in Chicago. The series ran for nine seasons (eight of which were broadcast on American Broadcasting Company ...
on ''
Family Matters''
*
Mike Wallace (1918–2012), TV journalist, best known for ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique st ...
''
*
Stephen Walt
Stephen Martin Walt (born July 2, 1955) is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International relations at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University and a political scientist.
A member of the realist school of international relations ...
, Professor of International Relations,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
*
Barbara Walters (born 1929), television commentator and journalist
*
Robert Weinberg, cancer researcher known for discovering a gene that causes normal cells to form tumors, and the first tumor suppressor gene
*
David Weinberger
David Weinberger (born 1950) is an American author, technologist, and speaker. Trained as a philosopher, Weinberger's work focuses on how technology — particularly the internet and machine learning — is changing our ideas, with books about the ...
, blogger, internet expert, and political consultant
*
William A. Wellman (born 1896 in Brookline), director of ''
Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...
'' (1927)
*
Mikey Welsh, former bassist for rock band
Weezer, moved to Brookline in his youth
*
Henry Melville Whitney (1839–1923), businessman and developer of the Beacon Street boulevard
*
James Scollay Whitney
James Scollay Whitney (May 19, 1811 – October 24, 1878) was an American business executive and politician. He was the father of Henry Melville Whitney and William Collins Whitney, founders of the Whitney family business interests.
Early life
W ...
(1811–1878), businessman and politician
*
John Woodrow Wilson (1922–2015), lithographer, sculptor, painter, muralist, and art teacher
*
Bob Woolf (1929-1993), Sports agent who represented athletes including
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...
,
Carl Yastrzemski,
John Havlicek and others
*
Gary K. Wolf, author, creator of
Roger Rabbit
*
Danny Yamashiro, chaplain at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...
, researcher on
American presidents and
childhood trauma
Childhood trauma is often described as serious adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Children may go through a range of experiences that classify as psychological trauma; these might include neglect, abandonment, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, a ...
, and media host
*
Moshe Yanai, electrical engineer and entrepreneur
In popular culture
In film
* Scenes from ''
American Hustle
''American Hustle'' is a 2013 American historical black comedy crime film directed by David O. Russell. It was written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell, inspired by the FBI Abscam operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It stars Christia ...
'' (2013) were filmed in Brookline.
* Scenes from ''
The Next Karate Kid'' (1993) were filmed in Brookline.
In television
* June Osborne / Offred, the protagonist of ''
The Handmaid's Tale'' (2017–present), is from Brookline.
Sister cities
Brookline is
twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
*
Quezalguaque
Quezalguaque () is a municipality in the León Department of Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Cost ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...
(since 1987)
*Also included under the two sister cities for the
,
Hokkaidō, Japan (since 1990).
Basel-Stadt
Basel-Stadt or Basel-City (german: Kanton ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Citad; french: Canton de Bâle-Ville; it, Canton Basilea Città) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with Basel as ...
, Switzerland.
See also
*
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northe ...
*
European beech in the Longwood Mall
*
Metropolitan area
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Brookline, Massachusetts
*
Representative town meeting format
References
Further reading
* Ronald Dale Karr. ''Between City and Country: Brookline, Massachusetts, and the Origins of Suburbia.'' (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2018).
* Keith N. Morgan, Elizabeth Hope Cushing, and Roger G. Reed. ''Community by Design: The Olmsted Firm and the Development of Brookline, Massachusetts'' (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2012).
*
Larry Ruttman
Lawrence Allen "Larry" Ruttman (born February 8, 1931) is an American attorney, author, and historian. He is best known for his two books of biographical cultural history, ''Voices of Brookline'' and ''American Jews and America's Game'', and for ...
. ''Voices of Brookine'' Foreword by
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
. (Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Peter E. Randall Publisher LLC, 2005).
External links
*
{{authority control
1638 establishments in Massachusetts
Greek-American culture in Massachusetts
Israeli-American history
Jewish communities in the United States
Jews and Judaism in Massachusetts
Populated places established in 1638
Populated places on the Underground Railroad
Russian communities in the United States
Russian-American culture in Massachusetts
Streetcar suburbs
Towns in Massachusetts
Towns in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Ukrainian communities in the United States