The history of Massachusetts is stacked with some of America’s best known facts. Pilgrims on the Mayflower Ship landing at Plymouth Rock. The first Thanksgiving. The first revolt against heavy taxation via the Boston Tea Party and the ride of Paul Revere. All of these major moments in American history took place in the Bay State.
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Here are some of the more interesting facts about Massachusetts’ 385-year history:
1.
Boston Common is the nation’s first and oldest public park, according to the city government’s website.
The 50-acre park has been used as a public square where hangings took place until 1817. It is also contains a burial section where notable figures like Samuel Sprague of Boston Tea Party fame is buried.
2.
MIT is the birthplace of inventions that led to the modern GPS system, air traffic control systems and computer networks, according to the technology-minded university. In 1944, the first digital computer with “magnetic-core memory”–or RAM–and a display screen was developed at MIT.
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3. A famous Boston University professor named
Alexander Graham Bell transmitted sound over wires for the first time in the 1870s. His telegraphic device would be dubbed the telephone and Bell’s company was named American Telephone and Telegraph, known today as AT&T.
4. Volleyball was created in 1895 in Holyoke, Mass. The game’s inventor, William G. Morgan, demonstrated the game at a YMCA in Springfield where he worked as the athletic director. Morgan initially called the game Mintonette for its similarity to badminton.
5. Frozen foods were invented by Clarence Birdseye of Gloucester, Mass. The 1925 process radically changed the food industry and the ability to feed the nation.
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6: Marriages in the state are on firm footing.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate among all 50 states with just 2.2 divorces per 1,000 people.
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