Thanks particularly to Jim May who sent a bunch of suggestions for this list.
Worcester, Revisited, a look
back at what Worcester used to look like.
Artemus Ward, first Commander-in-Chief of the American Revolutionary forces, was born in Shrewsbury.
Isaiah Thomas, the publisher of the Revolution, did much of his most revolutionary work in Worcester.
Shay's Rebellion ended in the Worcester courts.
John Chapman, AKA Johnny Appleseed, was born in Leomonster in September 1774.
Did you know "Over the River and Through the Woods" was written by a West Boylston native? Also, the Beaman Public Library has one of two complete runs of the Old Farmers' Almanac.
Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, was born in Westboro.
Old Maps of Towns in New England and New York, Phillipston
The second national women's rights convention was held in October 1850 in Worcester. (Data excerpted from "History of Woman Suffrage in the United States," © 1995, Brooks and Gonzalez. The Women's History Project of Lexington Area National Organization for Women). Visit the Worcester Women's History Project
Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was born in Oxford.
Abolitionists gave talks in this area before the Civil War. A pamphlet was written about one such talk entitled: Our duty to the fugitive slave : a discourse delivered on Sunday, Oct. 6, in West Boylston, Ms. [sic], and in Worcester, Dec. 15 / by K. Arvine.
Curious about Worcester postal history?
Farrell Railroad Consulting has a number of photos of old railroads in the Worcester area.
Emma Goldman lived in Worcester.
Very short bio of Robert Goddard, Worcester's own rocket scientist. It includes a colorized photo of Goddard with his rocket at his Aunt Effie's farm in Auburn. Here's a replica of the first liquid-fueled rocket, which stands in a tiny park by the Auburn Fire Department.
Esther Forbes, author of Johnny Tremain and Paul Revere and his World lived in Worcester.
Agnes Morehead of many movies and Bewitched fame was born in Clinton.
A reader writes that Dr. Tupper, the inventor of Tupperware, was born in Shrewsbury.
A number of movie-related celebrities were born in Worcester.
Basketball great Bob Cousy went to Holy Cross. So did controversial Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Abbie Hoffman, a radical leader of the Sixties, grew up in Worcester.
The science fiction author best known as Hal Clement taught high school science at the Major Edwards High School in West Boylston from about 1947-1949. He taught under his real name, Harry Stubbs.
The Pill was born in Shrewsbury, the offspring of Dr. John Rock and the Worcester Center for Experimental Biology. Over 40 years later, Worcester may be at the forefront of another controversial biological breakthrough.
Al Sacco, a former Worcester Polytechnic Institute professor, and spent 16 days on a shuttle mission in the mid-'90s.
Eddie Mekka, better known as Carmine to the viewers of Laverne and Shirley, grew up in Worcester. He was last seen dancing on the big screen with Madonna in A League of Their Own; he toured the country with a musical version of The Goodbye Girl in early 1998.
Stephen Wright and Dennis Leary are both local product(s).
Wunderkind Alicia Witt grew up in Worcester and starred in Cybil and appeared as a clarinetist in Mr. Holland's Opus. Alicia's mother has been listed in The Guiness Book of World Records for having the longest hair in the world.
Jim Ford was born in Worcester, grew up in West Boylston and graduated from St. John's High School in 1999. He's doing stunts in a bunch of upcoming movies and had a brief bit in Across the Universe.
Nicholas Basbanes, formerly the literary editor of the Sunday Telegram, wrote a great book for bibliophiles called A Gentle Madness. (No, I don't think he mentioned Ephraim's once, but...)
The first human stem cells may have been cloned by Worcester company Advanced Cell Technolology, November 2001.
For more local trivia, see Carrie's Corner.