Contact Us
This site was created by the students at Waltham High School in the Youth Tech Entrepreneurs Class.
The Waltham Hall of Fame
The Waltham Museum’s Hall-of-Fame consists of men and women who were known, or whose achievements were known, on a national level, persons usually found in encyclopedias. Also, part of, or all of they’re achievements were connected with Waltham, or the member was born in Waltham, or lived in Waltham, or died and was buried in Waltham.
Waltham 1630 to 1738 (Part of Watertown)
John Winthrop – Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Led the first band of explorers along the Charles River in 1631 into what is now Waltham.
John Oldham – Received the first grant of land within what is now Waltham. His murder by Native American on Block Island in 1636 led the Pequot War.
Waltham 1738 to 1816
Samuel Livermore – (1732-1803) Delegate to the Continental Congress. Helped adopt the Federal Constitution. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
Jonathan Brewer – A colonel who was wounded at Bunker Hill. He fought under George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Christopher Gore – Governor of Massachusetts in 1809 and from 1813 to 1816 he was a member of the U.S. Senate.
Architect
Henry M. Richardson - A nationally known architect who designed the historical Paine Estate in Waltham.
Artist
Eliot O’Hara - Left his position as the superintendent of the O’Hara Waltham Dial Company and became one of America’s foremost water-colorist. Author of three books on water coloring.
Author
James J. Fahey
Wrote Pacific War Diary. One of the best selling books of World War II.
Annie Payton Call - She is listed in the 1920 edition of Who’s, Who in America. She is author of some nine books. She was a teacher and Principal at Mount Prospect School on Worcester Lane in Waltham for many years.
George Robert Gissing - In 1877 while only 20 years old he was teaching English at the old Waltham High School. He then moved back to England and wrote best selling novels for the rest of his life.
Aviation Pioneer
Earle L. Ovington – He was the first person to successfully fly an airplane over Waltham and Boston on June 15, 1911.
Boston Manufacturing Company
Francis Cabot Lowell – Co-founder of the Boston Manufacturing Company. The City of Lowell is named after him.
Patrick Tracey Jackson – Co-founder of the Boston Manufacturing Company and also the world’s first bleachery and dye works.
Paul Moody
Machinery and power loom designer for the Boston Manufacturing Company. Moody Street is named after him.
Capitol Police
John Michael Gibson - A 42 year old Waltham native, he was one of two Capitol police officers killed in a shoot out in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on July 24, 1998. A lone gunman stormed the Capitol building. Gibson managed to wound the gunman before he died. The incident was reported all over the world.
Civil War
Nathaniel P. Banks
Governor of Massachusetts in 1857, one of the founders of the Republican Party, Major-General during the Civil War, and later the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
George H. Maynard
Awarded the Congressional Medal-of-Honor for his actions during the Civil War. Later made Major.
Theodore Lyman – Son of Theodore Lyman the philanthropist, he was on General Meade’s staff during the Civil War. Wrote a book called Meade’s Headquarters.
Educator
Thomas Hill – President of Antioch College (1859 to 1862) and president of Harvard (1863 to 1868). The former Hill School in Waltham was named after him.
Fashions
Yolanda (Deduca) Celluci - She is one of the most successful business women in Waltham’s history. She now operates a multi-million dollar fashion empire on Waverly Oaks Road in Waltham. She has appeared as a judge in the Miss World and Miss Universe competitions.
Government
Robert Luce - Served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1919 to 1935 and from 1937 to 1941 from the 13th District of Massachusetts which included Waltham where he lived.
Clarence Decatur Howe - Born in Waltham on January 15, 1886 and graduated from Waltham High School in 1903. His career was spent in Canada where he became Minister of Transportation in 1936 and Minister of Munitions during World War II. He died in Montreal on December 31, 1960.
Inventors
Francis Fields – A dentist who accidentally invented chalk crayon in Waltham in 1835.
Luther Atwood – Chemically produced kerosene in Waltham in 1855.
William Atwood – Equally shares in the first production of kerosene with his brother.
Francis Davis – Invented power steering in Waltham in 1926.
John Lally – A master mason who invented the Lally column in the 1890’s plus 9 other patents in the building trade.
Albert Champion – Employed by the Waltham Manufacturing Company during the first few years of the 20th century. He was one of the first motorcycle racers. Invented the Champion sparkplug.
John Roberts – Paper manufacturer and designer in Waltham. Roberts section of Waltham named after him.
Henry Richardson – Invented the first emery wheel and emery cloth in 1880. Started Waltham Emery Wheel Company.
Charles Herman Metz
Manufacturer and designer of bicycles, motorcycles, and cars in Waltham. Holder of many design patents on these vehicles.
Abner Doble – Started making steam cars in Waltham in 1912. He went on to become one of the greatest manufacturers of steam cars.
Zenas Parmenter – Responsible for the success of the crayon business in Waltham during the last century. The Parmenter Crayon Company became the American Crayon Company.
Edwin Stoddard Lincoln - For a number of years he maintained an electrical laboratory in Waltham for electrical testing and research. He is the author of Electrical Savings in Industry (1924), Electrical Testing in Industry (1925), and others. He was listed in the National Encyclopedia of American Biography.
Law
F. Lee Bailey – Who was born in Waltham in 1933, became a nationally prominent attorney with Dr. Samuel H. Shepard case and others.
Medicine
Dr. Alfred Worcester
Founder of the Waltham Training School for Nurses. Eminent physician and Waltham Historian.
Military
Major General Franklin M. Davis, Jr. - One of the highest ranking officers from Waltham since Nathaniel Banks. Highly decorated in World War II and the Vietnam War.
Rear Admiral Ernest G. Small (1888-1944) - A native of Waltham who became a naval officer during World War I. In World War II he was commander of the cruiser Salt Lake City which took a hit from the Japanese on March 26, 1943 but managed to stay afloat. In 1945 a new destroyer, the U.S.S. Ernest G. Small was named for him and his honor.
Music
Effie C. Carlton – Wrote the music to “Rock-A-Bye-Baby”. Buried at Mount Feake Cemetery in Waltham.
Dot Slamin Hill - She was first nationally known in 1933 when she won the world’s high school baton twirling contest. After World War II she organized a 65 piece all-male marching American Legion band which performed all over the world.
Nursing
Elinor D. Greggs - She graduated from the Waltham Training School for Nurses in 1911 and became a Red Cross nurse. She posed for the famous World War I poster as a Red Cross Nurse. After the war she became a well known nurse on Indian Reservations in America and later was the national supervisor of all nurses on Indian Reservations.
Philanthropist
Theodore Lyman – Founder of the Lyman School for Boys. He was Mayor of Boston in 1834.
Raytheon
Percy Spencer – Perfected the magnetron tube for Raytheon during World War II. Also, developed microwave cooking.
Vannevar Bush - One of Raytheon’s three founders who gained fame as a scientist, educator, and author. In 1934 Raytheon relocated to Waltham from Cambridge.
He later was involved with the Manhattan Program in Washington, D.C.
Lawrence C. Marshall - Marshall became president of Raytheon in 1928 and CEO in 1948. Under his leadership Raytheon was a pioneer in radio tubes and the development of radar.
Charles Francis Adams - Adams became president of Raytheon of Waltham in 1948 and CEO in 1964. He made Raytheon internationally known for producing both military and civilian products.
Religion
Dr. John W. McDevitt - The Superintendent of Schools in Waltham from 1942 to 1960. He was elected Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus in America in 1964. In 1971, Pope Paul VI honored him with the Order of Pius IX, the highest papal honor which can be conferred on a Catholic layman who is not a head of state.
Sea Scout’s Founder
Arthur A. Carey - A businessman of Waltham who started the Sea Scouts of America in Waltham in 1912. He used the schooner Pioneer for training boys on the Charles River. Listed in Who’s, Who on America in 1920.
Sesame Street
Carroll Spinney - Born in Waltham on December 26, 1933. In 1969 he became world famous as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street.
Sports
Pat Carroll – On October 28, 1896, he ran the mile in 4 minutes 25 seconds to become the United States Champion.
Joseph Lazaro – Winner of the National Blind Golfers Tournament on seven occasions.
Joseph T. Lawless
In the 1920 World Olympics he won the Gold Medal for the 1,000 yard shoot while representing the USA.
Angelo Mosca – Professional football player and famous wrestler. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall-of-Fame.
Fred Smerlas
Professional football player in the National Football League. He was selected as an All Star five times.
John L. Daley – America’s Olympic Bantam-weight boxing Champion in 1928. He went on to win the Silver Medal in this event at the 1928 Olympics.
Shawn McEachern - A graduate of Waltham High School in 1992 he became a long time hockey player in the National Hockey League. Also played hockey in the Olympics for the US hockey team.
Waltham Watch Company
Aaron Dennison – Founder of the Waltham Watch Company in 1849. First known as the Boston Watch Company.
Royal Robbins
Responsible for the success of the Waltham Watch Company from the business point of view.
Duane Church
Master watchmaker and great designer and inventor of watch making machinery.
Charles Vanderwoerd – Designer of complicated watch making machinery and watch parts. Later, founder of the Waltham Watch Tool Company and the United States Watch Company.
Charles S. Moseley – Mechanical engineer and designer of watch making machinery for Waltham, Nashua and the Elgin Watch Company.
Ezra T. Fitch
President of the Waltham Watch Company from 1885 to 1910, the greatest years of the company.
D. D. Palmer - Palmer taught and made watches at 1 Spruce Street in Waltham from 1869 to until he died on April 9, 1907. Part of this period he was a supervisor at the watch factory.
Edward Howard - Born in 1813, he helped Aaron Dennison start the Waltham Development Company. Later it was known as the Waltham Watch Company. In 1857 he started the Howard Watch Company in Boston.
MUSEUM HOURS
Wednesday through Friday
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
25 Lexington Street
Waltham, MA 02452
(781) 893-9020 or
(781) 893-8017
Group visits during the week
by appointment.
Adults - $4.00
Seniors - $2.00
Children - $2.00
Members Admitted Free