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Interesting facts about Massachusetts

Here you will find some interesting facts about Massachusetts, some about the 8th district and some beyond its borders.

• According to the US Census Bureau, Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country with 2.2 divorces per 1000 people.
• Although the Library of Congress contains the most volumes in the country at more than 29,550,000, Harvard University's Library is second with more than 15,000,000 and the Boston Public Library is third with more than 14,000,000.
• The Boston Cream Pie was invented at the Omni Parker House in Boston. It is the state's official dessert.
• The first American lighthouse was built in the Boston Harbor in 1716.
• The African Meeting House opened in Boston in 1806. It is the first church in America to be built by free Africans.
• The first sewing machine was built in Boston in 1845.
• Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone, first demonstrated it in Boston in 1876. The first telephone line was installed in a home in Somerville, next door to the current residence of Congressman Capuano.

• Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith in Springfield.
• Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William Morgan in Holyoke.
• Clarence Birdseye revolutionized American mealtime when he invented frozen foods in Gloucester in 1925.
• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) invented the first computer in Cambridge in 1928.
• The first public school system was founded in Boston in 1635 and Boston Latin was our country's first public school. The Mather School in Dorchester was founded in 1639 as the first public elementary school.
• When you take a stroll on the Boston Common, you are visiting the nation's first public park, established in 1634.
• Harvard University, the country's first college, was founded in 1636.
• The Boston subway is also our nation's first, built in 1897.
• The Cape Cod National Seashore was created after the federal government purchased portions of privately and state owned land. This represents the first time that the federal government purchased land specifically for the purposes of establishing a park.
• The USS Constitution, or "Old Ironsides", is the US Navy's oldest commissioned warship and it is berthed in the Charlestown Navy Yard.
• The first public beach, Revere Beach, is also located in Massachusetts.