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African-American novelist and essayist West (1907– 98) made sharp observations about class and race conflicts.

Ray Tomlinson, an engineer at Bolt, Beranek, and Newman in Cambridge, sent the first e-mail message in 1971.

Built in 1912, the home field of the Boston Red Sox is the oldest surviving park in major league baseball, and aficionados insist that it’s also the finest. An odd-shaped parcel of land gives the intimate park quirky features, such as the high, green-painted wall in left field, affectionately known as “the Green Monster.” Although previous owners threatened to abandon Fenway, the current ones hope to enlarge the park to accommodate the many loyal Sox fans. Behind-the-scenes tours of the park include areas normally closed to the public, like the dugouts and private boxes.

The oldest remaining private residence on Beacon Hill built by African-Americans is a highlight of the Black Heritage Trail. George Middleton, a white revolutionary war veteran, commissioned the house’s construction shortly after the war. Legend has it that Middleton commanded an all-black company dubbed the “Bucks of America.”

In the 1790s, Harrison Gray Otis and James Mason transformed Beacon Hill from a hilly pasture into a chic neighborhood that embodies the Federal building style. Otis championed the architecture of Charles Bulfinch, and three of his Bulfinch-designed houses still grace Beacon Hill, including the one now known as Harrison Gray Otis House (see Harrison Gray Otis House).

One of the principal developers of Beacon Hill, Harrison Gray Otis (see Harrison Gray Otis (1765–1848))served in the Massachusetts legislature and gained a reputation for living la dolce vita in this 1796 Bulfinch-designed manse. Like a post-Revolutionary Gatsby, Otis ensured his parties were the social events of the year. After falling into disrepair, the property was acquired in 1916 by the historical preservation society and meticulously restored to its original grandeur.

Master of sonorous prose, James (1843–1916) is considered one of the creators of the psychological novel.

Known for epic poems such as Hiawatha , Longfellow (1807– 82) also translated Dante.

Educated at Harvard, preacher Increase Mather solidified the hold of Puritan theologians on the Massachusetts government. When William took the English crown, Mather persuaded the king to grant a charter that gave the colony the right to elect the council of the governor in 1691. His influence was later undermined by his support of the 1692 Salem witch trials.

Cambridge inventor Edwin Land devised the Polaroid camera, launched in 1948.