Benjamin Thompson House - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Benjamin Thompson House, also known as the Count Rumford Birthplace, located at 90 Elm Street, in the North Woburn area of Woburn, Massachusetts

Woburn, Massachusetts

Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located north of Boston, Massachusetts, and just south of the intersection of I-93 and I-95.- History :...

, is the birthplace of scientist and inventor Benjamin Thompson

Benjamin Thompson

Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford , FRS was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th century revolution in thermodynamics. He also served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Loyalist forces in America during the American...

(1753–1814), who became Count Rumford of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

as well as Sir Benjamin Thompson of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. It was designated a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

in 1975.

History

Benjamin Thompson (Jr.), later to become Count Rumford, was born on March 26, 1753, in the west end of this house which had been built by his grandfather, Captain Ebenezer Thompson and in which his parents had lived since their marriage. Young Benjamin's father died on November 7, 1754, and he lived in the house with his grandfather and his mother until she married Josiah Pierce, Jr., of Woburn and he was taken to live in his house.

Current ownership

The birthplace of Benjamin Thompson is now owned by the Rumford Historical Association founded in 1877 to maintain it as a site of historic interest. In its museum are reconstructed models of Count Rumford’s scientific experiments and inventions. A copy of a portrait of Count Rumford by Gainsborough is on display. The house also has a library of Rumford biographies and essays. It is open weekend afternoons 1 - 4:30PM. Admission is free.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.