Historical figures in Amherst
The atlas holds 9 people and 27 moments here, from 1830 to 1976. The most recorded lives are Emily Dickinson, Calvin Coolidge and Chinua Achebe. Across the Cold War and the Space Age.
Notable people
Amelia Earhart
in 1919
1 moment here
American aviator and author. Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas, became a leading aviation pioneer, crossed the Atlantic as a passenger in 1928,…
Calvin Coolidge
from 1891 to 1933
8 moments here
John Calvin Coolidge Jr. (1872–1933) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as governor of Massachusetts, vice president of the…
Chien-Shiung Wu
in 1942
1 moment here
Chinese-American experimental physicist whose career moved from Jiangsu and eastern China to California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York,…
Chinua Achebe
from 1972 to 1975
2 moments here
Nigerian novelist, poet, critic, editor, educator, and Biafran representative whose life moved between southeastern Nigeria, Lagos, East Africa,…
Emily Dickinson
from 1830 to 1886
10 moments here
American poet Emily Elizabeth Dickinson spent most of her life in Amherst, Massachusetts, with documented childhood schooling, a brief Boston…
Hastings Banda
in 1967
1 moment here
Hastings Kamuzu Banda was a Malawian physician and politician who led Nyasaland to independence and served as Malawi's prime minister and first…
Italo Calvino
in 1976
1 moment here
Italian novelist, short-story writer, editor, journalist, and member of Oulipo. Born in Cuba, raised chiefly in Sanremo, and active across Italy,…
P. L. Travers
in 1966
2 moments here
Pamela Lyndon Travers, born Helen Lyndon Goff, was an Australian-British writer, actress, journalist, and creator of the Mary Poppins books.…
Sergei Rachmaninoff
in 1909
1 moment here
Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Born in the Novgorod Governorate of the Russian Empire, he studied and worked chiefly in Saint…
Moments
- 1830 Birth at the Dickinson Homestead Emily Dickinson
- 1840 Move to the Pleasant Street house Emily Dickinson
- 1840 Begins Amherst Academy Emily Dickinson
- 1847 Enrollment at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary Emily Dickinson
- 1848 Return from Mount Holyoke Emily Dickinson
- 1855 Return to the Dickinson Homestead Emily Dickinson
- 1858 Manuscript-book work at home Emily Dickinson
- 1870 Meeting Thomas Wentworth Higginson Emily Dickinson
- 1874 Father's funeral at the Homestead Emily Dickinson
- 1886 Death at Amherst Emily Dickinson
- 1891 Entered Amherst College Calvin Coolidge
- 1895 Graduation from Amherst Calvin Coolidge
- 1895 Legal apprenticeship in Northampton Calvin Coolidge
- 1906 Massasoit Street residence Calvin Coolidge
- 1909 United States debut recital Sergei Rachmaninoff
- 1919 Convalescence in Northampton Amelia Earhart
- 1920 Vice-presidential nomination notification Calvin Coolidge
- 1929 Return to Northampton after presidency Calvin Coolidge
- 1930 Move to The Beeches Calvin Coolidge
- 1933 Death at The Beeches Calvin Coolidge
- 1942 Teaching at Smith College Chien-Shiung Wu
- 1966 Lecture at Smith College P. L. Travers
- 1966 College radio interview in Amherst P. L. Travers
- 1967 United States visit Hastings Banda
- 1972 University of Massachusetts professorship Chinua Achebe
- 1975 “An Image of Africa” lecture Chinua Achebe
- 1976 Amherst lecture Italo Calvino