Writers in Boston

The atlas holds 17 people and 49 moments here, from 1706 to 2016. The most recorded lives are John Adams, Helen Keller and John F. Kennedy.

Notable people

1. John Adams

   from 1735 to 1826

   13 moments here

   American lawyer, revolutionary leader, diplomat, first vice president of the United States, and second U.S. president.…

2. Helen Keller

   from 1888 to 1956

   9 moments here

   Helen Adams Keller was an American deafblind author, lecturer, disability-rights advocate, and political activist.…

3. John F. Kennedy

   from 1917 to 1946

   6 moments here

   John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American naval officer, journalist, congressman, senator, and the 35th president of the United States.…

4. Charles Dickens

   from 1842 to 1867

   3 moments here

   English novelist, journalist, editor, social reformer, actor and celebrated public reader. This chronology traces documented residences, workplaces,…

5. Edgar Allan Poe

   from 1809 to 1827

   3 moments here

   American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic whose work helped shape Gothic fiction, detective fiction, and early science fiction.…

6. George Washington

   from 1775 to 1789

   2 moments here

   George Washington was a Virginia surveyor, planter, military commander, revolutionary leader, constitutional statesman, and the first president of…

7. Jorge Luis Borges

   from 1967 to 1968

   2 moments here

   Argentine writer, poet, essayist, translator, lecturer, librarian, and critic. Borges was born in Buenos Aires, lived in Switzerland and Spain during…

8. Theodore Roosevelt

   from 1876 to 1912

   2 moments here

   Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1858–1919) was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909.…

9. Thomas Edison

   in 1868

   1 moment here

   American inventor and industrialist whose laboratories developed and commercialized technologies in telegraphy, recorded sound, electric lighting and…

10. Martin Luther King Jr.

    in 1951

    1 moment here

    American Baptist minister and civil-rights leader who advanced racial equality through nonviolent protest.…

11. Thomas Jefferson

    in 1784

    1 moment here

    Thomas Jefferson was an American lawyer, Virginia political leader, diplomat, secretary of state, vice president, and third president of the United…

12. Oscar Wilde

    in 1882

    1 moment here

    Irish author, poet, playwright, critic, and leading figure in late nineteenth-century aestheticism.…

13. Benjamin Franklin

    in 1706

    1 moment here

    American printer, scientist, civic leader, colonial agent, revolutionary statesman, and diplomat.…

14. Stephen Hawking

    in 2016

    1 moment here

    English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author whose work on singularities, black-hole thermodynamics, and Hawking radiation reshaped modern…

15. Douglas Adams

    in 1984

    1 moment here

    English author, screenwriter and humourist best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.…

16. Nadine Gordimer

    in 1969

    1 moment here

    South African novelist, short-story writer, and anti-apartheid activist whose work examined apartheid, race, power, and moral responsibility.…

17. Carrie Fisher

    in 2008

    1 moment here

    Carrie Frances Fisher was an American actress, writer, and public advocate, internationally known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars films.…

Moments

1. 1706 Birth on Milk Street Benjamin Franklin
2. 1735 Birth on the Adams family farm John Adams
3. 1751 Entered Harvard College John Adams
4. 1768 Boston residence on Brattle Street John Adams
5. 1768 Moved family to Boston John Adams
6. 1771 Moved family back to Braintree John Adams
7. 1772 Returned household to Boston John Adams
8. 1774 Returned to the Braintree farm John Adams
9. 1775 Occupies Cambridge headquarters George Washington
10. 1776 Returned home after peace conference John Adams
11. 1779 Returned from first French mission John Adams
12. 1784 At Boston before Atlantic departure Thomas Jefferson
13. 1789 Visits churches in Boston George Washington
14. 1799 Stayed at Peacefield during peace crisis John Adams
15. 1801 Returned to Peacefield full-time John Adams
16. 1809 Birth in Boston Edgar Allan Poe
17. 1824 Received Lafayette at Peacefield John Adams
18. 1826 Death at Peacefield John Adams
19. 1827 Travel to Boston Edgar Allan Poe
20. 1827 Army enlistment at Fort Independence Edgar Allan Poe
21. 1842 Arrives in Boston Charles Dickens
22. 1867 Returns to Boston Charles Dickens
23. 1867 Reads at Tremont Temple Charles Dickens
24. 1868 Works as a Boston telegrapher Thomas Edison
25. 1876 Entered Harvard University Theodore Roosevelt
26. 1882 Aesthetic lecture visit to Boston Oscar Wilde
27. 1888 First visit to Perkins Institution Helen Keller
28. 1888 Visit to Bunker Hill Helen Keller
29. 1889 Studies at Perkins Institution Helen Keller
30. 1896 Cambridge School enrollment Helen Keller
31. 1898 College preparation in Boston Helen Keller
32. 1899 Radcliffe entrance examinations Helen Keller
33. 1900 Begins Radcliffe College Helen Keller
34. 1912 Presidential-nomination declaration Theodore Roosevelt
35. 1917 Born at 83 Beals Street John F. Kennedy
36. 1917 Baptized at St. Aidan's Church John F. Kennedy
37. 1920 Moved to Naples Road John F. Kennedy
38. 1936 Entered Harvard College John F. Kennedy
39. 1944 Treated at Chelsea Naval Hospital John F. Kennedy
40. 1946 Established a Boston political residence John F. Kennedy
41. 1951 Begins Boston University studies Martin Luther King Jr.
42. 1955 Honorary degree at Harvard Helen Keller
43. 1956 Keller-Macy Cottage dedication Helen Keller
44. 1967 Norton Lectures at Harvard Jorge Luis Borges
45. 1968 Continuation of Norton Lectures Jorge Luis Borges
46. 1969 Visiting lecturer at Harvard University Nadine Gordimer
47. 1984 Visited Infocom's Boston offices Douglas Adams
48. 2008 Wishful Drinking in Boston Carrie Fisher
49. 2016 Morris Loeb Lecture at Harvard Stephen Hawking

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