1.
Springfield, Massachusetts
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Springfield is a city in western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers, the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 153,060. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two areas in Massachusetts, had an estimated population of 698,903 as of 2009. The first Springfield in the New World, it is the largest city in Western New England, and the urban, economic and it is the third-largest city in Massachusetts and fourth-largest in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence. Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, lies 23.9 miles south of Springfield, bradley International Airport, which sits 12 miles south of Metro Center Springfield, is Hartford-Springfields airport. Springfield was founded in 1636 by English Puritan William Pynchon as Agawam Plantation under the administration of the Connecticut Colony, in 1641 it was renamed after Pynchons hometown of Springfield, Essex, England, following incidents that precipitated the settlement joining the Massachusetts Bay Colony. From 1777 until its closing during the Vietnam War, the Springfield Armory attracted skilled laborers to Springfield, arsenal at Springfield during Shays Rebellion of 1787 led directly to the formation of the U. S. Springfield is located at 42°6′45″N 72°32′51″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.2 square miles, of which 32.1 square miles is land and 1.1 square miles is water. Once nicknamed The City in a Forest, Springfield features over 4, aside from its rivers, Springfields 2nd most prominent topographical feature is the citys 735 acres Forest Park, designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Forest Park also borders Western Massachusetts most affluent town, Longmeadow, Springfield shares borders with other well-heeled suburbs such as East Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Ludlow and the de-industrializing city of Chicopee. The small cities of Agawam and West Springfield, Massachusetts lie less than a mile from Springfields Metro Center, across the Connecticut River. The City of Springfield also owns the Springfield Country Club, which is located in the city of West Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield, like other cities in southern New England, has a continental climate with four distinct seasons. Winters are cold with a average in January of around 26 °F. During winter, noreaster storms can drop significant snowfalls on Springfield, Springfields summers are very warm and sometimes humid. During summer, several times per month, on hot days afternoon thunderstorms will develop when unstable warm air collides with approaching cold fronts, the daily average in July is around 74 °F. Usually several days during the summer exceed 90 °F, constituting a heat wave, Spring and fall temperatures are usually pleasant, with mild days and crisp, cool nights
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Car
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A car is a wheeled, self-powered motor vehicle used for transportation and a product of the automotive industry. The year 1886 is regarded as the year of the modern car. In that year, German inventor Karl Benz built the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, cars did not become widely available until the early 20th century. One of the first cars that was accessible to the masses was the 1908 Model T, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Cars were rapidly adopted in the United States of America, where they replaced animal-drawn carriages and carts, cars are equipped with controls used for driving, parking, passenger comfort and safety, and controlling a variety of lights. Over the decades, additional features and controls have been added to vehicles, examples include rear reversing cameras, air conditioning, navigation systems, and in car entertainment. Most cars in use in the 2010s are propelled by a combustion engine. Both fuels cause air pollution and are blamed for contributing to climate change. Vehicles using alternative fuels such as ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles and natural gas vehicles are also gaining popularity in some countries, electric cars, which were invented early in the history of the car, began to become commercially available in 2008. There are costs and benefits to car use, the costs of car usage include the cost of, acquiring the vehicle, interest payments, repairs and auto maintenance, fuel, depreciation, driving time, parking fees, taxes, and insurance. The costs to society of car use include, maintaining roads, land use, road congestion, air pollution, public health, health care, road traffic accidents are the largest cause of injury-related deaths worldwide. The benefits may include transportation, mobility, independence. The ability for humans to move flexibly from place to place has far-reaching implications for the nature of societies and it was estimated in 2010 that the number of cars had risen to over 1 billion vehicles, up from the 500 million of 1986. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China, India, the word car is believed to originate from the Latin word carrus or carrum, or the Middle English word carre. In turn, these originated from the Gaulish word karros, the Gaulish language was a branch of the Brythoic language which also used the word Karr, the Brythonig language evolved into Welsh where Car llusg and car rhyfel still survive. It originally referred to any wheeled vehicle, such as a cart, carriage. Motor car is attested from 1895, and is the formal name for cars in British English. Autocar is a variant that is attested from 1895
4.
Charles Duryea
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Charles Edgar Duryea was the engineer of the first-ever working American gasoline-powered car and co-founder of Duryea Motor Wagon Company. It was in Springfield that Charles and his brother, Frank and he was born on December 15,1861 near Canton, Illinois to George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner. Generally speaking, Charles engineered the automobiles, while Frank built, on September 20,1893, the Duryea Brothers road-tested the first-ever, working American gasoline-powered automobile in a portion of Springfield, Massachusetts that is now located in another town. The Duryeas motor wagon was a horse drawn buggy that the brothers had purchased for $70 and into which they had installed a 4 HP. The car had a transmission, spray carburetor and low tension ignition. Frank Duryea test drove it again on November 10 — this time in a prominent location, the next day it was reported by The Republican newspaper with great fanfare. This particular car was put into storage in 1894 and stayed there until 1920 and he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1973. On November 28,1895 in Chicago, their vehicle, driven by brother Frank, had won Americas first car race and it ran to Evanston, Illinois and back. The only other finisher was one of three Benz cars mostly made in Germany, after Frank won, demand grew for the Duryea Motor Wagon. For the history of the company and its cars, see Duryea Motor Wagon Company, Charles Duryea sought out investors and buyers while his brother, Frank Duryea, primarily handled the mechanical side of the business. A Duryea car was involved in the worlds first known auto accident, New York City motorist Henry Wells hit a bicyclist with his new Duryea. The rider suffered a leg, Wells spent a night in jail. Due to low production and extraordinarily pricey cars, e. g. in 1913, George Vanderbilt purchased and drove a Stevens-Duryea and his 1913 Duryea is Vanderbilts only original car kept at his Biltmore Estate. Charles Duryea died of an attack in Philadelphia on September 28,1938 and was buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery. The annual Duryea Hillclimb is named in his honor, elwood Haynes, also credited with first gasoline automobile Duryea, Charles, Homans, James E. The Automoble Book Sturgis & Walton, New York, at Open Library, Charles Duryea at Find a Grave
5.
J. Frank Duryea
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James Frank Duryea and his brother Charles invented the first gasoline-powered automobile in America. The brothers were born in Illinois, Charles in Canton, Illinois, in 1861 and Frank in Wyoming, Illinois, Charles moved to Washington, D. C. to work in the bicycle business. Frank followed closely on his heels in 1888, two more moves in as many years brought the Duryea brothers to Springfield, Massachusetts. Charles had already earned a reputation for design elements in his sylph bicycle, with a smaller wheel in front. Said one colleague, Charles, its a freak, the two brothers researched the internal combustion engine at the Springfield public library. Charles drew the designs and made the connection with their chief investor, Markham provided $1,000, which paid for space in an old machine shop, a collection of cast-off parts, including an old phaeton buggy, and Franks $3-a-day salary. Charles went back to Illinois to follow other pursuits, Frank worked ten hours a day to make Charless design a reality. Over the course of four tests, Frank changed those designs in significant ways. By trial-and-error, Frank worked out problems of ignition, carburetion and he devised a method of muffling the engines extreme noise with a wooden box. In January 1894 Frank made what he believed was his first successful road test, a total of three times Erwin Markham agreed to provide money, but when it came time to put the vehicle in production he backed out. 175 other investors stepped forward to buy $100 shares, Frank was awarded 160 shares, and Charles was given 320. The Duryea Motor Wagon Company was established in 1895. was incorporated in September 1895, on November 28,1895, Frank Duryea won the first motor-car race in the United States, a 54-mile loop along the lakeshore from Chicago to Evanston and back again. Duryea, who completed the race in 10 hours and 23 minutes, the world’s first motor race, the 1894 Paris–Rouen, had clearly demonstrated the merits of the Daimler gasoline motor and had generated a great deal of publicity for the horseless carriage. More than 80 people entered, most of whom were building their own cars at home, as a result, on the morning of November 28, six inches of snow covered the race-course. A horse-drawn snowplow inched along ineffectually, ten hours and 23 minutes after the race began, the Duryea wagon sputtered across the finish line, finishing first. It crossed the line an hour and a half after Duryea had—though Mueller himself. The Macy’s Benz was perhaps the most hapless racer of all, It collided with a streetcar on the way to Evanston and with a sleigh and then a hack on the way back, neither did the De La Vergne Benz. But the race had accomplished what Kohlstaadt had hoped it would, It introduced Americans to the motor-wagon and proved once and for all that the days of the horse, for his part, Frank Duryea returned to his shop in Massachusetts and got to work
6.
Duryea Motor Wagon
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The Duryea Motor Wagon was among the first standardized automobiles and among the first powered by gasoline. Fifteen examples were built by the Duryea Motor Wagon Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts and their enterprise followed the first commercially available automobile which was patented by Karl Benz on January 29,1886, and put into production in 1888. To construct the first Duryea Motor Wagon, the brothers had purchased a used horse-drawn buggy for $70 and then installed a 4 HP, the car had a friction transmission, spray carburetor, and low tension ignition. It was road-tested again on 10 November, when the newspaper The Springfield Republican made the announcement and this particular car was put into storage in 1894 and stayed there until 1920 when it was rescued by Inglis M. Uppercu and presented to the United States National Museum. The Duryea Motor Wagon remained in production until 1917, the Duryea brothers entered their horseless carriage in many shows and races. The Duryea Motor Wagon carriage won the first prize in the first-ever American automobile race Times-Herald race, the Duryeas also won first and second place in the Cosmopolitan Race on Decoration Day,1896 in New York City. On November 14,1896 they joined the Procession/Race from London to Brighton England, Davidson-Duryea Gun Carriage The Duryea was used as the basis of the Davidson-Duryea car of 1898, which has the distinction of being the first American armored car. P. Davidson, of the Illinois National Guard, then commandant of the Northwestern Military and Naval Academy, Highland Park, the First Duryea The 1893 Duryea Automobile In the Museum of History and Technology at Project Gutenberg Duryea Motor Wagon Company List of automotive superlatives Quadricycle Wagon Horse and buggy
7.
Metro Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
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Metro Center is the original colonial settlement of Springfield, Massachusetts, located beside a bend in the Connecticut River. As of 2011, Metro Center features a majority of Western Massachusetts most important cultural, business, Metro Center, founded in 1636 by William Pynchon and a group of pioneers, was originally called Agawam Plantation. Within less than a decade after its founding in 1636, differences arose between the leaders of Agawam and Newtown over how to treat the regions Native population and this difference of opinion led to Agawam annexing itself to Massachusetts in 1640. At that time, William Pynchon was named magistrate of the settlement, in early colonial days, Springfield was the dominant trading post on the Connecticut River. In 1675, during King Philips War, the Metacomet-led Attack on Springfield burned over 75% of Springfield, which was only Metro Center, including the saw and grist mills. Following King Philips War, thought was given to abandoning the settlement at Springfield, however, luckily, cooler heads prevailed, subsequently, Springfield developed neighborhoods other than Metro Center. In 1813, the green in the middle of Metro Center was officially named Court Square, the arrival of the railroad to Springfield in the 1830s brought great wealth to the city, again, due to its location. Goods from New York, Boston, Chicago, and even as far west as San Francisco travelled through Springfield on their ways to coastal distribution centers, Metro Center features the majority of Western Massachusetts most important cultural institutions. For example, it features the Springfield Armory National Park, which includes a museum featuring the worlds largest historic firearm collection, a block west of the Armory is the Quadrangle, which includes an extraordinary grouping of world-class and regional museums, each with a different focus. The Quadrangle features the George Walter Vincent Smith Museum, which is known worldwide for having the largest collection of Chinese cloisonné outside of China, the American Collection features works by Springfielder James McNeill Whistler. The Springfield Science Museum features the first-ever American planetarium Dinosaur Hall, Springfield Symphony Hall at Court Square features famously perfect acoustics, and frequent performances by the innovative Springfield Symphony Orchestra. It also features traveling performances of Broadway shows, also, close by, the Community Music School of Springfield, located at 127 State Street, features musical programs during the day and evenings. If you plan an excursion to City Stage, it is best to check ahead to see if whats showing meets your tastes, the area surrounding Stearns Square has been Springfield Club Quarter for over 120 years. As of 2011, Springfields Club Quarter continues to expand, now featuring over 70 clubs, bars, restaurants, an 1893 model Duryea stands in a small park outside of what is today Alumni Club at 90 Worthington Street, mere feet from the historically important Duryea shop. In Springfields Club Quarter, many different scenes co-mingle peaceably, including hip-hop, rock, LGBT, jazz, the restaurants and clubs by the Basketball Hall of Fame also feature live music Las Vegas-style shows and of course, several sports bars, such as Samuels and Maxs Tavern. A majority of its buildings were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, giving it a Victorian look, however, Metro Center is cut off from the Connecticut Riverfront by Interstate 91, an 8-lane highway. Across Interstate 91 sits the Basketball Hall of Fame complex, Springfields largest tourist draw, during Springfields resurgence in the new millennium, prominent architects – like Moshe Safdie, who built the $57 million,2008 U. S. With energy prices rising, Springfields 1908 building height limit now seems like an idea that was far ahead of its time, ultimately, this renovation of the old Montrealer line will take passengers to Montreal, Canada
8.
Reading, Pennsylvania
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Reading, is the county seat of Berks County and with a population of 98,653 is the fifth-largest city in Pennsylvania. Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, it is the city of the Greater Reading Area. Reading Railroad is one of the four properties in the classic United States version of the Monopoly board game. Reading was one of the first localities where outlet shopping became a tourist industry and it has been known as The Pretzel City, because of numerous local pretzel bakeries. Currently, Bachman, Dieffenbach, Tom Sturgis, and Unique Pretzel bakeries call the Reading area home, according to the 2010 census, Reading has the highest share of citizens living in poverty in the nation. In recent years, the Reading area has become a destination for cyclists, with more than 125 miles of trails in five major preserves, it is an International Mountain Bicycling Association Ride Center and it annually hosts the Reading 120 international road cycling race. In April 2017, it was announced that an indoor velodrome, or cycling track, will be built in Reading as the first of its kind on the East Coast and it will also serve as the Cycling Leagues world headquarters. Lenni Lenape people, also known as Delaware Indians, were the inhabitants of the Reading area. The Colony of Pennsylvania was a 1680 land grant from King Charles II of England to William Penn, comprising more than 45,000 square miles, it was named for his father, Sir William Penn. In 1743, Richard and Thomas Penn mapped out the town of Reading with Conrad Weiser, taking its name from Reading, Berkshire, England, the town was established in 1748. Upon the creation of Berks County in 1752, Reading became the county seat, the region was settled by emigrants from southern and western Germany, who bought land from the Penns. The first Amish community in the New World was established in Greater Reading, the Pennsylvanian German dialect was spoken in the area well into the 1950s and later. During the French and Indian War, Reading was a base for a chain of forts along the Blue Mountain. By the time of the American Revolution, the iron industry had a total production which exceeded Englands. That output that would help supply George Washingtons troops with cannons, rifles, during the early period of the conflict, Reading was again a depot for military supply. Hessian prisoners from the Battle of Trenton were also detained here, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the capital of the United States at the time of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. President Washington traveled to Reading, and considered making it the national capital. Susanna Cox was tried and convicted for infanticide in Reading in 1809 and her case attracted tremendous sympathy,20,000 viewers came to view her hanging, swamping the 3,000 inhabitants
9.
Chicago Times-Herald race
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The Chicago Times-Herald race was the first automobile race held in the United States. Sponsored by the Chicago Times-Herald, the race was held in Chicago in 1895 between six cars and won by Charles Duryeas Motorized Wagon, the race created considerable publicity for the motocycle, which had been introduced in the United States only two years earlier. On July 10,1895 the Chicago Times-Herald announced a race to be held in the city, the promotion was an attempt to foster growth of the young auto industry in the United States and to boost newspaper sales. The first automobiles in the nation were produced two years earlier, and they were so new at the time that the papers editors could not easily agree upon a name for them. After considerable wrangling, the decided to call it a Moto-Cycle race. The original course of the race was to run from Chicago north to Milwaukee, the route was changed to be only 54 miles from Chicago to Evanston and back. The finish line was near what is now the Chicago Museum of Science, the race was intended to be held on November 2, but few cars had shown up, and the race was rescheduled. Eighty-three cars were entered into the race, but only six arrived for the actual competition. Many of the entrants did not have their cars completed on time, elwood Haynes car, which was a favorite to win the race, was damaged en route and unable to compete. Both Haynes and the driver of a Benz car, were stopped by police while driving their cars into the city and they were forced to requisition horses to pull the cars. As the police informed them, they had no right to drive their vehicles on the city streets. The situation caused the race to again be postponed while the Times-Herald editors convinced the city leaders to pass an ordinance to confirm the right of these vehicles to travel on city streets, once the ordinance passed, the race was held on November 28, Thanksgiving Day. The day was snowy and 38 °F, the roads muddy, the first car to arrive was a German made car by inventor Karl Benz. In total, three Benz cars ran in the race, the only other four-wheeled car to run in the race was Charles Duryeas motorized wagon. The two other vehicles that took part were two-wheeled automobiles, the motorcycles lacked the power to climb one of the courses grades. Another entrant was electric-powered, and its battery died because of the weather before getting very far. Just after starting, one Benz struck a horse, and was forced to leave the race, on the return trip the Duryea began to take the lead. The Duryea car took first place and the prize, completing the race after seven hours and fifty-three minutes
10.
Chicago
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Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the third-most populous city in the United States. With over 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the state of Illinois, and it is the county seat of Cook County. In 2012, Chicago was listed as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $640 billion according to 2015 estimates, the city has one of the worlds largest and most diversified economies with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. In 2016, Chicago hosted over 54 million domestic and international visitors, landmarks in the city include Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Campus, the Willis Tower, Museum of Science and Industry, and Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicagos culture includes the arts, novels, film, theater, especially improvisational comedy. Chicago also has sports teams in each of the major professional leagues. The city has many nicknames, the best-known being the Windy City, the name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum, from the Miami-Illinois language. The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as Checagou was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir, henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the wild garlic, called chicagoua, grew abundantly in the area. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by a Native American tribe known as the Potawatomi, the first known non-indigenous permanent settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African and French descent and arrived in the 1780s and he is commonly known as the Founder of Chicago. In 1803, the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes had ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, on August 12,1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 4,000 people, on June 15,1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as U. S. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4,1837, as the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicagos first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois, the canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad, manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade listed the first ever standardized exchange traded forward contracts and these issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage
