County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region, it is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county, which had a population of 76,176 at the 2016 census. Cavan borders six counties: Leitrim to the west and Monaghan to the north, Meath to the south-east, Longford to the south-west and Westmeath to the south. Cavan shares a 70 km border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. Cavan is the 19th largest of the 25th largest by population. There are eight historic baronies in the county. While baronies continue to be defined units, they are no longer used for many administrative purposes, their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, where official Irish names of baronies are listed under "Administrative units". Castlerahan see Virginia, County Cavan Clankee Clanmahon Loughtee Lower Loughtee Upper – whose chief town, Cavan, is the county town Tullygarvey Tullyhaw – the largest in the county at 89,852 acres Tullyhunco Townlands are the smallest defined geographical divisions in Ireland, there are 1979 townlands in the county.
Cavan - 10,914 Bailieborough - 2,683 Ballyjamesduff - 2,661 Virginia - 2,648 Kingscourt - 2,499 The county is characterised by drumlin countryside dotted with many lakes and hills. The north-western area of the county is sparsely mountainous; the Breifne Mountains contain Cuilcagh, at 665 metres. Cavan is the source of many rivers. Shannon Pot on the slopes of Cuilcagh is the source of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland at 386 km; the River Erne is a major river which rises from Beaghy Lough, two miles south of Stradone in Cavan and flows for 120 km to Lough Erne. Other rivers in the county include the Blackwater River, which rises near Bailieborough and flows through Lough Ramor, joining the River Boyne at Navan; the Glyde and the Owenroe source in Cavan. Cavan is reputed to contain 365 lakes. At 18.8 km2, Lough Sheelin is the county's largest lake. A large complex of lakes form in the north and west of Cavan into designated Specially Protected Areas. Other important wildlife protected lakes such as Lough Gowna and Lough Ramor are in the south and east of the county.
Cavan has a hilly landscape and contains just under 7,000 hectares of forested area, 3.6% of Cavan's total land area. The county contains forests such as Bellamont Forest near Cootehill, Killykeen Forest Park at Lough Oughter, Dún na Rí Forest Park and the Burren Forest. Met Éireann records the climate data for Cavan from their station at Ballyhaise. Under Köppen climate classification, Cavan experiences a maritime temperate oceanic climate with cold winters, mild humid summers, a lack of temperature extremes; the average maximum January temperature is 8.2 °C, while the average maximum July temperature is 19.8 °C. On average, the sunniest months are May and June, while the wettest month is October with 104.4 mm of rain, the driest months are May and June with 67.8 mm and 67.9 mm respectively. Humidity is high year round and rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year, with the annual precipitation at Ballyhaise being 1,006 mm On average, snow showers occur between November and March. In 2010, record low temperatures for November and January were recorded in Cavan.
In late December, the temperature at the station fell to − its lowest ever. On Tuesday 21 December 2010, a daily maximum of −9.4 °C was recorded at Ballyhaise, the lowest daily maximum recorded in Ireland. Summer daytime temperatures range between 15 °C and 22 °C, with temperatures going beyond 25 °C; the average annual sunshine hours range between 1,300 hours in the north to 1,500 hours in the south. In medieval times, the area of Cavan was part of the petty kingdom of East Bréifne or Brefney O'Reilly after its ruling Gaelic family; this in turn was a division of the 11th century Kingdom of Bréifne. For this reason the county is colloquially known as the Breffni County. A high degree of defence was achieved by using the natural landscape of drumlin loughs; the poorly drained heavy clay soils contributed as an obstacle against invasion. Cavan was part of the western province of Connacht, but was transferred to Ulster in 1584 following the composition of Breifne. In the south, the Lough Sheelin area was part of Leinster until the late 14th century.
Parts of Cavan were subjected to Norman influence from the twelfth century and the remains of several motte and bailie fortifications are still visible in the east of the county, as well as the remains of stronger works such as Castlerahan and Clogh Oughter castle. The influence of several monastic orders owes its origins to around this time with abbey remains existent in locations such as Drumlane and Trinity Island; the Plantation of Ulster from 1610 saw the settlement and origins of several new towns within the county
1912 World Series
In the 1912 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Giants four games to three. The series showcased pitching from Giant Christy Mathewson and from Boston fireballer Smoky Joe Wood. Wood pitched in relief in the final game. In the deciding game, Boston rallied for two runs in the tenth inning thanks to two costly Giants fielding misplays. Nearly all of the games were close. Four games in this Series were decided by one run. A fifth ended in a tie. A sixth was decided by two runs. Game 7 was the only one with a margin greater than three runs. Two games, including the decisive Game 8, went to extra innings. In Games 1 and 3, the losing team had the winning runs on base when the game ended; this was one of only four World Series to go to eight games, the only best-of-seven Series to do so. While the 1912 Series was extended to eight games due to a tie game being called on account of darkness, the 1903, 1919, 1921 World Series were all best-of-nine affairs that happened to run eight games, it was at Game 4 of this Series that the World Series drew its 1,000,000th fan.
The total attendance for this Series of 252,037 shattered the previous mark of 179,851 set the previous year, though the fact that this World Series went eight games, compared to six in 1911, was the difference. The total attendance record for this Series would stand as a record until 1921, when 269,977 attended the 1921 World Series, the first with Babe Ruth as an everyday player. Like this World Series, the 1921 World Series went eight games, though unlike this World Series, a best-of-seven, the 1921 World Series was a best-of-nine. AL Boston Red Sox vs. NL New York Giants In batting practice before Game 1, Tris Speaker drove a ball not only over the right field grandstand but out of the Polo Grounds; the Series opened with the Red Sox as 10–8 betting favorites. Giants manager John McGraw surprised everyone by starting rookie Jeff Tesreau rather than the great Christy Mathewson against Boston ace Smoky Joe Wood, he preferred to save the hostile crowd at Fenway Park. New York struck first. Josh Devore walked with one out in the third, advanced to third base on a single by Larry Doyle lost in the sun by Duffy Lewis.
After Fred Snodgrass struck out, Red Murray's single scored Devore and Doyle for a 2–0 Giants lead. Tesreau and his spitball held the Red Sox hitless for the first five innings, but Boston cut the lead to 2–1 in the sixth on a triple by Tris Speaker that fell to the ground untouched when neither Snodgrass nor Devore called for the ball, an RBI groundout by Lewis; the Red Sox scored three runs in the next inning, on an RBI double by Harry Hooper and a two-run single by Steve Yerkes, after Giants second baseman Doyle had muffed Wood's potential inning-ending double play grounder and had to settle for the one out at second. In the bottom of the ninth, the Giants scored a run and had the tying run on third and the winning run on second, but Wood, a spectacular 34–5 in the regular season, struck out the last two batters for the 4–3 Boston win in a complete game with eleven strikeouts. Oddly, McGraw let relief pitcher Doc Crandall bat for himself for what turned out to be the last out rather than using backup catcher Art Wilson to pinch-hit.
After the game Wood said, "I threw so hard I thought my arm would fly right off my body." Christy Mathewson said of the moment when he took the mound at Fenway Park, "This was the only place in the world that I wanted to be. I could think of nothing greater than pitching this game for the glory of the New York Giants."An error by Giants shortstop Art Fletcher led to three first-inning unearned Boston runs off Mathewson. Single tallies in the second and fourth by the Giants cut the lead to 3–2. Another error by Fletcher, who failed to tag Harry Hooper on a stolen base attempt, led to a fourth Boston run in the fifth when Yerkes followed the error with an RBI triple. In the top of the eighth Boston returned the favor. Left field at brand-new Fenway Park was unique for a ten-to-fifteen-foot incline in front of the wall. Red Sox left fielder Duffy Lewis was so proficient at negotiating this incline that it was first named "Duffy's Cliff" in his honor, but this time Lewis tripped on the hill and failed to catch Fred Snodgrass' fly ball, putting him on first base.
He scored on Fred Murray's double, two batters third baseman Buck Herzog hit a two-run double to give New York a 5–4 lead. The Giants' lead was brief. Lewis doubled in the bottom of the eighth, Fletcher's terrible day continued with his third error allowing Larry Gardner to reach base and Lewis to score; this tied the game 5–5. In the ninth, Boston reliever Charley Hall, who had replaced Ray Collins in the eighth, got the first two outs but proceeded to walk Snodgrass, Larry Doyle and Beals Becker consecutively, but with the bases loaded, Red Murray grounded into a forceout and the Red Sox escaped. Boston went in the bottom of the ninth, setting up extra innings. Fred Merkle led off the New York tenth with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 6–5 lead. Mathewson, who pitched the entire game for New York, came back to the mound in the bottom of the tenth with a chance to slam the door on Boston and the Series at one game apiece, but Tris Speaker, who had hit.383 in the regular season, slammed an extra-base hit to center field.
Giant third baseman Buck Herzog deliberately collided with Speaker to prevent an inside-the-park home run, but Speaker got up and came home anyway. Becker threw the ball in to cutoff man Tillie Shafer, who threw to the plate but catcher Art Wilson drop
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or the American League, is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which aspired to major league status, it is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season, 25 years after the formation of the National League. At the end of every season, the American League champion plays in the World Series against the National League champion. Through 2018, American League teams have won 66 of the 114 World Series played since 1903, with 27 of those coming from the New York Yankees alone; the New York Yankees have won 40 American League titles, the most in the league's history, followed by the Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and the Boston Red Sox. A minor league known as the Western League which existed 1885 to 1899, with teams in Great Lakes states, the newly organized Western League developed into a rival major league after the previous American Association disbanded after ten seasons as a competitor to the older National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, founded in 1876.
In its early history of the late 1880s, the minor Western League struggled until 1894, when Ban Johnson became the president of the league. Johnson led the Western League into elevation as claiming major league status and soon became the president of the newly renamed American League of Professional Baseball Clubs in 1901; the American League was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the former Republican Hotel by five Irishmen. George Herman Ruth, noted as one of the most prolific hitters in Major League Baseball history, spent the majority of his career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees; the American League has one notable difference versus the rival National League, in that in modern times since 1973 it has had the designated hitter rule. Under the rule, a team may use a batter in its lineup, not in the field defensively, replacing the pitcher in the batting order, compared to the old rule that made it mandatory for the pitcher to bat. In the last two decades, the season schedule has allowed occasional interleague play.
Until the late 1970s, league umpires working behind home plate wore large, balloon-style chest protectors worn outside the shirt or coat, while their brethren in the National League wore chest protectors inside the shirt or coat. In 1977, new umpires had to wear the inside chest protector, although those on staff wearing the outside protector could continue to do so. Most umpires made the switch to the inside protector, led by Don Denkinger in 1975 and Jim Evans the next year, although several did not, including Bill Haller, Lou DiMuro, George Maloney, Jerry Neudecker, who became the last MLB umpire to use the outside protector in 1985. In 1994, the league, along with the National League, reorganized again, into three divisions and added a third round to the playoffs in the form of the American League Division Series, with the best second-place team advancing to the playoffs as a wild-card team, in addition to the three divisional champions. In 1998, the newly franchised Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the league, the Arizona Diamondbacks joined the National League: i.e. each league each added a fifteenth team.
An odd number of teams per league meant that at least one team in each league would have to be idle on any given day, or alternatively that odd team out would have had to play an interleague game against its counterpart in the other league. The initial plan was to have three five-team divisions per league with inter league play year-round—possibly as many as 30 interleague games per team each year. For various reasons, it soon seemed more practical to have an number of teams in both leagues; the Milwaukee Brewers agreed moving from the AL Central to the NL Central. At the same time, the Detroit Tigers were moved from the AL East to the AL Central, making room for the Devil Rays in the East. Following the move of the Houston Astros, in the NL for 51 years since beginning as an expansion team in 1962, to the American League in 2013, both leagues now consist of 15 teams, a far cry from their original 8 for the first half-century of the 20th century. For the first 96 years, American League teams faced their National League counterparts only in exhibition games or in the World Series.
Beginning in 1997, interleague games have been played during the regular season and count in the standings. As part of the agreement instituting interleague play, the designated-hitter rule is used only in games where the American League team is the home team. There were eight charter teams in 1901, the league's first year as a major league, the next year the original Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns; these franchises constituted the league for 52 seasons, until the Browns moved to Baltimore and took up the name Baltimore Orioles. All eight original franchises remain in the American League, although only four remain in the original cities; the eight original teams and their counterparts in the "Classic Eight" were: original Baltimore Orioles (went b
Royal Rooters
The original Royal Rooters were a fan club for the Boston Americans, which in 1908 changed its name to the Boston Red Sox, in the early 20th century. They were led by Michael T. McGreevy. While M. T. "Nuf Ced" McGreevy was the spiritual leader of the Royal Rooters, Mayor of Boston John F. Fitzgerald, the maternal grandfather of John F. Kennedy, served as chairman for a while, during that time, M. J. Regan was the secretary. Other members included C. J. Lavis, L. Watson, T. S. Dooley, J. Keenan, W. Cahill, among others, their theme song was "Tessie" from the Broadway musical "The Silver Slipper". Though the musical ran for less than six months, the song has gone down in history; the original Rooters disbanded in 1918. Their spirit lives on via the current version of the Royal Rooters represented within a group known as Royal Rooters of Red Sox Nation; the current Rooters are based in the Boston area and meet informally for Red Sox games as well as for "outings" in various locations around the country.
There is a large contingent in New York City, their base has been the Riviera Café in the West Village. The current members of Red Sox Nation kept in touch most through a dedicated website, Redsoxnation.net, which has since gone defunct. The combination message board, fan forum, blog had several thousand members. On game days the Royal Rooters marched in procession from the 3rd Base Saloon to the Huntington Avenue Grounds, the team's home field before Fenway Park opened in 1912; the Rooters had a reserved section of seats along the third base line, close enough to the field to intimidate or distract opposing players with their insults and vicious taunts. The 1912 World Series went down in Rooter history; the Rooter's seats on “Duffy’s Cliff” were sold to other fans and the Rooters became angry. Mounted police were called in to stop the riot; the Rooters sang "Tessie" at games to encourage their Sox, while distracting and frustrating the other team. They were important in the first World Series, in 1903, when the Americans played the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Royal Rooters would go to Pittsburgh and sing Tessie to distract the opposing players Honus Wagner. Therefore, after falling into a 1-3 deficit, Boston rallied to win the Series with four straight victories; the band Dropkick Murphys released a re-working of "Tessie" in 2004. Their version became the official song of the Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series run and the band was able to share in the experience of the Red Sox winning the World Series championship, their version of "Tessie" is still sung throughout Red Sox games and in Red Sox Nation. In 1894,“Nuf Ced” McGreevy opened his “3rd Base Saloon” in Boston, it was the place to be for ballplayers and gamblers. Every inch of wall space decorated with historic pictures from Nuf Ced's own collection and memorabilia he got from friends like Cy Young; the light fixtures were made from bats used by Red Sox stars and the painted portrait of McGreevy that hung above the bar looked down upon customers. McGreevy's was America's first documented sports-themed bar.
In 1920 the bar was forced to close due to prohibition. He leased the saloon to the City of Boston for the “Roxbury Crossing” branch of the Boston Public library. In 1923 McGreevy donated a majority of the plethora of memorabilia and famous baseball photography to the Boston Public Library. Sometime between 1978 and 1981 twenty-five percent of the collection was stolen with no leads to this day. Eighty-eight years in 2008, Dropkick Murphy leader Ken Casey joined forces with film producer and baseball historian Peter Nash to re-establish and re-open McGreevy's 3rd Base Saloon at 911 Boylston St; the new McGreevy's Boston is a replica of the former bar. There is a baseball museum dedicated to Boston's history; the collection features originals and reproductions of McGreevy's pictures on the walls and the new McGreevy's has on display the original glass portrait of its founder, Michael T. McGreevy. Red Sox Nation Fan forum and interviews from Red Sox Nation Boston Red Sox official site at mlb.com McGreevy McGreevy McGreevy's Boston's Royal Rooters
North End, Boston
The North End is a neighborhood of Boston, United States. It has the distinction of being the city's oldest residential community, where people have continuously inhabited since it was settled in the 1630s. Though small, only 0.36 square miles, the neighborhood has nearly one hundred establishments and a variety of tourist attractions. It is known for fine Italian restaurants; the district is a pending Boston Landmark. The North End as a distinct community of Boston was evident as early as 1646. Three years the area had a large enough population to support its own church, called the North Meeting House; the construction of the building led to the development of the area now known as North Square, the center of community life. Increase Mather, the minister of the North Meeting House, was an influential and powerful figure who attracted residents to the North End, his home, the meeting house, surrounding buildings were destroyed by a fire in 1676. The meeting house was rebuilt soon afterwards; the Paul Revere House was constructed on the site of the Mather House.
Part of Copp's Hill was converted to a cemetery, called the North Burying Ground. The earliest grave markers located in the cemetery date back to 1661; the North End became a fashionable place to live in the 18th century. Wealthy families shared the neighborhood with artisans, laborers and slaves. Two brick townhouses from this period still stand: the Pierce-Hichborn House and the Ebenezer Clough House on Unity Street. Christ Church, now known as the Old North Church, was constructed during this time, as well, it is the oldest surviving church building in Boston. In the early stages of the Revolution, the Hutchinson Mansion, located in North Square, was attacked by anti-Stamp Act rioters on the evening of August 26, 1765, forcing Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson to flee through his garden. In 1770, 11-year-old Christopher Seider was part of an angry crowd that attacked the home of a Custom's Office employee, located on Hanover Street; the employee, Ebenezer Richardson, fired a gun into the crowd and fatally wounding Christoper Seider.
During the Siege of Boston, the North Meeting House was dismantled by the British for use as firewood. In the first half of the 19th century, the North End experienced a significant amount of commercial development; this activity was concentrated on Commercial and Lewis Streets. During this time the neighborhood developed a red-light district, known as the Black Sea. By the late 1840s, living conditions in the crowded North End were among the worst in the city. Successive waves of immigrants came to Boston and settled in the neighborhood, beginning with the Irish and continuing with Eastern European Jews and Italians. Boston as a whole was prosperous and the wealthy residents of the North End moved to newer, more fashionable neighborhoods such as Beacon Hill. In 1849, a cholera epidemic swept through Boston. In 1859, tensions between the Catholic Irish immigrants and the existing Protestant community led to the Eliot School Rebellion. By 1880, the Protestant churches had left the neighborhood; the Boston Draft Riot of July 14, 1863 began on Prince Street in the North End.
In the latter half of the 19th century, several charitable groups were formed in the North End to provide aid to its impoverished residents. These groups included The Home for the North End Mission; the North Bennet Street Industrial School was founded at around this time to provide North End residents with the opportunity to gain skills that would help them find employment. Beginning in the 1880s, North End residents began to replace the dilapidated wooden housing with four- and five-story brick apartment buildings, most of which still stand today; the city contributed to the revitalization of the neighborhood by constructing the North End Park and Beach, Copp's Hill Terrace, the North End Playground. In the early 20th century, the North End was dominated by Italian immigrants. Three Italian immigrants founded the Prince Macaroni Company, one example of the successful businesses created in this community. During this time, the city of Boston upgraded many public facilities in the neighborhood: the Christopher Columbus School, a public bathhouse, a branch of the Boston Public Library were built.
These investments, as well as the creation of the Paul Revere Mall, contributed to the North End's modernization. In 1918, the Spanish Influenza Pandemic hit the crowded North End severely; the following year, in 1919, the Purity Distilling Company's 2.3 million gallon molasses storage tank explosively burst open, causing the Great Molasses Flood. A 25 ft wave of molasses flowed down Commercial Street towards the waterfront, sweeping away everything in its path; the wave killed 21 people, injured 150, caused damage worth $100 million in today's money. In 1927, the Sacco and Vanzetti wake was held in undertaker Joseph A. Langone, Jr.’s Hanover Street premises. The funeral procession that conveyed Sacco and Vanzetti’s bodies to the Forest Hills Cemetery began in the North End. In 1934, the Sumner Tunnel was constructed to connect the North End to East Boston, the location of the new Boston Airport. In the 1950s the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway was built to relieve Boston’s traffic congestion
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district is an obsolete district that includes parts of the South Shore of Massachusetts, all of Cape Cod and the islands. The District has existed since 1795, but was removed for the 113th Congress in 2013 as district lines were redrawn to accommodate the loss of the seat due to reapportionment as a result of the 2010 Census. Effective from the elections of 2012, most of the district falls into the new Massachusetts 9th congressional district, with some northern portions falling in the new 8th district. 1843: "The Counties of Barnstable and Nantucket, together with the towns of Rochester and Wareham, in the County of Plymouth, of Dartmouth and New Bedford, in the County of Bristol." 1869: "Berkshire and Hampden counties." 1893: Boston, Wards 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 22, 24. 1963: "Bristol County: Cities of Attleboro, Fall River, Taunton. Towns of Berkley, Easton, Mansfield, North Attleboro, Raynham, Seekonk and Swansea. Middlesex County: City of Newton. Norfolk County: Towns of Dover, Medfield, Norfolk, Walpole, Wellesley and Wrentham."1977: "Bristol County: Cities of Attleboro, Fall River, Taunton.
Towns of Berkley, Easton, Mansfield, North Attleborough, Raynham, Seekonk, Somerset and Westport. Middlesex County: Towns of Natick and Sherborn. Norfolk County: Towns of Foxborough, Millis, Plainville, Sharon and Wrentham. Plymouth County: Towns of Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Hanson, Lakeville and West Bridgewater." 1997: "Counties: Barnstable, Nantucket and Plymouth." All of Barnstable County, Dukes County, Nantucket County, The following municipalities in Plymouth County: Abington, Duxbury, Hanson Pct. 2, Hull, Marshfield, Pembroke, Plympton, Rockland and The following municipalities in Norfolk County: Cohasset, Weymouth Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present Map of Massachusetts's 10th Congressional District, via Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth CNN.com 2004 election results CNN.com 2006 election results
Massachusetts
Massachusetts the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, New York to the west; the state is named after the Massachusett tribe, which once inhabited the east side of the area, is one of the original thirteen states. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, the most populous city in New England. Over 80% of Massachusetts's population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history and industry. Dependent on agriculture and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, higher education and maritime trade. Plymouth was the site of the second colony in New England after Popham Colony in 1607 in what is now Maine.
Plymouth was founded in 1620 by passengers of the Mayflower. In 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America's most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials. In 1777, General Henry Knox founded the Springfield Armory, which during the Industrial Revolution catalyzed numerous important technological advances, including interchangeable parts. In 1786, Shays' Rebellion, a populist revolt led by disaffected American Revolutionary War veterans, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention. In the 18th century, the Protestant First Great Awakening, which swept the Atlantic World, originated from the pulpit of Northampton preacher Jonathan Edwards. In the late 18th century, Boston became known as the "Cradle of Liberty" for the agitation there that led to the American Revolution; the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts has played a powerful commercial and cultural role in the history of the United States. Before the American Civil War, Massachusetts was a center for the abolitionist and transcendentalist movements.
In the late 19th century, the sports of basketball and volleyball were invented in the western Massachusetts cities of Springfield and Holyoke, respectively. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first U. S. state to recognize same-sex marriage as a result of the decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Many prominent American political dynasties have hailed from the state, including the Adams and Kennedy families. Harvard University in Cambridge is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, with the largest financial endowment of any university, Harvard Law School has educated a contemporaneous majority of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Kendall Square in Cambridge has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet", in reference to the high concentration of entrepreneurial start-ups and quality of innovation which have emerged in the vicinity of the square since 2010. Both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, have been ranked among the most regarded academic institutions in the world.
Massachusetts' public-school students place among the top tier in the world in academic performance, the state has been ranked as one of the top states in the United States for citizens to live in, as well as one of the most expensive. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was named after the indigenous population, the Massachusett derived from a Wôpanâak word muswach8sut, segmented as mus "big" + wach8 "mountain" + -s "diminutive" + -ut "locative", it has been translated as "near the great hill", "by the blue hills", "at the little big hill", or "at the range of hills", referring to the Blue Hills, or in particular the Great Blue Hill, located on the boundary of Milton and Canton. Alternatively, Massachusett has been represented as Moswetuset—from the name of the Moswetuset Hummock in Quincy, where Plymouth Colony commander Myles Standish, hired English military officer, Squanto, part of the now disappeared Patuxet band of the Wampanoag peoples, met Chief Chickatawbut in 1621; the official name of the state is the "Commonwealth of Massachusetts".
While this designation is part of the state's official name, it has no practical implications. Massachusetts has powers within the United States as other states, it may have been chosen by John Adams for the second draft of the Massachusetts Constitution because unlike the word "state", "commonwealth" at the time had the connotation of a republic, in contrast to the monarchy the former American colonies were fighting against. Massachusetts was inhabited by tribes of the Algonquian language family such as the Wampanoag, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc and Massachusett. While cultivation of crops like squash and corn supplemented their diets, these tribes were dependent on hunting and fishing for most of their food. Villages consisted of lodges called wigwams as well as longhouses, tribes were led by male or female elders known as sachems. In the early 1600s, after contact had been made with Europeans, large numbers of the indigenous peoples in the northeast of what is now the United States were killed by virgin soil epidemics such as smallpox, measles and leptospirosis.
Between 1617 and 1619, smallpox killed ap
