Worcester
Worcester names 6 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Worcester a city of Massachusetts
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of Massachusetts, one of the two county-seats of Worcester co. It is on the Boston and Albany, the New York, New Haven and Hartford, and the Boston and Maine railroads. A street railway system connects it with neighboring towns and communities. The city is situated in a valley which is surrounded by hills of moderate height. There is a park system of over 1000 1,000 acres. The largest parks are Green Hill Park, 500 acres; Boynton Park, 113 acres; Lake Park, 110 acres; and Elm Park, 86 acres. The notable buildings include a city hall, art museum, public library, State armory, court house, State and many business buildings. There lunatic asylums, five hospitals, are Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. buildings. There were in 1919 about 30,000 pupils in the public schools, with nearly 1,000 teachers. The cost of maintaining the public schools is about $1,500,000 annually. The assessed property valuation in 1919 was $160,837,100. There was a tax rate of $21.20 per thousand. The net public debt was $6,463,148. Worcester is an important manufac turing city. There were in 1914 272 manufacturing establishments owned by individuals, 225 by corporations, and 109 otherwise owned. The value of the product was over $80,000,000. The industries include the manufacture of wire, looms, emery wheels, elevators, fire arms, cars, boots and shoes, clothing, leather goods, etc. Worcester is the seat of Clark University, Clark College, Holy Cross College, Worcester Polytechnic In- Academy, and many charitable institutions. stitute, Worcester Worcester was founded in 1674, but the settlers were soon driven away by the Indians. A second attempt was made to found a settlement in 1684, 168 but after a few years the Indians again forced the whites to withdraw. The place was permanently established in 1713. It was incorporated in 1822, and chartered as a city in 1848. Owing to its central location in the State, and in a rich agricultural region, it is known as the "Heart of the Commonwealth". Pope (1910) 145,986; (1920) 179,754.
Worcester a city of Worcester
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of Worcester. shire, England-and itself also a countythe Severn; 22 miles S. W. of Birmingham. It is a handsome town, mostly of red brick. The chief building is the Cathedral of St. Mary, built of red sandstone in the form of a double cross, and meas uring 425 feet in length, 145 feet in width, and 193 in height. The predominant styles are Early English and Dec- (983), was rebuilt by Bishop Wulfstan (1084), and again (1281). Many alterations have since been made, and it has been elaborately "restored" at a cost of more than $500,000. It has a good tower with a clock and carillon of 12 bells, and contains the tomb of King John and of Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII. Worcester has a guildhall, a grammar school, hop market, and elegant banks. Ruins of the castle and monastery of Worcester lie a short way S. of the cathedral. Glove-making has long been the staple industry of W Worcester. The porcelain made here is also very famous for its delicacy and beauty of design. Iron foundries have existed from time immemorial, and tanning and ropemaking are carried on. Worcester, which dates from prehistoric times, was successively a British fort, a Roman camp, an English stronghold, and a bishop's see (from 680). Destroyed by the Danes, it was rebuilt by Ethelred, sacked by Hardicanute (1041), and frequently by the Welsh during the following two centuries. A new charter was granted by James I. in 1622, and Worcester espoused the royal cause throughout the great rebellion; here Cromwell achieved his "crowning mercy," Sept. 3, 1651. For its constant fidelity to the royal cause, Worcester received from Charles the motto still on the city arms, "Civitas in bello et in pace fidelis." Pop. about 52,000.
Worcester DEAN CONANT, an American educator
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
DEAN CONANT, an American educator; born in Thetford, Vt., Oct. 1, 1866; was graduated at the University of Michigan in 1889; traveled in 15 of the Philippine Islands in 1887- 1889; was instructor of animal morphology at the University of Michigan in 1893-1894, and became assistant professor in the latter year. In 1890-1892 he again traveled in the Philippines with Dr. F. S. Bourns, in a tour known as "the Menage Scientific Expedition." In January, 1899, he was appointed one of the United States commissioners to the islands to investigate and report on conditions there. Under the work of this commission civil government for the Philippines was inaugurated gurated at Manila, July 4, 1901, with Judge Taft as the first civil governor. Until 1913 he was secretary of the Interior for the Philippines. Dr. Worcester was the author of "Preliminary Notes on the Birds and Mammals collected by the Menage Scientific Expedition to the Philippine Islands" 1894); "Contributions to Philippine Ornithology" (1898); "The Philippine Islands and their People" (1898); "The Philippines, Past and Present" (1913); Cyc orated. The cathedral, first erected and contributions to the elaborate "Re port of the Philippine Commission" (1900).
Worcester woos-ter, the capital of Worcestershire
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
woos-ter, the capital of Worcestershire, England. It is situated on the Severn. It was an ancient British settlement and a Roman military station. The last two syllables, "cester," are from the Latin word castrum, meaning camp. The final battle of the English civil war was fought here in 1651. The Scotch adherents of the Stuarts were defeated decisively by the English Puritans under Cromwell. The city is noted in industrial history for manufactures of gloves, porcelain, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar. It is the center of a large trade in hops. The city is noted also for a thirteenth century cathedral with handsome windows and a square central tower. The interior is described as possessing a certain simplicity and majesty of its own. The city is less than half as large as its namesake, Worcester, Massachusetts.
Worcester JOSEPH EMERSON, an American lexicographer
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
JOSEPH EMERSON, an American lexicographer; born in Bedford, N. H., Aug. 24, 1784. He was graduated at Yale in 1811, 1, and very shortly began his life work as a dictionary maker. His first publication was: "A Geographical Dictionary, or Universal Gazetteer" (1817, revised 1823); followed by "Gazetteer of the United States" (1818); "Elements of Geography" (1819); "Sketches of the Earth and its Inhabitants" (1823); "Elements of History" (1826). In 1830 he published the "Comprehensive Pronouncing and Explanatory English Dictionary" (enlarged editions appeared 1847-1849- 1855). In 1860 he published the great quarto, "Dictionary of the English Language" (illustrated), a standard authority wherever the English tongue is spoken. In 1820 he settled in Cambridge, Mass., and died there, Oct. 27, 1865.
Worcester the county seat of Worcester county
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
the county seat of Worcester county, Massachusetts. The Roman Catholic college of the Holy Cross, Clark University, and the State Normal School are located here. Worcester is an important manufacturing center. Population, 1910, 145,986.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's in 1921 counted 179,754 people in Worcester, Massachusetts, and an economy of wire, looms, emery wheels and firearms; the city has grown only modestly since, to roughly 206,000, but that manufacturing base largely collapsed after mid-century and its biggest employers are now hospitals and colleges, including the UMass medical school founded in the 1960s. The English Worcester of "about 52,000" has roughly doubled to over 100,000, glove-making has vanished, and Royal Worcester porcelain, praised for "delicacy and beauty of design," ended production in the city in 2009, though the cathedral and King John's tomb remain. Dean Conant Worcester, described here as an educator and Philippine commissioner, died in Manila in 1924; historians now read his writings and his mass photography of Filipinos as documents of American colonial racial thinking rather than neutral science.
Written for this edition, 2026.