Lexington, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia : L : LE : LEX : Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 30,355 at the 2000 census.
The town is famous for being the site of the opening shots ("the shot heard 'round the world") of the Battle of Lexington, the first engagement of the American Revolution.
History
Lexington was first settled in 1642 and was officially incorporated in 1713. [link]Every year, on the third Monday of April, the town observes Patriot's Day. Events begin with Paul Revere's Ride, with a special re-enactment of the scene on the Battle Green. At 6am, there is a re-enactment of the skirmish on the Battle Green, with shots being fired both from the Battle Green and the nearby Buckman Tavern, to take into account the fact that no one knows where the first shot was actually fired from, or by whom. After the rout, the British march on towards Concord. The battle in Lexington allowed the Concord militia time to organize at the Old North Bridge, where they were able to turn back the British and prevent them from capturing and destroying the militia's arms stores. The actual events occurred on April 19, 1775.
Throughout the rest of the year many tourists enjoy tours of the town's historic landmarks such as Buckman Tavern, Monroe Tavern, and the Hancock-Clarke house, which are kept up by the town's historical society.
Geography
Lexington is located at (42.444345, -71.226928)[Geographic references#1GR1].According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 42.8 km² (16.5 mi²). 42.5 km² (16.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.85%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 30,355 people, 11,110 households, and 8,432 families residing in the town. The population density was 714.6/km² (1,851.0/mi²). There were 11,333 housing units at an average density of 266.8/km² (691.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 86.13% White, 10.90% Asian, 1.13% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.41% of the population.There were 11,110 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.0% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 28.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $96,825, and the median income for a family was $111,899. Males had a median income of $81,857 versus $50,090 for females. The per capita income for the town was $46,119. About 1.8% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
Current events
- Beginning in April of 2005, a controversy erupted over teaching materials at a local elementary school which included portrayals of same-sex unions. The story recieved much attention from the local and national media. See Joseph Estabrook School for more information.
Sister cities
Lexington is a sister city of Antony, France; Haifa, Israel; and Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.Notable residents
- [Tissa Hami] -- comic, graduate of Lexington High School
- Henry Abraham -- Nobel Peace Prize, current resident
- Steve Bennett -- Film Producer and pioneer of Digital Cinema, former resident
- Sir Tim Berners-Lee -- Inventor of the World Wide Web, current resident
- Noam Chomsky -- world famous professor of linguistics at MIT and left wing author, current resident, wrote the Letters from Lexington
- Francis Judd Cooke -- composer
- Rachel Dratch -- member of the cast of Saturday Night Live, graduate of Lexington High School
- Carl Everett -- Rightfielder/Designated Hitter for the Seattle Mariners, former outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, former resident
- Raef LaFrentz -- forward/center for the Portland Trail Blazers
- Fred Fitzgerald -- Olympic Athlete
- Nomar Garciaparra -- 1999, 2000 batting title-winning shortstop for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs,and first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, former resident
- Mia Hamm -- Member of the United States women's national soccer team 17 times, former resident
- Bill Janovitz -- Lead singer and guitarist of the rock and roll band Buffalo Tom, current resident
- Salvador Luria -- Nobel Prize in Medicine, former resident
- Mario Molina -- Nobel Prize in Physics, current resident
- Eugene Mirman -- comedian, graduate of Lexington High School
- Joseph Nye -- political analyst, author of Soft power
- Amanda Palmer -- vocalist and pianist, of the band the Dresden Dolls grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts, and attended Lexington High School
- Charles Ponzi -- Infamous con man, former resident
- Ruth Sawyer -- Author, winner of the Newbery Medal, former resident
- Clifford Shull -- Nobel Prize in Physics, former resident
- Abigail Thernstrom -- Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, current resident
- Edward Osborne Wilson -- famous entomologist, former resident
- Rollie Massimino -- Lead Villanova Wildcats to an improbable basketball national championship in 1985, former Lexington High School teacher and coach
- Dennis Johnson -- guard for the Boston Celtics, former resident
- Ethan Zohn -- Winner of [[Survivor: Africa]], graduate of Lexington High School
- Henry Louis Gates, Jr. -- African-American Studies scholar, co-editor of Encarta Africana encyclopedia, former resident
- John Rawls -- Famous for his theory of justice, former resident
Points of interest
External links
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