List of Famous people born in Massachusetts, United States of America

Nick Flynn is an American writer, playwright, and poet. His writing is characterized by lyric, distilled moments, which blur the boundaries of various genres. Many of his books are structured using a collage technique, which creates narratives with fractured, mosaic qualities. This structure was inspired by his reading of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. His work can be classified as récit—a French term for writing that is not the narration of an event, but an event itself. Several of his books are what he refers to as “siblings” to each other, in that they examine similar material from various perspectives.

Peter Pitirimovich Sorokin was an American Russian physicist and co-inventor of the dye laser. He was born in Boston and grew up in Winchester, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard University, receiving a BA degree in 1952 and a PhD in Applied Physics in 1958; his PhD thesis adviser was Nicolaas Bloembergen.

Howland Hill Sargeant was United States Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs from 1952–53, and the president of Radio Liberty from 1954 to 1975.

James Hall Jr. was an American geologist and paleontologist. He was a noted authority on stratigraphy and had an influential role in the development of paleontology in the United States.

Harry Harding is an American political scientist specializing in Chinese politics and foreign affairs. He was the founding dean of the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, and had previously served as dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Harding has advised several US Presidents on developments in the PRC; before the Tiananmen Square demonstrations he was brought to Camp David for informal discussions with the first Bush administration. He has written several books, including China's Second Revolution and A Fragile Relationship: The United States and China Since 1972. Harding has a Chinese name: 何汉理.

Samuel Phillips Jr. was an American merchant, manufacturer, politician, and the founder of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Phillips is considered a pioneer in American education.

Paula Cole is an American singer-songwriter. Her single "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and the following year she won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Her song "I Don't Want to Wait" was used as the theme song of the television show Dawson's Creek.

John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served as a U.S. Representative and Mayor of Boston. He also made unsuccessful runs for the United States Senate in 1916 and 1942 and Governor of Massachusetts in 1922. Fitzgerald maintained a high profile in the city whether in or out of office, and his theatrical style of campaigning and charisma earned him the nickname "Honey Fitz".

James Athearn "J. A." Folger Sr. was an American businessman and the founder of the Folgers Coffee Company.