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

Norman Lewis Corwin was an American writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist and teacher of journalism and writing. His earliest and biggest successes were in the writing and directing of radio drama during the 1930s and 1940s.

Richard Rogers Peabody grew up as a member of the upper class in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Groton, where his grandfather was headmaster, and later enrolled at Harvard as had many of his family before him. He married Polly Jacob, the daughter of another blue-blooded Boston family with whom he had two children. He served as a captain during World War I in the American Expeditionary Force.

Oakes Ames was an American biologist specializing in orchids. His estate is now the Borderland State Park in Massachusetts. He was the son of Governor of Massachusetts Oliver Ames and grandson of Congressman Oakes Ames.

Karl Alexander Deisseroth is the D. H. Chen Professor of Bioengineering and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He is known for creating and developing the technologies of hydrogel-tissue chemistry and optogenetics, and for applying integrated optical and genetic strategies to study normal neural circuit function, as well as dysfunction in neurological and psychiatric disease.

Dean Tavoularis is a Greek American motion picture production designer whose work appeared in numerous box office hits such as The Godfather films, Apocalypse Now, The Brink's Job, One from the Heart and Bonnie and Clyde.

Jesse Peretz is an American film and television director, TV producer and former musician. He first rose to prominence as a bass guitarist and founding member of The Lemonheads, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based band which formed in 1986. Peretz left the band as a musician shortly before their breakout album, It's a Shame About Ray, was released, but stayed on as the band photographer. After leaving The Lemonheads, he began to work extensively as a director, first in short form works such as television commercials and music videos, later transitioning to feature films and television series. His directorial work includes the films Our Idiot Brother and Juliet, Naked, and the TV series Girls.

Abigail Pierrepont Johnson is an American billionaire businesswoman. Since 2014, Johnson has been president and chief executive officer of American investment firm Fidelity Investments (FMR), and chairman of its international sister company Fidelity International (FIL). Fidelity was founded by her grandfather Edward C. Johnson II. Her father Edward C. "Ned" Johnson III remains chairman emeritus of FMR. As of March 2013, the Johnson family owned a 49% stake in the company, with Johnson herself holding an estimated 24.5%.

Adelbert Ames Jr. was an American scientist who made contributions to physics, physiology, ophthalmology, psychology, and philosophy. He pioneered the study of physiological optics at Dartmouth College, serving as a research professor, then as director of research at the Dartmouth Eye Institute. He conducted important research into aspects of binocular vision, including cyclophoria and aniseikonia. Ames is perhaps best known for constructing illusions of visual perception, most notably the Ames room and the Ames window. He was a leading light in the Transactionalist School of psychology and also made contributions to social psychology.

Samuel Hoar was a United States lawyer and politician. A member of a prominent political family in Massachusetts, he was a leading 19th century lawyer of that state. He was associated with the Federalist Party until its decline after the War of 1812. Over his career, a prominent Massachusetts anti-slavery politician and spokesperson. He became a leading member of the Massachusetts Whig Party, a leading and founding member of the Massachusetts Free Soil Party, and a founding member and chair of the committee that organized the founding convention for the Massachusetts Republican Party in 1854.

John Conant Flansburgh is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar.