{"id":1039,"date":"2024-09-04T13:44:10","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T13:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/s2.designcostaging.com\/clients\/mmm\/?post_type=monuments&p=1039"},"modified":"2024-11-07T15:42:35","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T15:42:35","slug":"count-rumford-statue","status":"publish","type":"monuments","link":"https:\/\/s2.designcostaging.com\/clients\/mmm\/monuments\/count-rumford-statue\/","title":{"rendered":"Count Rumford Statue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the course of his storied life, Woburn<\/a> native and loyalist Benjamin Thompson (1754-1814) accumulated an impressively wide range of titles, accolades, and professional experiences. Thompson was a physicist, engineer, businessman, humanitarian, bureaucrat, statesman, count of the Holy Roman Empire, officer in the King\u2019s American Dragoons, and possibly even a spy for the British during the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n

A statue bearing his likeness stands atop a granite base outside Woburn Public Library<\/a>, facing Pleasant Street. It is an exact replica of another statue by sculptor Caspar Zumbusch that stands in Munich, Germany. The Munich statue was commissioned by the King of Bavaria in 1867 as a gesture of gratitude to Thompson, who was designated “Count Rumford” in 1791 for his services in Bavaria. It was in Munich that Rumford conducted his most important scientific works, and where he designed the Englischer Garten, one of the world\u2019s largest urban public parks.<\/p>\n

Woburn\u2019s statue to Count Rumford was supported by a donation from resident Marshall Tidd and cost approximately $6,000. Dedicated in 1900, the inscription on the plaque on the base\u2019s northeastern face was written by President Charles W. Eliot of Harvard College and reads:<\/p>\n

BENJAMIN THOMPSON
\nCOUNT RUMFORD
\nBORN IN WOBURN MAR 26 1753
\nDIED IN PARIS AUG 21 1814<\/p>\n

THE EARLIEST
\nSCIENTIFIC PHILANTHROPIST<\/p>\n

HE DESIGNED PUBLIC GARDENS
\nAND BY MANY INVENTIONS
\nCONTRIBUTED TO THE COMFORTS
\nAND ENJOYMENTS
\nOF THE PEOPLE<\/p>\n

HE PROVED THAT HEAT IS MOTION
\nAND HAD A GLIMPSE
\nOF THE GREAT DOCTRINE
\nKNOWN LATER AS
\nTHE CONSERVATION OF ENERGY<\/p>\n

IN EXILE
\nHE WON HIGH PLACES
\nOF TRUST AND COMMAND<\/p>\n

On the other side a plaque reads:<\/p>\n

THIS STATUE
\nBY
\nCASPAR ZUMBUSCH
\nA REPLICA OF THE ONE IN MUNICH
\nGERMANY
\nWAS GIVEN TO THE WOBURN PUBLIC LIBRARY
\nBY
\nMARSHALL TIDD
\n1899<\/p>\n

According to the article, \u201cStatue Inspected: New Site Perhaps for Count Rumford in Woburn,\u201d in the February 11, 1900 edition of the Boston Herald<\/em>, not everyone was pleased with the statue\u2019s prominent location in front of the Woburn Public Library, a magnificent building designed by noted American architect Henry Hobson Richardson. While a committee was formed to inspect the statue and determine if it detracted from the building\u2019s facade and should be relocated to Rumford\u2019s birthplace<\/a> on Elm Street, the statue ultimately remained in its original location.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the course of his storied life, Woburn native and loyalist Benjamin Thompson (1754-1814) accumulated an impressively wide range of titles, accolades, and professional experiences. Thompson was a physicist, engineer, businessman, humanitarian, bureaucrat, statesman, count of the Holy Roman Empire, officer in the King\u2019s American Dragoons, and possibly even a spy for the British during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-1039","monuments","type-monuments","status-publish","hentry","city_town-woburn-ma"],"acf":{"banner_image":1637,"listing_thumbnail":"","listing_thumbnail_caption":"","year":"1900","location":"Woburn Public Library, Woburn, MA","address":"Woburn Public Library","time_period":"1875 - 1924","town":false,"state":false,"gallery":null,"one_sentence_description":"","display_on_story_page":"No","status":"Active","latitude":"42.47908367109769","longitude":"-71.15427963579135","map_url":""},"yoast_head":"\nCount Rumford Statue - Monuments Memorials & Markers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Count Rumford Statue - Monuments Memorials & Markers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the course of his storied life, Woburn native and loyalist Benjamin Thompson (1754-1814) accumulated an impressively wide range of titles, accolades, and professional experiences. 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