Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | February 9, 2026 | wbjournal.com BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Managing Editor O ne hundred years ago on March 16, 1926, one of the most significant technological develop- ments in human history happened in a cabbage field in Auburn. Assisted by his faithful wife Esther, physicist and inventor Robert Goddard launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. While it puttered only 41 feet into the air, the world would never be the same, said Charles Slatkin, founder of e Robert Goddard Project and e Wonder Mission, two Worcester efforts he started to honor Goddard's impact. "I find it more significant than the Wright Brothers," he said. "You think of how little time it took to get from a cab- bage farm in Auburn to the Moon. Fiy years aer that, we have explored every single planet in our solar system." Central Massachusetts' history of innovation did not begin with Goddard, nor did it end with his death in 1945. Spanning from the Industrial Revolu- tion to today, the region's innovators le their mark across industries. "One thing I show to the stu- dents every year in various courses is the famous editorial from the New York Times that ridicules Robert Goddard, telling him that rockets will not work in space," said Charles Agosta, physics professor at Clark University in Worcester. "You have to be [resilient] in science, especially if you want to make big breakthroughs. I certainly have thought about that a lot in my career." The dawn of Worcester innovation Born in the city in 1882, Goddard graduated from South High Commu- nity School and earned his bachelor's degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a master's degree from Clark University. He would only leave Central Massachusetts for Roswell, New Mexico, when his experiments needed wide open spaces, Slatkin said. Goddard would have never received his WPI degree if not for Ichabod Washburn. Born into rural poverty in Kingston, Massachusetts, Washburn moved to Leicester at 16 to work as a blacksmith, according to WPI. A pioneer in the wire manufacturing industry, he co-founded Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Co. in 1831, eventually creating the world's largest wire producer, used for everything from pianos to wire for hoop skirts. Washburn worked with industrialist John Boynton to found the Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Sci- ence, which would evolve into WPI. Goddard enrolled at WPI in 1904, but his interest in space came a decade before aer he read H.G. Wells' "e War of the Worlds" at age 17. He began to think of Mars and beyond. "He climbed his favorite cherry tree in the backyard at dusk on Oct. 19, and he had an epiphany," Slatkin said. Looking up at the clear night sky, he dreamt of a device to take humans to space. Goddard marked the Oct. 19 anniversary each year and would later lament the fact a hurricane destroyed the tree in 1938. As his knowledge grew, so did the skepticism from the media and gen- eral public about his fantastical ideas regarding rockets and space travel. He got stuck with the deriding nickname of Moon Man. While never fully appreci- ated in his lifetime, his successful March 1926 launch secured his legacy as an all-time inventor. "It didn't go very high or very far, but it was the first time someone had the gumption to point up, not even know- ing what was there," Slatkin said. "So it's this wonderful, iconic story." Monkey wrenches, smiley faces, and life sciences Not all Central Massachusetts inven- tions have been rocket science. Over the decades, everything from the monkey wrench (1840) to the first commercial Valentine's Day card (1847) to candlepin bowling (1879) have been invented in Worcester. Worcester manufacturer e David Clark Co. played a role in the devel- opment of anti-G suits used by Allied fighter pilots in World War II, later designing pressure suits and other equipment for NASA. e most cultur- Charles Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn in 1926, changing the course of human history forever. Goddard's legacy e past, present, and future of Central Mass. innovation Charles Slatkin, founder of The Wonder Mission Charles Agosta, physics professor at Clark University PHOTOS | COURTESY OF THE WONDER MISSION FOCUS L A U N C H I N G I N N O V A T I O N : C E N T R A L M A S S . V I S I O N A R I E S

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