Boston has been called "the Hub of the Universe," and though it isn't at the center of American life the way it was when it received the nickname in the 1800s, it's still a place many American notables have called home ... though, in some cases, Boston might wish they didn't. Take Whitey Bulger, for example. The gangster was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for a litany of crimes, including his role in 11 murders. His reputation was already well-established: He was the basis for Jack Nicholson's character in the Oscar-winning 2006 film "The Departed." Johnny Depp will portray Bulger in the 2015 film, "Black Mass."
Actor Ray Bolger, on the other hand, became best known for playing the Scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz." He grew up in an Irish Catholic family in a Boston neighborhood called Dorchester and also went on to star in a number of Broadway musicals. He died in Los Angeles in 1987, five days after his 83rd birthday.
Mark Wahlberg, a member of "The Departed" cast, is also a proud son of the city. After rising to fame with the musical group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, he's become an in-demand actor, with performances in "Boogie Nights" (1997), "Three Kings" (1999), "The Italian Job" (2003), "Ted" (2012) and "Ted 2" (2015). ("Ted" writer/director Seth MacFarlane, incidentally, is from Connecticut.)
Though Ben Affleck was born in California, his family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, when he was young -- and it was there he met Matt Damon, who lived a few blocks away. The two won Oscars for writing "Good Will Hunting." Affleck is now an Oscar-winning director as well, for "Argo," and Damon is one of Hollywood's biggest stars.
What list of Bostonians would be complete without Kennedys? John F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, the son of mogul Joseph P. Kennedy and grandson of former Boston mayor John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, and represented the area in Congress before becoming a senator and then the 35th President.
Kennedy's grandfather was succeeded as mayor by James Michael Curley, a colorful figure who served four terms in office -- and two stints in jail for corruption. He was wildly popular, especially among Irish-Americans, and almost certainly inspired the protagonist in the novel "The Last Hurrah."
OK, so Larry Bird is actually from French Lick, Indiana. Still, given his impact on the Boston Celtics -- a storied professional basketball team built by a New Yorker (Red Auerbach) and spurred to greatness by a Louisianan-Californian (Bill Russell) -- Boston is proud to claim the Basketball Hall of Famer. "Larry Legend" won three NBA MVP awards, three championships and an Olympic gold medal -- along with scoring bucketloads of points.
Bartolomeo Vanzetti, left, and Nicola Sacco were the defendants in one of the most famous cases in U.S. history, convicted of a South Braintree murder more because of their anarchist beliefs than the evidence. Their execution, in 1927, spawned protests, demonstrations and riots around the world.
MIT grad and Polaroid employee Tom Scholz built a recording studio in his basement. He formed the band Boston and the recordings he made with fellow musicians -- including singer Brad Delp -- eventually became one of the most successful debut albums of all time, best known for the single "More Than a Feeling." Scholz has since gone on to invent the Rockman amplifier.
Former "Simpsons" writer and longtime talk-show host Conan O'Brien was born in Brookline and didn't even leave the area for college -- Harvard, of course. (Could there be something in the Charles River water? Jay Leno and Louis C.K. were also born and/or raised in the area.)
Dick Dale, the "King of the Surf Guitar," was actually born in Boston. He and his family moved to California when he was a teenager, though he incorporated his Lebanese heritage -- including music he heard at Boston-area festivals -- into his fast-paced style, heard on such cuts as "Let's Go Trippin'" and "Misirlou."
Ever wonder who the "Logan" is in Boston's airport? The name belongs to Edward L. Logan, a brigadier general, veterans advocate and politician who grew up in South Boston. A statue of him was unveiled at the airport when it was renamed in 1956.
New Kids on the Block was one of the heartthrob boy bands of the late '80s and early '90s. Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood all hail from the Boston area. The group came off a lengthy hiatus in 2008, issuing three albums since then, and touring in the summer of 2015.
Led by Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry, Aerosmith has been referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston." When they got their start in the early 1970s, all five members shared a small apartment in the city. They went on to become one of the best-selling American rock bands, and in 2001 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Longtime TV journalist Barbara Walters was born in Boston. After five decades in broadcast news, Walters has no shortage of major accomplishments to be proud of, including being the first network evening news anchorwoman when she moved to ABC in 1976. She announced that she would be retiring from television in 2014.
Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, was born in the Bronx but his family moved to the West Indian section of Roxbury, a Boston neighborhood, in the mid-1930s. He has been criticized for controversial and hateful rhetoric, but in 1999 he started preaching a message of racial and religious harmony. His new outlook was said to be the result of a near-death experience during treatments for prostate cancer.
Albert DeSalvo took responsibility for about a dozen murders when he confessed to being the Boston Strangler. He recanted his admissions and was never convicted of any of the killings before his death, but a recent lab test matched him to DNA evidence taken from the body of one of the victims. DeSalvo was stabbed to death in 1973 while serving a prison sentence for rape. He was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, across the river from Boston.
Comedian Amy Poehler, a former SNL cast member and the star of the "Parks and Recreation," grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts. In a 2011 commencement speech at Harvard University, she joked: "I graduated from Boston College, which some call 'The Harvard of Boston.'"
Louis C.K. was born in Washington but moved to his father's native Mexico at age 1. When he was 7, his family relocated to suburban Boston. "I grew up in Boston and didn't get the accent, and one of the reasons is that I started in Spanish," he said in a recent issue of Rolling Stone. He is now a stand-up comedian and the writer, director, producer and star of the FX series "Louie."
Donna Summer, who helped define the disco genre of the 1970s, was raised in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood. Her hits -- including "Hot Stuff," "Bad Girls," "Love to Love You Baby" and "She Works Hard for the Money" -- electrified dance floors and prompted her coronation as America's queen of disco. She died in 2012 at age 63.
"Star Trek" actor Leonard Nimoy grew up in the West End of Boston. Although he took drama classes at Boston College, he never completed his degree. But Nimoy became a household name when he took on the legendary role of the half-Vulcan, half-human Spock in the original "Star Trek" series (1966--1969) and a number of film and television sequels. He died in February 2015 at age 83.
Sumner Redstone is the owner of National Amusements, Inc., the parent company of Viacom and CBS Corp. The media magnate was born in Boston and graduated from Harvard University. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was ranked number 225 on the Forbes 400 List of the World's Billionaires in 2015.
Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, was born in Peabody, Massachusetts, and resides in Boston. He stepped down as the chairmen and CEO of GE in 2001. The media nicknamed him "Neutron Jack" for his no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners approach to business. In 2007, he made a failed attempt -- with other investors -- to buy the Boston Globe.
John Adams, the second president of the United States, was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A descendant of Plymouth Rock pilgrims, he was a Harvard-educated lawyer and public figure in Boston. He was a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses and served on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence.
Paul Revere was a silversmith from Boston's oldest residential neighborhood, the North End. He became famous for his role in the American Revolution. In 1775, he embarked on a "midnight ride" to Lexington, Massachusetts, where he informed Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming to arrest them. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow dramatized the ordeal with the poem "Paul Revere's Ride."
