List of people from Taunton, Massachusetts

The following is a list of notable people from Taunton, Massachusetts, USA. These individuals were born in Taunton, were long-time residents of the city, or were buried within the city limits.

Richard De Wert; U.S. soldier, Medal of Honor recipient

• Bagni, Adam (1984–) – sportscaster
• Babbitt, Isaac (1799–1862) – inventor, manufactured the first tableware made of Britannia metal; made the first brass cannon cast in the U.S.; patented the Babbitt metal
• Barnes, David Leonard (1760–1812) — lawyer; judge of U.S. District Court for Rhode Island, 1801–1812; died in office 1812.
• Baylies, Francis (1783–1852) – politician; U.S. representative from Massachusetts, 1821–1827 (10th District 1821–1825, 12th District 1825–1827); member of Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1827; U.S. Chargé d'Affaires to Argentina, 1832
• Beauvais, Lee (N/A-N/A) — politician; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 2004; still living as of 2004.
• Bignell, George (1884–1925) – professional baseball player; played for the 1884 Milwaukee Brewers, in the 19th century's American Association (AA)
• Briggs, Abraham (1823–1887) — politician; member of Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1865
• Chamberlain, Joseph C. — mayor of Taunton, 1954; still living as of 1954
• Christian, Mary (1889–2003)- recognized as oldest living American, born in Taunton
• Cobb, David (1748–1830) – State court judge in Massachusetts, 1784; member of Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1789; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 3rd District, 1793–1795; member of Massachusetts Senate, 1802; lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, 1809–1810
• Couch, Darius N. (1822–1897) – a U.S. Army officer, naturalist, and an Union army general in the American Civil War
• Coughlin, Richard P. (N/A-N/A) – politician; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1924; presumed deceased.
• Crocker, Samuel Leonard (1804–1883) – politician; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 2nd District, 1853–1855
• Crowley, Charles [1954–present] City Councilor (1988–2007) Mayor of Taunton (2007–present)
• DeCosta, Eric – director of player personnel for the Baltimore Ravens (2003-present)
• Dunn, (Captain) William – a philanthropist, master mariner, and one of the original proprietors of Taunton
• Fitzgerald, John E. — politician; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1940; still living as of 1940.
• Foster, William Z (1881–1961) – American Communist Party's presidential candidate in 1924, 1928, and 1932; also, party chairman from 1945 to 1956
• Gifford, Alan (1911–1989) – actor
• Hodges, James Leonard (1790–1846) – politician; member of Massachusetts General Court; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 12th District, 1827–1833
• Jackson, James Frederick (1851–1937) – Lawyer; mayor of Fall River, 1890–1891; Congregationalist; member of the American Bar Association
• Kamin, Leon J. (1927–) – psychologist, co-authored the book Not in Our Genes (1974)
• Knowles, William S. (1917–) – chemist, a 2001 Nobel Prize laureate winner in Chemistry for his and his colleagues work on chirally catalysed hydrogenation reactions
• Leach, Robert Milton (1879–1952) — politician; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 15th District, 1924–1925; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Massachusetts, 1928
• Lorimer, Elsa (1891–1967) – film actress
• Lovering, William Croad (1835–1910) – politician; Member of Massachusetts Senate, 1874–1875; delegate to Republican National Convention from Massachusetts, 1880; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1897–1910 (12th District 1897–1903, 14th District 1903–1910); died in office 1910
• Mackendrick, Paul (Lachlan) (1914–1998) – author, author of archaeological books, such as The Mute Stones Speak (1960), The Greek Stones Speak (1962), Roman France (1972), The Dacian Stones Speak (1975), The North African Stones Speak (1980), & etc.
• Mason, William (1808–1883) – engine builder; machinist; manufacturer of locomotives and cotton machinery; pioneer in the building of locomotives; patented the "self-acting mule" and the "Mason's Self-acting Mule," founder of the Mason Machine Works in 1873
• McCaffrey, Barry (1942–) – military officer, politician, youngest 4-star general in the army at any time, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) under President Bill Clinton (1996–2001), Drug Czar
• Morse, Rachel (N/A-N/A) – politician; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Massachusetts, 1924, 1940; presumed deceased.
• Morton, Marcus (1784–1864) – lawyer, jurist, politician, U.S. House member (Massachusetts), Governor of Massachusetts (two terms)
• Murphy, Joseph P. (N/A-N/A) — politician; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1936; presumed deceased.
• Murphy, Mary I. (N/A-N/A) — politician; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1940, 1944; still living as of 1944.
• Nunes, Robert G. – Mayor of Taunton (longest-serving), Director of Municipal Affairs (Commonwealth of Massachusetts)
• O'Brien, Gordon (c. 1947-N/A) – career criminal; associate of the Providence-based Patriacra crime family and involved in the failed kidnapping of bookmaker Blaise Marfeo in 1990.
• O'Connor, Basil *January 8, 1892; lawyer and aide of Franklin D. Roosevelt, died in 1972, President of the American Red Cross Chairman of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
• O'Hearn, John E. (N/A-N/A) – politician; Alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1924, 1928; presumed deceased.
• Pacheco, Marc R. (N/A-N/A) — politician; presidential elector for Massachusetts, 1996; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 2000, 2004; still living as of 2004.
• Padelford, Seth (1807–1878) – politician; lieutenant governor of Rhode Island, 1863–1865; presidential elector for Rhode Island, 1868; governor of Rhode Island, 1869–1873

Robert Treat Paine; Signer of the Declaration of Independence

• Paine, Robert Treat (1731–1814) – politician; a Supreme Court Judge of Massachusetts (1796–1804); a signer of the Declaration of Independence
• Parker, John F. (N/A-N/A) — Mayor of Taunton, 1953; still living as of 1953.
• Pedro, Nicholas – Contestant on Season 6 of American Idol.
• Poole, Arthur E. (N/A-N/A) — Mayor of Taunton, 1937; presumed deceased.
• Poole, Elizabeth (N/A-May 21, 1664) – English woman, Puritan, foundress of the present-day city of Taunton, and the first woman to have founded a town in the Americas in 1637
• Poole, (Captain) William – English Captain, acted as senior officer of the fleet, served in the Restoration navy; commanded the English war ships Charity (1661), Advice (1663), St. George (1665), Mary (1666), Crown (1667), Jersey (1669), Plymouth (1672), Leopard (1676), Happy Return (1678), Samuel and Mary (1685)
• Razee, Jared (August 3, 1918--N/A) – A World War II veteran, Razee's illustrious career helped him to become one of the most influential figures in Taunton history. After attending the Nuremberg Trials, Razee came back to Taunton to begin his short lived political career. As mayor (1947–1949), Razee helped to design and construct the city hall building, which will be renamed in his honor in 2012.
• Reardon, John "Beans" (1897–1984) – film actor, Major League Baseball umpire, officiated in five World Series games
• Rosa, Manuel C. (1898-N/A) – U.S. Patent lawyer, former U.S. Department of Commerce patent law attorney and developed a classification of organic compounds still presently used
• Waterman, Sterry Robinson (1901–1984) – Lawyer; delegate to Republican National Convention from Vermont, 1936; Judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, 1955–1970; Member, American Bar Association; American Judicature Society
• Welch, John E. – politician; alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1932; presumed deceased.
• Wert, Richard De (1931–1951) – soldier (Korean War), Medal of Honor recipient; a guided missile frigate, the USS De Wert was officially named in the honor of his extraordinary heroics
• Williams, Henry (1805–1887) — politician; member of Massachusetts state legislature; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1839–1841, 1843–1845 (10th District 1839–1841, 9th District 1843–1845)
• Williams, Louise M. (N/A-N/A) — politician; delegate to Republican National Convention from Massachusetts, 1928 (alternate), 1944; member of Republican National Committee from Massachusetts, 1940; presumed deceased.