City · 1630
Cambridge
also known as Newtowne
Founded as Newtowne in 1630 and renamed Cambridge in 1638, the city grew around Harvard, industry, and later research institutions.
Why it matters
Founded the same year as Boston — Cambridge400 frames the city’s own 400-year arc from Puritan settlement to global research capital.
Open the full civic recordCurrent pulse, routes, recommendations, and memory
Turn this into a walk
Routes with a point of view
What should I see next?
Chosen moves from here
The editor's hand
Human recommendations
Civic memory
What this meant before
16301630Cambridge enters the civic record here.1630Founding of Newtowne (1630)The site for Newtowne was selected on December 21, 1630, and the settlement was named on December 28; its grid was laid out the following spring.1636Founding of Harvard College (1636)In 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony's Great and General Court approved £400 for a college; the institution later took the name Harvard College.1638Newtowne Becomes Cambridge (1638)On May 2, 1638, the settlement founded as Newtowne in 1630 was formally renamed Cambridge, establishing the name the city still uses today.
- Established
- 1630
- Public connections
- 11
- Sources
- 3
In the public graph 11 typed relationships
Explore Cambridge in the interactive Graph Explorer →Historically related
Nearby what sits within a few minutes’ walk
Historical event · 1 min walk
Founding of Newtowne (1630)
Historical event · 1 min walk
Newtowne Becomes Cambridge (1638)
Building / Landmark · 6 min walk
Memorial Hall
Historical context
Founding of Newtowne (1630)Founding of Newtowne (1630)Founding of Harvard College (1636)Washington Takes Command (1775)Newtowne Becomes Cambridge (1638)
An unexpected connection
Cambridge is linked, through the graph, to East Cambridge — neighborhood, 1.7 mi away. The kind of thread you only find by following the connections.
Keep exploring graph-powered — every path below is a real relationship, not a guess
NearbyA few minutes’ walk away
From the colonial eraOf the same period
One identity, 5 editorial lenses one canonical entity URL
How we know graph confidence — we explain our certainty, not just assert it
✓Source qualityBest source is primary / institutional
✓Independent corroboration3 resolvable sources
✓Review stateReview attributed to durjoy-ace-local-history-editor
✓Institutional backingCites a primary or institutional source
✓Record completeness80% of canonical fields present
Sources, by tier
Brief History of Cambridge, Massachusetts Primary / institutional
City of Cambridge Primary / institutional
Cambridge Historical Commission Primary / institutional
Review date: 2026-08-23
Graph scores — our north star is relationship density, not page count
Relationship density79
11 connections
Record coverage52
metadata completeness
Graph authority78
centrality + reach + trust
Schema.org JSON-LD — what answer engines read
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