Scientist and inventor Benjamin Thompson, Jr. (1753-1814), was born in the west end of this three-story wood frame clapboard structure built in 1714 by his grandfather, Captain Ebenezer Thompson.

After schooling in Woburn and Byfield, Massachusetts, Thompson apprenticed briefly for a merchant before studying medicine with a local doctor and attending classes at Harvard University. A loyalist, he acted as an agent for British intelligence, ultimately leaving the United States in 1783 for good. Between then and his death in 1814, Thompson led a truly remarkable life and was knighted by King George III in 1784.

Granted permission to enter the service of the Elector of Bavaria, Thompson moved to Munich, Germany where he reformed the Bavarian welfare system, reorganized the army, created the English Gardens, and conducted the experiments upon which his fame as a scientist rest. For his service, he was awarded the title Count Rumford of the Holy Roman Empire.

Thompson was the first native-born American that made contributions to science that were of international significance during a period when American science was essentially derived from Europe and provincial in nature. A practical experimenter, his interest in basic research was limited to heat. He experimented with stoves, fireplaces, kitchen utensils as well as carriages and coffee with a goal of improving efficiency and applying science to the common purposes of life.

In 1796, Thompson gave $5,000 each to the Royal Society of Great Britain and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to award medals every two years for outstanding scientific research on heat or light. The remainder of this estate was left to Harvard University which established the Rumford Professorship.

The Rumford Historical Association was founded March 26, 1877, for the purpose of maintaining the birthplace of Benjamin Thompson as a site of historic interest. The birthplace contains reconstructed models of Count Rumford’s scientific experiments and inventions. Also on display is a copy of a portrait of Count Rumford by Gainsborough and a library of Rumford biographies and essays. The Benjamin Thompson House-Count Rumford Birthplace became a National Historic Landmark in 1975.