Rumford fireplaces have always scared me. Invented in 1796 by Benjamin Thompson, later Count Rumford, they are very tall and very shallow. They just look like more smoke is going to come into the ...

For his many accomplishments the Holy Roman Empire in 1791 made him a count. He chose the title Rumford for the old name of Concord, N.H., his wife’s family home.

Woburn’s Benjamin Thompson was a world-renowned statesman and scientist. But his name may be unfamiliar to most people. Thompson is more famously known as Count Rumford. More than 60 years after ...