Who is your Waltham innovator?

The Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation’s new #MA250 banners across the city celebrate a dozen icons of industry, but “we know we’ve only scratched the surface of the history made in Waltham,” said Stephen Guerriero, director of education at the museum.

The project, “250 Years of Revolutionary Industrial Innovation,” was developed, planned and written by the museum’s former intern Maya Colman, now a community engagement manager at The West End Museum in Boston. 

After The Waltham Times published a story about it, Anthony Mangini, a 96-year-old former Raytheon (now RTX) manager, wrote to remind us that Raytheon’s Lab 16 developed the Lark — the first successful guided missile — on Seyon Street and in the old Bleachery complex. 

“It was a massive technological achievement born right in our backyard,” Guerriero said. “It got us thinking: Who else belongs on a banner?”

Waltham has been a city of firsts, from the Boston Manufacturing Company and Watch Factory to the “Apollo Weaver” women to the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. What other firsts deserve to be celebrated?

We want to hear from you!

• Is there a specific site in Waltham where history was made?
• Is there an innovator, scientist or laborer whose story needs to be told?
• What “Waltham firsts” are you most proud of?

Drop your suggestions in the comments.

Let’s keep mapping the innovations that changed the world.