Amherst, Massachusetts in the context of "University of Massachusetts Amherst"

Amherst College (/ˈæmərst/ AM-ərst) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher education in Massachusetts. The institution was named after the town, which in turn had been named after Jeffery, Lord Amherst, Commander-in-Chief of British forces of North America during the French and Indian War. Originally established as a men's college, Amherst became coeducational in 1975.

Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution; 1,914 full-time students were enrolled in fall 2024. Admissions are highly selective. Students choose courses from 42 major programs in an open curriculum and are not required to study a core curriculum or fulfill any distribution requirements; students may also design their own interdisciplinary major.

Orchid is an American screamo band from Amherst, Massachusetts. Originally active from 1997 until 2002, they released several EPs and splits as well as three studio albums. The band consists of lead vocalist Jayson Green, drummer Jeffrey Salane, guitarist Will Killingsworth, guitarist Brad Wallace and bassist Geoff Garlock.

Orchid released three full-length albums during their initial run and played their final show on the same day as the release of their final album. The band reunited for a tour in 2024, their first shows in 22 years.

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.

Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, into a prominent family with strong ties to its community. After studying at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she briefly attended the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's home in Amherst. Evidence suggests that Dickinson lived much of her life in isolation. Considered an eccentric by locals, she developed a penchant for white clothing and was known for her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even to leave her bedroom. Dickinson never married, and most of her friendships were based entirely upon correspondence.

Rushworth Moulton Kidder (May 8, 1944 – March 5, 2012) was an American author, ethicist, and professor. Kidder founded the Institute for Global Ethics in 1990, and is the author of Moral Courage and How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living. He was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. He worked as a columnist and editor for The Christian Science Monitor. Kidder died in 2012 of natural causes in Naples, Florida at the age of 67. Kidder earned a doctorate from Columbia University in English and comparative literature and wrote the foreword to Compassion Wins, by Godfrey John. He wrote an award-winning five-part series on quantum physics in 1988, and his writings appeared in the American Society of Newspaper Editors' Best Newspaper Writing collection.

Hampshire County is a historical and judicial county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 162,308. Its most populous municipality is Amherst (due to seasonal student population; the largest year-round is Northampton, which is also its traditional county seat), and its largest town in terms of landmass is Belchertown. The county is named after the county Hampshire, in England. Hampshire County is part of the Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Together with Hampden County, Hampshire County municipalities belong to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

The Springfield metropolitan area, also known as Greater Springfield, is a region that is socio-economically and culturally tied to the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as consisting of three counties in Western Massachusetts. As of 2023, the metropolitan area's population was estimated at 460,291, making it the 117th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

Historically, the census has also identified the region as "Springfield–Holyoke, Mass.–Conn." as those cities were the area's population centers as recently as 1980; since that time the population has become further distributed, including new growth in Amherst, Westfield, and West Springfield, and Northern Connecticut. Greater Springfield is one of two combined statistical areas in Massachusetts; the other is Greater Boston.