Waltham [key], city (1990 pop. 57,878), Middlesex co., E Mass., a suburb of Boston, on the Charles River; settled c.1634, set off from Watertown 1738, inc. as a city 1884. It is an important high-technology and computer center. Electronic equipment and parts, precision instruments, medical diagnostic testing equipment, cameras, machinery, fabricated metals, and plastic products are among its varied manufactures. It was known as the seat of the Waltham Watch Company, which produced clocks and watches there from 1854 until 1954. Brandeis Univ. and Bentley College are in the city. Of note are the many colonial structures. The Charles River Museum of Industry is in Waltham, and the city is the New England headquarters of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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