http://www.massmoments.org/ A daily almanac of Massachusetts history 1440 Copyright 2006 Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities TheOtherRoom.com CFML RSS Generator Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST en-us Visitors of Mass Moments--a daily almanac of Massachusetts history--can learn more about the Moments presented on the radio, see images and illustrations, read a primary source document, and get suggestions of links to follow and places to visit. Additionally, they can view a timeline to see when a given Moment occurred, and where applicable, a map to see where it happened. Visitors are invited to comment or ask questions about a Moment on our message board, thus providing an on-line community where Bay State history enthusiasts can meet and discuss our past. They can sign up to receive Mass Moments daily in their email, and if they post a question to the message board, they can be notified when someone has responded. Past Moments (those posted since January 1, 2005) are searchable, by key words, subject, time period, and region. A daily almanac of Massachusetts history. Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities Massachusetts almanac, radio program, eMoment, eMoments, Massachusetts history, Bay State, Western Mass, MA, Eastern Mass, Boston, Mass Moments, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, daily history, this day in history, today's history, today in history http://www.massmoments.org/rss/images/mass_moments_75.jpg http://www.massmoments.org/ info@massmoments.org Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=197 On this day in 1926, "Boston's Elder Statesman of the Blues," Weepin' Willie Robinson, was born. Raised in the South, he launched his musical career in Trenton, New Jersey, before coming to Boston in the late 1950s. Although Boston had a much smaller black population than Chicago or Detroit, "all the players came through here." Roxbury, Willie later remembered, was "where it was happening in those days. It was hot." Famous bluesmen played here, and Weepin' Willie sang with them all. In the 1960s Boston was a mecca for the blues, as college students and young folk and rock musicians swelled the audience at the city's clubs. In 2000 the Blues Trust Foundation presented Weepin' Willie Robinson with a Lifetime Achievement Award. 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=197 On this day in 1926, "Boston's Elder Statesman of the Blues," Weepin' Willie Robinson, was born. Raised in the South, he launched his musical career in Trenton, New Jersey, before coming to Boston in the late 1950s. Although Boston had a much smaller black population than Chicago or Detroit, "all the players came through here." Roxbury, Willie later remembered, was "where it was happening in those days. It was hot." Famous bluesmen played here, and Weepin' Willie sang with them all. In the 1960s Boston was a mecca for the blues, as college students and young folk and rock musicians swelled the audience at the city's clubs. In 2000 the Blues Trust Foundation presented Weepin' Willie Robinson with a Lifetime Achievement Award. no 0:01:00 Weepin' Willie Robinson Born: July 6, 1926 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=196 On this day in 1913, a 13-week strike at the Draper Corporation in Hopedale ended in failure, and the workers returned to their jobs. This was a time of labor unrest throughout the country, but the Draper family was shocked that their workers would strike. The corporation provided them with decent housing, modern utilities, even recreational facilities. Ebenezer Draper originally came to Hopedale in the 1840s. He was a major investor in and a resident ofthe utopian community that thrived there for over a decade. When the community failed in 1856, Ebenezer and his brother converted it into a successful manufacturing venture. The Drapers continued the tradition of social reform by making Hopedale a model company town. Today it is part of the Blackstone National Heritage Corridor. 05 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=196 On this day in 1913, a 13-week strike at the Draper Corporation in Hopedale ended in failure, and the workers returned to their jobs. This was a time of labor unrest throughout the country, but the Draper family was shocked that their workers would strike. The corporation provided them with decent housing, modern utilities, even recreational facilities. Ebenezer Draper originally came to Hopedale in the 1840s. He was a major investor in and a resident ofthe utopian community that thrived there for over a decade. When the community failed in 1856, Ebenezer and his brother converted it into a successful manufacturing venture. The Drapers continued the tradition of social reform by making Hopedale a model company town. Today it is part of the Blackstone National Heritage Corridor. no 0:01:00 Strike Ends in Hopedale: July 5, 1913 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=195 On this day in 1826, 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia, John Adams died at home in Braintree. One of the great men of the Revolutionary generation and the second president of the United States, Adams was 91 years old. Shortly before he breathed his last, John Adams whispered, "Thomas Jefferson survives." In fact, 560 miles away at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson had died only a few hours earlier. The fact that these two founding fathers died on the same day and that it was, of all days, the Fourth of July was not viewed as a coincidence. In his two-hour eulogy at Fanueil Hall, Daniel Webster cited it as "proof" of how much God cared for the country. 04 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=195 On this day in 1826, 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia, John Adams died at home in Braintree. One of the great men of the Revolutionary generation and the second president of the United States, Adams was 91 years old. Shortly before he breathed his last, John Adams whispered, "Thomas Jefferson survives." In fact, 560 miles away at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson had died only a few hours earlier. The fact that these two founding fathers died on the same day and that it was, of all days, the Fourth of July was not viewed as a coincidence. In his two-hour eulogy at Fanueil Hall, Daniel Webster cited it as "proof" of how much God cared for the country. no 0:01:00 John Adams Dies: July 4, 1826 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=194 On this day in 1738, John Singleton Copley was born in Boston to recent Irish immigrants. From these humble beginnings, he became the foremost artist in colonial America. His natural talent, attention to detail, and determination made up for his lack of formal artistic training. A key ingredient in his success was his ability to paint his subjects in poses and settings borrowed from the English aristocracy they so admired. Although he and his family lived in an elegant mansion on Beacon Hill, Copley was "mortified" that his countrymen considered an artist "little better than a carpenter or shoemaker." When the coming Revolution caused most of his wealthy clients to leave Boston, he left, too. He never returned to his native land. 03 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=194 On this day in 1738, John Singleton Copley was born in Boston to recent Irish immigrants. From these humble beginnings, he became the foremost artist in colonial America. His natural talent, attention to detail, and determination made up for his lack of formal artistic training. A key ingredient in his success was his ability to paint his subjects in poses and settings borrowed from the English aristocracy they so admired. Although he and his family lived in an elegant mansion on Beacon Hill, Copley was "mortified" that his countrymen considered an artist "little better than a carpenter or shoemaker." When the coming Revolution caused most of his wealthy clients to leave Boston, he left, too. He never returned to his native land. no 0:01:00 Painter John Singleton Copley Born: July 3, 1738 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=193 On this day in 1778, an intelligent and high-spirited beauty from Brookfield became the first woman to be executed in the new American republic. The 32-year-old's crime was indeed horrific: she had arranged for the cold-blooded murder of her husband by three soldiers who fell under her spell. But Bathsheba Spooner was also a victim. She was trapped by social mores that allowed no escape from an abusive husband. Condemned for her Loyalist sympathies, she was rushed to judgment by a community fearful of civil disorder. On the scaffold she declared that "she justly died; that she hoped to see her Christian friends she left behind her, in Heaven, but that none of them might go there in the ignominious manner that she did." 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=193 On this day in 1778, an intelligent and high-spirited beauty from Brookfield became the first woman to be executed in the new American republic. The 32-year-old's crime was indeed horrific: she had arranged for the cold-blooded murder of her husband by three soldiers who fell under her spell. But Bathsheba Spooner was also a victim. She was trapped by social mores that allowed no escape from an abusive husband. Condemned for her Loyalist sympathies, she was rushed to judgment by a community fearful of civil disorder. On the scaffold she declared that "she justly died; that she hoped to see her Christian friends she left behind her, in Heaven, but that none of them might go there in the ignominious manner that she did." no 0:01:00 Brookfield Woman Put to Death: July 2, 1778 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=192 On this day in 1854, the battle ended over who owned the patent for the first sewing machine. A federal commission ruled that the patent held by Elias Howe of Cambridge was valid and ordered all other sewing machine makers to pay him royalties. The tide had turned in the long "sewing machine war," and in the fortunes of Elias Howe. As the sales of sewing machines exploded, he went from poverty to wealth. Ironically, however, it is Isaac Singer, one of the men on the losing side of the case, who is most closely associated with the invention of the sewing machine. It was Singer, working in a Boston shop, who made improvements to Howe's design that resulted in a commercially viable machine. In the summer of 1846 Elias Howe packed up a model of his new invention and traveled from Cambridge to Washington, D.C. On September 10th, he was granted a patent for the first two-thread lock-stitch sewing machine. 01 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=192 On this day in 1854, the battle ended over who owned the patent for the first sewing machine. A federal commission ruled that the patent held by Elias Howe of Cambridge was valid and ordered all other sewing machine makers to pay him royalties. The tide had turned in the long "sewing machine war," and in the fortunes of Elias Howe. As the sales of sewing machines exploded, he went from poverty to wealth. Ironically, however, it is Isaac Singer, one of the men on the losing side of the case, who is most closely associated with the invention of the sewing machine. It was Singer, working in a Boston shop, who made improvements to Howe's design that resulted in a commercially viable machine. In the summer of 1846 Elias Howe packed up a model of his new invention and traveled from Cambridge to Washington, D.C. On September 10th, he was granted a patent for the first two-thread lock-stitch sewing machine. no 0:01:00 Patent Office Rules in Favor of Elias Howe: July 1, 1854 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=190 On this day in 1840 the first issue of the Transcendentalist magazine "The Dial" was published in Boston. The moving force behind this "journal in a new spirit" was Ralph Waldo Emerson, the man who stood at the center of Transcendentalism. The subject of the quarterly publication -- the first genuinely original journal published in the United States -- was, Emerson wrote, the "state of life and growth [that] is now . . . arriving." The men and women who contributed to "The Dial" were among the best minds of the nineteenth century. The magazine never made money or had more than a few hundred subscribers. It survived for less than four years, but Emerson and his fellow Transcendentalists had unprecedented influence on American culture. 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=190 On this day in 1840 the first issue of the Transcendentalist magazine "The Dial" was published in Boston. The moving force behind this "journal in a new spirit" was Ralph Waldo Emerson, the man who stood at the center of Transcendentalism. The subject of the quarterly publication -- the first genuinely original journal published in the United States -- was, Emerson wrote, the "state of life and growth [that] is now . . . arriving." The men and women who contributed to "The Dial" were among the best minds of the nineteenth century. The magazine never made money or had more than a few hundred subscribers. It survived for less than four years, but Emerson and his fellow Transcendentalists had unprecedented influence on American culture. no 0:01:00 Transcendentalists Publish The Dial: June 30, 1830