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Fugitive Slave Anthony Burns Arrested
Fugitive Slave Anthony Burns Arrested
On this day in 1854, Anthony Burns, a fugitive slave from Virginia, was arrested in Boston. His capture enraged black and white abolitionists. Two days after the arrest, a number of them attacked the federal...
Massachusetts Bay Colony Bans Catholic Priests
Massachusetts Bay Colony Bans Catholic Priests
On this day in 1647, Massachusetts Bay banned Jesuit priests from the colony on penalty of death. The English Puritans who settled the colony feared the Jesuits for several reasons. First, simply because they were...
Vietnam Veterans Arrested on Lexington Green
Vietnam Veterans Arrested on Lexington Green
On this day in 1971, over 450 anti-war protesters occupied the historic Lexington Green and refused to leave. The Vietnam Veterans Against the War had organized a three-day march from Concord to Boston — Paul...
Firemen and Irish Clash in Boston Riot
Firemen and Irish Clash in Boston Riot
On this day in 1837, an Irish funeral procession and a company of Yankee volunteer firefighters came face-to-face in the streets of Boston. Over the next few hours, the two groups and their supporters fought...
Police Find First Victim of "Boston Strangler"
Police Find First Victim of "Boston Strangler"
On this day in 1962, police discovered the body of the first victim of the "Boston Strangler." For the next two years, Boston would be paralyzed by fear as the strangling deaths of 13 women...
Charles Goodyear Receives Patent for Vulcanized Rubber
Charles Goodyear Receives Patent for Vulcanized Rubber
On this day in 1844, after a decade of hardship and perseverance, Charles Goodyear received a patent for vulcanized rubber. The first boots and clothing made from rubber had performed poorly in the American environment....
Massachusetts Approves State Constitution
Massachusetts Approves State Constitution
On this day in 1780, the Massachusetts constitution was declared ratified. The previous fall, the world's first constitutional convention had met in Cambridge. A committee was chosen to write a constitution for the new state;...
James Otis, Jr., Enrages Colonial Governor
James Otis, Jr., Enrages Colonial Governor
On this day in 1768, James Otis, Jr. gave a characteristically fiery speech to his fellow legislators in Boston. He referred to the British House of Commons as a gathering of "button-makers, horse jockey gamesters,...
Brookfield Woman Put to Death
Brookfield Woman Put to Death
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...
Lizzie Borden's Father and Stepmother Murdered
Lizzie Borden's Father and Stepmother Murdered
On this day in 1892, a prosperous banker and his wife were hacked to death with a hatchet in their Fall River home. Suspicion immediately focused on the man's unmarried 32-year-old daughter, Lizzie Borden. Basing...