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Brownies Take a Winter Swim
Brownies Take a Winter Swim
On this day in 1904, the L Street Brownies held their first New Year's Day swim in Boston Harbor. Every year since then, a crowd of swimmers and an even larger crowd of onlookers has...
Marconi Transmits Radio Message
Marconi Transmits Radio Message
On this day in 1903, Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian inventor of wireless telegraphy, arrived on Cape Cod hoping to make history. The night was cold but perfectly clear, and the first trans-Atlantic radio transmission, a...
Henry Knox Brings Cannon to Boston
Henry Knox Brings Cannon to Boston
On this day in 1776, Colonel Henry Knox reached the headquarters of the Continental Army in Cambridge. The young Boston bookseller had pulled off a daring plan. He had led a small group of men...
Blizzard Paralyzes Massachusetts
Blizzard Paralyzes Massachusetts
On this day in 1978, the storm of the century paralyzed the entire state of Massachusetts. The Blizzard of '78 dropped between two and four feet of snow on the Bay State over the course...
Newbury Offers Wolf Bounty
Newbury Offers Wolf Bounty
On this day in 1704, the town of Newbury voted to pay a bounty to men who had killed two wolves on Plum Island. Wolves were a threat to the cattle, sheep, and pigs grazing...
Blizzard Shuts Down Massachusetts
Blizzard Shuts Down Massachusetts
On this day in 1888, ordinary life in Massachusetts came to a standstill. One of the most destructive blizzards ever to strike the East Coast raged for 36 hours. Called "the White Hurricane," the storm...
Flood Devastates Springfield
Flood Devastates Springfield
On this day in 1936, the worst flood in the state's recorded history inundated the city of Springfield. An unusually cold and snowy winter, followed by a spell of warm and rainy weather, turned the...
Dam Breaks, Causing Catastrophic Flood
Dam Breaks, Causing Catastrophic Flood
On this day in 1874, on the Mill River in western Massachusetts, an earthenwork dam gave way. A wall of water between 20- and 40-feet high and 300-feet wide rushed downstream. The flood destroyed almost...
Tornado Devastates Worcester
Tornado Devastates Worcester
On this day in 1953, Worcester County was devastated by the strongest tornado ever to hit New England. With winds close to 300 mph, the twister traveled 46 miles across the county, reaching its peak...
The Stockholm Rams the Andrea Doria
The Stockholm Rams the Andrea Doria
On this day in 1956, two ocean liners collided in thick fog, approximately 50 miles south of Nantucket. The Stockholm had just left New York City bound for Sweden. The Andrea Doria was due to...