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Quakers Outlawed in Plymouth

December 3, 1658
December 3, 1658

Quakers Outlawed in Plymouth

On this day in 1658, Plymouth Court ordered that any boat carrying Quakers to Sandwich be seized to prevent the religious heretics from landing. A year earlier, Quakers in Sandwich had established the first Friends‘...

WW II Sends Record Number of Bay State Women to Work

December 7, 1941
December 7, 1941

WW II Sends Record Number of Bay State Women to Work

On this day in 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor launched the people of Massachusetts into World War II — and out of the Depression. The state's industrial cities and shipyards sprang back to...

Crowd Gathers to Hear Writer Mary Antin

December 8, 1912
December 8, 1912

Crowd Gathers to Hear Writer Mary Antin

On this day in 1912, over 1,000 people gathered at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York to hear Boston writer Mary Antin. She had come to make a plea for more aid to support...

Henrietta Leavitt Buried in Cambridge

December 14, 1921
December 14, 1921

Henrietta Leavitt Buried in Cambridge

On this day in 1921, Henrietta Leavitt, a scientist at the Harvard Observatory, was buried in Cambridge. Her premature death cut short a brilliant career as an astronomer. In the late nineteenth century, observatory director...

First YMCA in the United States Organized in Boston

December 15, 1851
December 15, 1851

First YMCA in the United States Organized in Boston

On this day in 1851, a group of evangelicals from several Boston churches founded the first Young Men's Christian Association in the United States. Modeled on the YMCA in London, the chapter intended to safeguard...

Alice Freeman and George Palmer Marry

December 23, 1887
December 23, 1887

Alice Freeman and George Palmer Marry

On this day in 1887, Alice Freeman, charismatic president of Wellesley College, wed Harvard professor George Palmer, to the consternation of many Boston intellectuals. In her six years as president, Freeman had transformed the fledgling...

Harvard Shakers Record Spiritual Visit

December 30, 1841
December 30, 1841

Harvard Shakers Record Spiritual Visit

On this day in 1841, the Shakers in Harvard reported a spiritual visit by their long-dead founder Mother Ann, "Holy Angels," and "ancient Saints and departed spirits." Shaker communities across New England were receiving such...

Worcester Becomes a City

February 29, 1848
February 29, 1848

Worcester Becomes a City

On this day in 1848, the Governor of Massachusetts signed a charter giving the once-sleepy village of Worcester the legal status of a city. For over a century, Worcester's isolated location in the hilly center...

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