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Islamic Society Breaks Ground in Roxbury

November 7, 2002
November 7, 2002

Islamic Society Breaks Ground in Roxbury

On this day in 2002, the Islamic Society of Boston held a ceremonial groundbreaking in Roxbury for New England's largest mosque and Islamic cultural center. The Society had grown from a handful of Cambridge-based students...

Congress Designates Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

November 10, 1986
November 10, 1986

Congress Designates Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

On this day in 1986, Congress designated the historic Blackstone River Valley a National Heritage Corridor. Running from Worcester to Providence, the Blackstone Valley lays claim to being the birthplace of the industrial revolution in...

Quincy's Granite Industry Begins

November 16, 1825
November 16, 1825

Quincy's Granite Industry Begins

On this day in 1825, a Boston newspaper carried a notice seeking 9,000 tons of "the best Quincy granite" for the Bunker Hill Monument. This marked the beginning of the granite industry in Quincy. For...

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...

The Fortune Sails from Plymouth for England

December 13, 1621
December 13, 1621

The Fortune Sails from Plymouth for England

On this day in 1621, the ship Fortune set sail from Plymouth Colony. The arrival of the vessel two weeks earlier — sent by the English investors who had funded the Mayflower colonists— should have...

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...

Fall River Church Locks Out Priest

December 16, 1884
December 16, 1884

Fall River Church Locks Out Priest

On this day in 1884, a Fall River newspaper reported that French Canadian Roman Catholic parishioners had locked their newly-appointed priest out of their church. When the priest finally gained entry to the building, he...

Boston Movie Mogul Releases First Movie

December 29, 1918
December 29, 1918

Boston Movie Mogul Releases First Movie

On this day in 1918, Louis B. Mayer traveled from his Boston office to New York City for the premiere of his first movie release, the silent film Virtuous Wives. A decade earlier, Mayer had...

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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