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Perkins School for the Blind Incorporated

March 2, 1829
March 2, 1829

Perkins School for the Blind Incorporated

On this day in 1829, the New England Asylum for the Blind was incorporated in Boston. The institution opened with six students, but within six years, it had ten times that number. For the first time, blind...

Ruiz Wins World Heavyweight Championship

March 3, 2001
March 3, 2001

Ruiz Wins World Heavyweight Championship

On this day in 2001, boxer Johnny Ruiz of Chelsea defeated Evander Holyfield in 12 rounds to become the first-ever Latino WBA heavyweight champion. Trained at a club in Somerville, Ruiz combined discipline with determination...

Globe Publishes First Edition

March 4, 1872
March 4, 1872

Globe Publishes First Edition

On this day in 1872, a brand-new newspaper hit the streets of Boston. Costing four cents, the Globe had twice the number of pages as most competitors for the same price. But even at a...

Five Die in Boston Massacre

March 5, 1770
March 5, 1770

Five Die in Boston Massacre

On this day in 1770, Crispus Attucks, a black man from Framingham, and four other civilians were shot by British soldiers. Attucks worked on whaling ships and, between voyages, as a semi-skilled laborer around the...

Clarence Birdseye Tests Frozen Food

March 6, 1930
March 6, 1930

Clarence Birdseye Tests Frozen Food

On this day in 1930, shoppers in Springfield became the first Americans to find frozen food in their grocery stores. A test marketing program was designed to see if people would buy frozen food. And...

Alexander Graham Bell Receives First Patent

March 7, 1876
March 7, 1876

Alexander Graham Bell Receives First Patent

On this day in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone. Born in Scotland, Bell settled in Boston when he was in his early 20s. He made his living as a teacher...

Sophia Smith Endows New Women's College

March 8, 1870
March 8, 1870

Sophia Smith Endows New Women's College

On this day in 1870, a shy but determined woman from Hatfield willed that her fortune be used to establish a women's college in Northampton. The first woman in America to endow a college for...

James Reeb Dies in Alabama

March 10, 1965
March 10, 1965

James Reeb Dies in Alabama

On this day in 1965, a white minister from Boston lay near death in an Alabama hospital. As James Reeb's life slipped away, his story was in every morning paper and on every evening news...

Newbury Offers Wolf Bounty

March 9, 1704
March 9, 1704

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

March 11, 1888
March 11, 1888

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...

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