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Islamic Society Breaks Ground in Roxbury
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...
First Students Arrive at Mt. Holyoke Seminary
First Students Arrive at Mt. Holyoke Seminary
On this day in 1837, 80 students arrived at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in the Connecticut Valley village of South Hadley. Many had traveled for days to reach what would become the first of the...
Great Fire Devastates Boston
Great Fire Devastates Boston
On this day in 1872, a monstrous fire nearly destroyed Boston's business district, ravaging the city from the Common to the waterfront. Beginning in a dry goods store, the blaze burned for 15 hours with...
Congress Designates Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor
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...
Sculptor Edmonia Lewis Displays Work in Boston
Sculptor Edmonia Lewis Displays Work in Boston
On this day in 1864, sculptor Edmonia Lewis exhibited two of her early pieces at the Colored Soldiers' Fair in Boston. The daughter of a Native American woman and a black man, Lewis was the...
Evangelist Billy Sunday Draws 70,000 to Boston Revival
Evangelist Billy Sunday Draws 70,000 to Boston Revival
On this day in 1916, 55,000 people came to hear Billy Sunday preach in Boston. An overflow crowd of 15,000 had to be turned away from the temporary tabernacle that had been erected on Huntington...
First Artificial Snow Falls on Mt. Greylock
First Artificial Snow Falls on Mt. Greylock
On this day in 1946, an airplane flew over Mount Greylock in western Massachusetts and seeded the clouds with super-cooled ice crystals. The first-ever artificially-produced snow melted before it hit the slopes below, but the...
Mercy Otis Marries James Warren
Mercy Otis Marries James Warren
On this day in 1754, Mercy Otis of Barnstable and James Warren of Plymouth began their remarkable 54-year partnership. When she married into a family active in public affairs, Mercy embraced the chance to be...
King Gillette Patents Safety Razor
King Gillette Patents Safety Razor
On this day in 1904, Boston-based inventor King Camp Gillette received a patent for an improved safety razor with a disposable blade. After almost 10 years of work, Gillette succeeded in mass-producing a sharp blade...
Quincy's Granite Industry Begins
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...