Search Results


Hasty Pudding Club Forms at Harvard

September 8, 1795
September 8, 1795

Hasty Pudding Club Forms at Harvard

On this day in 1795, 21 Harvard students gathered in a dorm room and formed a secret social club to cultivate "friendship and patriotism." Members agreed to take turns providing a pot of hasty pudding...

Massachusetts Audubon Society Makes First Land Purchase

September 9, 1922
September 9, 1922

Massachusetts Audubon Society Makes First Land Purchase

On this day in 1922, the Massachusetts Audubon Society purchased its first parcel of land. For $8,000, it acquired 43 acres in the town of Sharon — the core of the Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary...

Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers Dies

September 10, 1960
September 10, 1960

Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers Dies

On this day in 1960, Representative Edith Nourse Rogers died of a heart attack in a Boston hospital, just three days before the end of her nineteenth campaign. The longest-serving woman in congressional history, she...

Dracut Pilot Dies on American Airlines Flight #11

September 11, 2001
September 11, 2001

Dracut Pilot Dies on American Airlines Flight #11

On this day in 2001, American Airlines pilot John Ogonowski made the familiar drive from his farm in Dracut to Logan airport. He was sorry he would miss a special event scheduled for later that...

Memorial to Anne Bradstreet Dedicated

September 12, 2000
September 12, 2000

Memorial to Anne Bradstreet Dedicated

On this day in 2000, several North Shore communities were celebrating "Anne Bradstreet Week" to mark the 350th anniversary of the publication of her work. A reenactment commemorated her arrival in Salem in 1630. Events...

Polaroid Wins Patent Suit Against Kodak

September 13, 1985
September 13, 1985

Polaroid Wins Patent Suit Against Kodak

On this day in 1985, Polaroid won a huge victory in federal court. A judge ruled that Kodak had violated Polaroid's patents for instant photography. The decision ended a nine-year legal struggle between the two...

Boston Lighthouse Lit for the First Time

September 14, 1716
September 14, 1716

Boston Lighthouse Lit for the First Time

On this day in 1716, Boston Light on Little Brewster Island was lit for the first time. The first lighthouse built in North America, the structure weathered 60 years of lightning strikes and hurricane-force winds...

Mabel Todd First Describes Emily Dickinson

September 15, 1882
September 15, 1882

Mabel Todd First Describes Emily Dickinson

On this day in 1882, Mabel Loomis Todd first recorded her impressions of her mysterious Amherst neighbor. Emily Dickinson always wore white and had her hair arranged "as was the fashion fifteen years ago." "She...

Fitchburg Forms Ladies Soldier's Aid Society

September 16, 1861
September 16, 1861

Fitchburg Forms Ladies Soldier's Aid Society

On this day in 1861, more than 100 women in the central Massachusetts town of Fitchburg formed a Ladies Soldier's Aid Society. The organization's mission was to support Union men on the front and assist...

Boston Celebrates 250th Birthday

September 17, 1880
September 17, 1880

Boston Celebrates 250th Birthday

On this day in 1880 Boston celebrated its 250th birthday. For three and a half hours during the day, a column of 14,500 people marched four and a half miles though the city. The festivities...

Mass Moments is a project of Mass Humanities, whose mission is to support programs that use history, literature, philosophy, and the other humanities disciplines to enhance and improve civic life throughout the Commonwealth.

Please consider helping us towards our goals with a donation today.

Interested in sponsoring Mass Moments?

What is the sum of 1 and 3?