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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...

Amherst's Troops Camp on Boston Common

September 18, 1758
September 18, 1758

Amherst's Troops Camp on Boston Common

On this day in 1758, 4,500 British troops under the command of Jeffrey Amherst camped on Boston Common before setting off to fight the French. Newly promoted to Major-General, Amherst had recently engineered an important...

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...

Doug Flutie Throws "Hail Mary" Pass

November 23, 1984
November 23, 1984

Doug Flutie Throws "Hail Mary" Pass

On this day in 1984, Doug Flutie threw a last-second "Hail Mary" touchdown pass to Gerard Phelan in the end zone, giving Boston College a 47-45 win over the University of Miami. Considered too short...

Longfellow's Wife Dies

November 29, 1835
November 29, 1835

Longfellow's Wife Dies

On this day in 1835, 28-year-old Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was devastated by the death of his beloved young wife, Mary. The couple had been traveling in Europe as the poet prepared to begin teaching literature...

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...

Site for Cambridge Selected

December 28, 1630
December 28, 1630

Site for Cambridge Selected

On this day in 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Colony proprietors chose a site along the northern bank of the Charles River for their capital. They named it Newtowne, and laid out an orderly grid of...

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