Trending Moments
Julia Ward Howe Elected to American Academy of Arts
Julia Ward Howe Elected to American Academy of Arts
On this day in 1907, 89-year-old Julia Ward Howe became the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Howe lived most of her long life in Boston, but it was in...
"Snow Hurricane" Hits Massachusetts
"Snow Hurricane" Hits Massachusetts
On this day in 1804, a "snow hurricane" struck Massachusetts. The storm began with winds so powerful that whole forests were leveled. Houses, barns, chimneys, and church steeples came crashing down. Even when the wind...
Activists Erect Tent City in Boston
Activists Erect Tent City in Boston
On this day in 1968, hundreds of demonstrators occupied a parking lot in Boston's South End. Houses on the site had recently been demolished, and their occupants displaced. To protest this kind of "urban renewal,"...
Boston Celebrates First Evacuation Day
Boston Celebrates First Evacuation Day
On this day in 1901, the City of Boston officially celebrated Evacuation Day for the first time. In early March of 1776, Continental troops managed to move heavy cannon to the top of Dorchester Heights....
Five Die in Boston Massacre
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...
Revere Beach Opens
Revere Beach Opens
On this day in 1896, 45,000 people gathered in Revere to celebrate the opening of the first public beach in the nation. In 1895 the newly-created Metropolitan Parks Commission had taken ownership of the longest...
Worcester Airport Opens
Worcester Airport Opens
On this day in 1927, two runways and two hangars opened for business at the new Worcester Airport. A week later, more than 30,000 people flocked to the official dedication. Stunt flyers, parachutists, and...
News of Peace Treaty Reaches Boston
News of Peace Treaty Reaches Boston
On this day in 1815, news reached Boston that the War of 1812 was over. The U.S. had at first been a neutral party in a conflict between Britain and France. But when the British...
Eli Whitney Patents the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney Patents the Cotton Gin
On this day in 1794, Westborough native Eli Whitney applied for a patent on the cotton gin. Raised on a farm in Massachusetts, he invented a machine that made growing cotton so profitable that the...
Alcott Family Arrives at Fruitlands
Alcott Family Arrives at Fruitlands
On this day in 1843, a group of three adults and five children made its way from Concord to the town of Harvard. Their destination was an old and dilapidated farmhouse in a beautiful but...