Trending Moments

Borden Announces Plan to Sell Prince Pasta Plant

July 16, 1997
July 16, 1997

Borden Announces Plan to Sell Prince Pasta Plant

On this day in 1997, the Borden company announced a tentative deal to save the Prince pasta factory in Lowell. When Borden closed the failing plant, Senator Ted Kennedy remarked that it was "a sad...

Celtics Coach Red Auerbach Retires

April 28, 1966
April 28, 1966

Celtics Coach Red Auerbach Retires

On this day in 1966, Red Auerbach retired as head coach of the Boston Celtics after leading the team to 11 championships in 16 years. The Brooklyn native was a genius at acquiring talented players...

G.E. Engineers Test Jet Engine

April 18, 1942
April 18, 1942

G.E. Engineers Test Jet Engine

On this day in 1942, after months of highly secret work, GE engineers in Lynn successfully tested the engine they called by the innocuous name "I-A." It was the first jet engine built in the...

Concord Women Cast First Votes

March 29, 1880
March 29, 1880

Concord Women Cast First Votes

On this day in 1880, Louisa May Alcott and 19 other women attended the Concord Town Meeting. The year before, the Massachusetts legislature had made it legal for women to vote in school committee elections....

Washington Ends Visit to Massachusetts

October 31, 1789
October 31, 1789

Washington Ends Visit to Massachusetts

On this day in 1789, George Washington concluded a ten-day presidential visit to Massachusetts. Adoring crowds of grateful citizens greeted him everywhere. People preserved the dishes he used, the chairs he sat on, and the...

Charles Dickens Begins Second American Tour

December 2, 1867
December 2, 1867

Charles Dickens Begins Second American Tour

On this day in 1867, Charles Dickens began his second American reading tour at Boston's Tremont Temple. An enthusiastic audience, which included literary stars Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson, seemed to have forgotten...

Voters Deny Massachusetts Women the Vote

November 2, 1915
November 2, 1915

Voters Deny Massachusetts Women the Vote

On this day in 1915, a referendum to give Massachusetts women the vote failed at the polls. In spite of its leading role in the nineteenth-century woman's rights movement, Massachusetts was the first state to...

Massachusetts Executes Sacco and Vanzetti

August 23, 1927
August 23, 1927

Massachusetts Executes Sacco and Vanzetti

On this day in 1927, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were put to death in the state prison in Charlestown. A jury convicted them of murder and robbery in 1921, but a long struggle was...

William Pynchon Buys Land for Springfield

July 15, 1635
July 15, 1635

William Pynchon Buys Land for Springfield

On this day in 1636, William Pynchon received the deed giving him title to most of what is now Springfield, Longmeadow, and Agawam. In exchange, he paid the local Agawam Indians 18 fathoms of wampum,...

First Legal Sea Foods Lost to Fire

January 16, 1980
January 16, 1980

First Legal Sea Foods Lost to Fire

On this day in 1980, fire destroyed the original Legal Sea Foods fish market and restaurant in Cambridge. The restaurant re-opened, but the business soon outgrew the neighborhood. Today there are 30 family-owned Legal Sea...

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 7 and 6?