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Washington Ends Visit to Massachusetts
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...
Voters Deny Massachusetts Women the Vote
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...
Concord Women Cast First Votes
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....
"Good Will Hunting" Released
"Good Will Hunting" Released
On this day in 1997, Miramax released "Good Will Hunting," a movie about the collision of two Boston-area cultures: the heady, prestigious world of Cambridge academia and the proud but gritty working-class brotherhood of South...
First Legal Sea Foods Lost to Fire
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...
Polaroid Wins Patent Suit Against Kodak
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...
Dewey Proposes Library Classification System
Dewey Proposes Library Classification System
On this day in 1873, Amherst College junior Melvil Dewey made a proposal to the faculty. He had been working in the college library and was frustrated by the lack of logic in the way...
Town Meeting Auctions Poor Woman to Lowest Bidder
Town Meeting Auctions Poor Woman to Lowest Bidder
On this day in 1786, Malden's selectmen put up for "vendue" Mary Degresha, who was unable to support herself. They auctioned her off to the lowest bidder, who agreed to accept payment of six dollars...
Brookfield Woman Put to Death
Brookfield Woman Put to Death
On this day in 1778, an intelligent and high-spirited beauty from Brookfield became the first woman to be executed in the new American republic. The 32-year-old's crime was indeed horrific: she had arranged for the...
Shoppers' World Launches Mall Era
Shoppers' World Launches Mall Era
On this day in 1951, Shoppers' World in Framingham opened for business. The first suburban shopping mall in the Northeast, and only the second in the country, the complex was a revolutionary design. Anchored by...