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Frances Perkins Born in Boston

April 10, 1880
April 10, 1880

Frances Perkins Born in Boston

On this day in 1880, Frances Perkins, the first woman to hold a cabinet position, was born in Boston. Raised in Worcester, she attended Mt. Holyoke College, where she became committed to improving the lot...

Duxbury Dedicates Standish Monument

October 7, 1872
October 7, 1872

Duxbury Dedicates Standish Monument

On this day in 1872, a crowd of 10,000 climbed to the top of Captain's Hill in Duxbury to watch the cornerstone being laid for the Myles Standish Monument. Military leader of the Plymouth Colony,...

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...

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Opens

February 23, 1903
February 23, 1903

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Opens

On this day in 1903, Isabella Stewart Gardner's newly completed home and museum was opened to the public for the first time. The grand building on the Fenway was the realization of Mrs. Gardner's dream...

Massachusetts Approves State Constitution

June 16, 1780
June 16, 1780

Massachusetts Approves State Constitution

On this day in 1780, the Massachusetts constitution was declared ratified. The previous fall, the world's first constitutional convention had met in Cambridge. A committee was chosen to write a constitution for the new state;...

Ceremony Honors Early Indian Students

May 3, 1997
May 3, 1997

Ceremony Honors Early Indian Students

On this day in 1997, over 300 people gathered in Harvard Yard to commemorate a long forgotten part of the college's history. A plaque was unveiled that read, "Near this spot, from 1655 to 1698,...

Washington Commissions First Naval Officer

September 2, 1775
September 2, 1775

Washington Commissions First Naval Officer

On this day in 1775, General George Washington commissioned Nicholson Broughton captain "in the Army of the United Colonies of North America." Broughton had a novel assignment: The Marblehead man was to be master of...

Workers Complete Hoosac Tunnel

November 27, 1874
November 27, 1874

Workers Complete Hoosac Tunnel

On this day in 1874, workers in the small western Massachusetts town of Florida finished the Hoosac Tunnel, bringing to completion one of the world's most ambitious engineering projects. The Hoosac Mountain Range had long...

Transcendentalists Publish The Dial

June 30, 1840
June 30, 1840

Transcendentalists Publish The Dial

On this day in 1840 the first issue of the Transcendentalist magazine "The Dial" was published in Boston. The moving force behind this "journal in a new spirit" was Ralph Waldo Emerson, the man who...

Painter John Singleton Copley Born

July 3, 1738
July 3, 1738

Painter John Singleton Copley Born

On this day in 1738, John Singleton Copley was born in Boston to recent Irish immigrants. From these humble beginnings, he became the foremost artist in colonial America. His natural talent, attention to detail, and...

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