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USS Constitution Launched in Boston
USS Constitution Launched in Boston
On this day in 1797, USS Constitution was launched in Boston. It took three attempts to set the immense ship, reinforced with heavy diagonal planking and copper sheathing, afloat. Shipyard officials warned townspeople to be...
John Howe Spies on Concord, or Not
John Howe Spies on Concord, or Not
On this day in 1775, John Howe arrived in Concord to spy for British General Gage. He quickly gained the trust of the town's leading patriots. They took him to a storehouse, showed him the...
Mashpee Indians Sue for Recognition
Mashpee Indians Sue for Recognition
On this day in 1978, a trial began on Cape Cod to determine whether the Mashpee Indians met the legal definition of a tribe. If they did, they could sue for the return of land...
Trainer Discovers Seabiscuit at Suffolk Downs
Trainer Discovers Seabiscuit at Suffolk Downs
On this day in 1936, Tom Smith, an experienced horse trainer, spied an unlikely looking three-year-old Thoroughbred on the track at East Boston's Suffolk Downs. The two exchanged knowing nods. One year later, Smith returned...
Revenue Cutter Service School Established in New Bedford
Revenue Cutter Service School Established in New Bedford
On this day in 1876, Congress established at New Bedford the first School of Instruction to train officers for the Revenue Service. The Service traced its history back to 1790 when Congress decided it needed...
Babysitter Wins Lottery Jackpot
Babysitter Wins Lottery Jackpot
On this day in 1999, Maria Grasso of Boston won what was then the largest payoff to a single individual in an American lottery — $197,000,000. An immigrant from Chile, Grasso had arrived in the...
State House Celebrates "Return of the Colors"
State House Celebrates "Return of the Colors"
On this day in 1865, Governor John Andrew officially received the battered regimental colors of Massachusetts units of the Union Army in a solemn State House ceremony called "The Return of the Flags." It had...
Boston Doctors Appeal for Mental Hospital
Boston Doctors Appeal for Mental Hospital
On August 20, 1810, two Boston doctors circulated an appeal for "a hospital for the reception of lunatics and other sick persons." (Some sources, including, until recently, Mass Moments, erroneously date the letter to August...
Boston Wheelmen Sponsor Nation's First 100-Mile Bicycle Race
Boston Wheelmen Sponsor Nation's First 100-Mile Bicycle Race
On this day in 1882, seven men took over 12 hours to cover the distance from Worcester to Boston in the nation's first 100-mile bicycle race. Boston was becoming the bicycle capital of America. Pedestrians...
Indian Rights Activist Born in Amherst
Indian Rights Activist Born in Amherst
On this day in 1830, an Amherst College professor and his wife rejoiced at the safe delivery of their second child, Helen Maria Fiske. A lifelong friend of Emily Dickinson and a talented poet in...