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Legislature Allows Establishment of Mount Auburn Cemetery

June 23, 1831
June 23, 1831

Legislature Allows Establishment of Mount Auburn Cemetery

On this day in 1831, the legislature granted the Massachusetts Horticultural Society permission to purchase land for use as an experimental garden and a rural cemetery. Located on the border of Cambridge and Watertown, the...

"Storm Warriors" Rescue 29 Sailors off Hull

November 25, 1888
November 25, 1888

"Storm Warriors" Rescue 29 Sailors off Hull

On this day in 1888, one of the most ferocious storms of the nineteenth century battered the New England coast. In the seas off Hull, "Storm Warriors," as the men of the United States Life-Saving...

First Esperanto Society Formed

February 16, 1905
February 16, 1905

First Esperanto Society Formed

On this day in 1905, the first Esperanto Society in the United States was established in Boston. Invented by a Polish doctor in the 1880s, Esperanto was an entirely new language created to promote international...

Governor Honors Activist Melnea Cass

June 19, 1968
June 19, 1968

Governor Honors Activist Melnea Cass

On this day in 1968, Governor John Volpe dedicated the Melnea Cass Swimming and Skating Rink in Roxbury. The new facility was intended to improve life in Boston's urban neighborhoods. It was named for a...

Red Sox Win World Series

October 27, 2004
October 27, 2004

Red Sox Win World Series

On this day in 2004, the Boston Red Sox ended an 86-year drought and buried the "Curse of the Bambino." They won the World Series! Their sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals was almost —...

Oliver Wendell Holmes Born in Cambridge

August 29, 1809
August 29, 1809

Oliver Wendell Holmes Born in Cambridge

On this day in 1809, Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge. The man who coined the phrase "Boston Brahmin," he was a true member of that class, and he entertained the nation with poems,...

UMass Researchers Clone Calves

January 20, 1998
January 20, 1998

UMass Researchers Clone Calves

On this day in 1998, two researchers affiliated with the University of Massachusetts drew worldwide attention when they went public with a birth announcement. The new arrivals, named Charlie and George, were genetically-identical Holstein calves....

Senator Edward Brooke Born

October 26, 1919
October 26, 1919

Senator Edward Brooke Born

On this day in 1919, Edward Brooke, III, the first African American to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress, was born. A decorated veteran, he graduated from the BU School of Law in 1948 and...

Boston Receives First Transcontinental TV Broadcast

September 4, 1951
September 4, 1951

Boston Receives First Transcontinental TV Broadcast

On this day in 1951, anyone in Boston with access to a television set could be part of history — a program was transmitted live from coast-to-coast for the first time ever. President Harry Truman's...

Newburyport Fire Leads to Execution for Arson

May 18, 1820
May 18, 1820

Newburyport Fire Leads to Execution for Arson

On this day in 1820, a barn filled with hay burned to the ground in Newburyport. Just three days later, cries of "fire" alarmed the town again. Terrified residents were convinced they had an arsonist...

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