http://www.massmoments.org/ A daily almanac of Massachusetts history 1440 Copyright 2006 Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities TheOtherRoom.com CFML RSS Generator Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:00:00 EST en-us Visitors of Mass Moments--a daily almanac of Massachusetts history--can learn more about the Moments presented on the radio, see images and illustrations, read a primary source document, and get suggestions of links to follow and places to visit. Additionally, they can view a timeline to see when a given Moment occurred, and where applicable, a map to see where it happened. Visitors are invited to comment or ask questions about a Moment on our message board, thus providing an on-line community where Bay State history enthusiasts can meet and discuss our past. They can sign up to receive Mass Moments daily in their email, and if they post a question to the message board, they can be notified when someone has responded. Past Moments (those posted since January 1, 2005) are searchable, by key words, subject, time period, and region. A daily almanac of Massachusetts history. Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities Massachusetts almanac, radio program, eMoment, eMoments, Massachusetts history, Bay State, Western Mass, MA, Eastern Mass, Boston, Mass Moments, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, daily history, this day in history, today's history, today in history no http://www.massmoments.org/rss/images/mass_moments_75.jpg http://www.massmoments.org/ info@massmoments.org Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=321 ...in 2002, the Islamic Society of Boston held a ceremonial groundbreaking in Roxbury for New England's largest mosque and Islamic cultural center. The Society had grown from a handful of Cambridge-based students in the 1970s to more than 250 families. The effort to build a new facility met with controversy and delay. In 1999 the city sold the Society a piece of land, but it took years to complete the permitting process, overcome neighborhood resistance, and find a way around the Islamic prohibition against borrowing moneywith interest. After the events of 9/11, accusations that extremists were backing the project caused suits and counter suits. The Islamic Society defended itself and persisted, but the completion of the mosque and cultural center was repeatedly delayed. ]]> 07 Nov 2009 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=321 ...in 2002, the Islamic Society of Boston held a ceremonial groundbreaking in Roxbury for New England's largest mosque and Islamic cultural center. The Society had grown from a handful of Cambridge-based students in the 1970s to more than 250 families. The effort to build a new facility met with controversy and delay. In 1999 the city sold the Society a piece of land, but it took years to complete the permitting process, overcome neighborhood resistance, and find a way around the Islamic prohibition against borrowing moneywith interest. After the events of 9/11, accusations that extremists were backing the project caused suits and counter suits. The Islamic Society defended itself and persisted, but the completion of the mosque and cultural center was repeatedly delayed. no 0:01:00 Islamic Society Breaks Ground in Roxbury: November 7, 2002 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=320 On this day in 1895, a colorful Irishman from Boston's North End, nicknamed "Honey Fitz" for his charming and loquacious ways, was elected to the U.S. Congress. Ten years later, John Francis Fitzgerald returned to Boston and ran for mayor. His victory rattled the Yankee establishment. He worked on behalf of the poor, immigrants, and workers, but his administration was rife with graft, cronyism, and corruption. After withdrawing from the 1914 mayoral campaign, Fitzgerald turned his attention to business and family. His daughter Rose had married Joseph Kennedy, and "Honey Fitz" devoted himself to grooming their sons for political careers. Three of them would serve in the U.S. Senate. His namesake, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, would be the35th President of the United States. ]]> 06 Nov 2009 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=320 On this day in 1895, a colorful Irishman from Boston's North End, nicknamed "Honey Fitz" for his charming and loquacious ways, was elected to the U.S. Congress. Ten years later, John Francis Fitzgerald returned to Boston and ran for mayor. His victory rattled the Yankee establishment. He worked on behalf of the poor, immigrants, and workers, but his administration was rife with graft, cronyism, and corruption. After withdrawing from the 1914 mayoral campaign, Fitzgerald turned his attention to business and family. His daughter Rose had married Joseph Kennedy, and "Honey Fitz" devoted himself to grooming their sons for political careers. Three of them would serve in the U.S. Senate. His namesake, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, would be the35th President of the United States. no 0:01:00 Boston's "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald Elected to Congress: November 6, 1895 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=319 On this day in 1734, the Yale-trained missionary John Sergeant opened a school for Mohican Indian children in Great Barrington. About 50 members of the Housatonic tribe of the Mohicans joined four English families on a tract of Berkshire County land set aside by the General Court in Boston. John Sergeant envisioned this Indian town as a community where English and Christianized Indians would live side-by-side in peace. As Sergeant hoped, the native residents followed the example of their English neighbors -- farming, lumbering, sending their children to school, worshipping in church. By the time Sergeant died in 1749, more than half of the 218 Indians living in what had become the town of Stockbridge had been baptized into the Protestant faith. ]]> 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=319 On this day in 1734, the Yale-trained missionary John Sergeant opened a school for Mohican Indian children in Great Barrington. About 50 members of the Housatonic tribe of the Mohicans joined four English families on a tract of Berkshire County land set aside by the General Court in Boston. John Sergeant envisioned this Indian town as a community where English and Christianized Indians would live side-by-side in peace. As Sergeant hoped, the native residents followed the example of their English neighbors -- farming, lumbering, sending their children to school, worshipping in church. By the time Sergeant died in 1749, more than half of the 218 Indians living in what had become the town of Stockbridge had been baptized into the Protestant faith. no 0:01:00 Missionary Opens School for Mohican Indians: November 5, 1734 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=318 On this day in 1955, legendary pitcher Cy Young died. He spent much of his 22-year career in Boston, arriving in 1901 to play for the new American League team that would become the Red Sox. He pitched the opening game, in which Boston beat Philadelphia 12–4. On May 5, 1904, in Boston, he pitched the first perfect game in American League history. During his years in the majors, he won 511 games -- one of several records he holds to this day. By the time he retired in 1911, he had pitched 751 complete games, including three no-hitters. The Ohio farm boy earned his nickname from his cyclone-like fastball. The year after his death, Major League Baseball established the coveted Cy Young Award in his honor. ]]> 04 Nov 2009 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=318 On this day in 1955, legendary pitcher Cy Young died. He spent much of his 22-year career in Boston, arriving in 1901 to play for the new American League team that would become the Red Sox. He pitched the opening game, in which Boston beat Philadelphia 12–4. On May 5, 1904, in Boston, he pitched the first perfect game in American League history. During his years in the majors, he won 511 games -- one of several records he holds to this day. By the time he retired in 1911, he had pitched 751 complete games, including three no-hitters. The Ohio farm boy earned his nickname from his cyclone-like fastball. The year after his death, Major League Baseball established the coveted Cy Young Award in his honor. no 0:01:00 Pitcher Cy Young Dies: November 4, 1955 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=317 On this day in 1929, James Michael Curley, heavily favored to win his third term as mayor of Boston, used a radio appearance to defame a school committee member who had spoken out against him. The savage, and ungrounded, attack was unprecedented: his adversary was a woman, a wife, a mother, and popular civic volunteer. Curley's tactic of "do unto others before they do you" backfired, and he barely squeaked out a victory in the election two days later. One local newspaper would call it "one of the most dramatic incidents in the whole history of Boston politics." Between 1914 and 1950, the charismatic and resilient Irishman served four terms as Boston's mayor, one term as Massachusetts governor, and two terms in jail. ]]> 03 Nov 2009 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=317 On this day in 1929, James Michael Curley, heavily favored to win his third term as mayor of Boston, used a radio appearance to defame a school committee member who had spoken out against him. The savage, and ungrounded, attack was unprecedented: his adversary was a woman, a wife, a mother, and popular civic volunteer. Curley's tactic of "do unto others before they do you" backfired, and he barely squeaked out a victory in the election two days later. One local newspaper would call it "one of the most dramatic incidents in the whole history of Boston politics." Between 1914 and 1950, the charismatic and resilient Irishman served four terms as Boston's mayor, one term as Massachusetts governor, and two terms in jail. no 0:01:00 Mayor Curley Jeopardizes Election : November 3, 1929 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=316 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 organize an association of women opposed to suffrage. Known as the "Anti's," these women believed that they could be better, more effective citizens without the ballot. Many of the "Anti's" were active in Progressive era causes; they feared that involvement in electoral politics would erode their influence. For over 30 years, they and their male allies succeeded in keeping Massachusetts women out of the voting booth. But ultimately they lost the fight. On this same day in 1920, Massachusetts women cast their votes in a federal election for the first time. ]]> 02 Nov 2009 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=316 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 organize an association of women opposed to suffrage. Known as the "Anti's," these women believed that they could be better, more effective citizens without the ballot. Many of the "Anti's" were active in Progressive era causes; they feared that involvement in electoral politics would erode their influence. For over 30 years, they and their male allies succeeded in keeping Massachusetts women out of the voting booth. But ultimately they lost the fight. On this same day in 1920, Massachusetts women cast their votes in a federal election for the first time. no 0:01:00 Voters Deny Massachusetts Women the Vote: November 2, 1915 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=315 On this day in 1857, the first issue of The Atlantic Monthly magazine was published in Boston. Although none of the articles was signed, most readers easily recognized the work of such New England luminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The writers, poets, and philosophers who launched the new journal believed that, as the intellectual elite of New England, they had a mission to create not just a magazine but a culture -- a distinctly American literary culture. Their goal was to cast "the light of the highest morals" on an increasingly fragmented, mobile, and materialistic country. Almost a century and a half later, The Atlantic Monthly remains one of the nation's and the world's leading literary journals. ]]> 01 Nov 2009 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=315 On this day in 1857, the first issue of The Atlantic Monthly magazine was published in Boston. Although none of the articles was signed, most readers easily recognized the work of such New England luminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The writers, poets, and philosophers who launched the new journal believed that, as the intellectual elite of New England, they had a mission to create not just a magazine but a culture -- a distinctly American literary culture. Their goal was to cast "the light of the highest morals" on an increasingly fragmented, mobile, and materialistic country. Almost a century and a half later, The Atlantic Monthly remains one of the nation's and the world's leading literary journals. no 0:01:00 First Issue of The Atlantic Monthly Published: November 1, 1857