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Norman Rockwell Wins Medal of Freedom

January 10, 1977
January 10, 1977

Norman Rockwell Wins Medal of Freedom

On this day in 1977, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, was bestowed on 83-year-old Norman Rockwell. The country's best-known illustrator had lived in the western Massachusetts town of Stockbridge since...

The Crucible Opens on Broadway

January 22, 1953
January 22, 1953

The Crucible Opens on Broadway

On this day in 1953, Arthur Miller's play The Crucible opened on Broadway. Four years after winning the Pulitzer Prize for Death of a Salesman, Miller had written a far more controversial play. Set in...

Robert Frost Dies

January 29, 1963
January 29, 1963

Robert Frost Dies

On this day in 1963, Robert Frost died, the most popular and renowned American poet of the twentieth century. But his success was a long time in coming. It was as a student at Lawrence...

nMt. Holyoke Cable Car Burned

February 17, 1965
February 17, 1965

nMt. Holyoke Cable Car Burned

On this day in 1965, Massachusetts officials burned what was left of the wooden tramway that had carried thousands of people to the summit of Mt. Holyoke. Abandoned for decades, the deteriorating tramway was a...

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...

Poet Anne Sexton Publishes First Book

April 22, 1960
April 22, 1960

Poet Anne Sexton Publishes First Book

On this day in 1960, Massachusetts poet Anne Sexton had her first collection of poems published, To Bedlam and Part Way Back. Just before the manuscript was to go to press, she made major changes...

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...

Weepin' Willie Robinson Born

July 6, 1926
July 6, 1926

Weepin' Willie Robinson Born

On this day in 1926, "Boston's Elder Statesman of the Blues," Weepin' Willie Robinson, was born. Raised in the South, he launched his musical career in Trenton, New Jersey, before coming to Boston in the...

Ted Shawn Theater Opens at Jacob's Pillow

July 9, 1942
July 9, 1942

Ted Shawn Theater Opens at Jacob's Pillow

On this day in 1942, the first theater in the nation dedicated exclusively to dance opened at Jacob's Pillow in Becket, a small town in the Berkshire Hills. The building was named for Ted Shawn,...

BSO Conductor Celebrates Birthday at Tanglewood

July 26, 1940
July 26, 1940

BSO Conductor Celebrates Birthday at Tanglewood

On this day in 1940, Sergei Koussevitzky celebrated his 66th birthday with the first class to graduate from the Berkshire Music Center in Lenox. The school was adjacent to Tanglewood, the summer home of the...

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