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The 'Sacred' Cod Moves to the New State House

January 11, 1798
January 11, 1798

The 'Sacred' Cod Moves to the New State House

On this day in 1798, the Massachusetts legislature paraded solemnly from the Old State House to its quarters in a new building at the top of Beacon Hill. Designed by Boston-born architect Charles Bulfinch, the...

Skater Nancy Kerrigan Assaulted

January 6, 1994
January 6, 1994

Skater Nancy Kerrigan Assaulted

On this day in 1994, Nancy Kerrigan of Stoneham was practicing for the U.S Figure Skating championships. As she left the ice and stopped to speak to a reporter, a man assaulted her with a...

Great Molasses Flood

January 15, 1919
January 15, 1919

Great Molasses Flood

On this day in 1919, people in Boston's North End were startled by a loud rumbling noise. They watched in horror as a five-story tank broke apart, unleashing a wave of molasses 15 feet high...

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...

Malcolm X Imprisoned

February 27, 1946
February 27, 1946

Malcolm X Imprisoned

On this day in 1946, 20-year-old Malcolm Little entered the state prison in Charlestown to begin serving a sentence for burglary. While in jail, he joined the Black Muslims, a new branch of Islam. Burning...

Northampton Bank Receives Ransom Note

February 28, 1876
February 28, 1876

Northampton Bank Receives Ransom Note

On this day in 1876, a ransom note was sent to the Northampton National Bank. Just a month earlier, a notorious gang of New York thieves had managed to break through the bank's new security...

Professor's Murder Trial Begins

March 19, 1850
March 19, 1850

Professor's Murder Trial Begins

On this day in 1850, a sensational murder trial began in Boston. Both the victim and the accused belonged to the city's social elite. The case had been closely followed ever since the dismembered body...

Boston Mourns Martin Luther King, Jr.

April 4, 1968
April 4, 1968

Boston Mourns Martin Luther King, Jr.

On this day in 1968, Boston crackled with tension. African Americans, enraged by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, took to the streets. Community leaders urged calm, police showed restraint, and while...

Jury Finds Mary Parsons Not Guilty of Witchcraft

May 13, 1675
May 13, 1675

Jury Finds Mary Parsons Not Guilty of Witchcraft

On this day in 1675, a Boston jury reached a verdict in the case of Mary Bliss Parsons of Northampton: they found her not guilty of witchcraft. In seventeenth-century New England, virtually everyone believed in...

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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