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Final Episode of "Cheers" Airs

May 20, 1993
May 20, 1993

Final Episode of "Cheers" Airs

On this day in 1993, the sitcom "Cheers" aired its 275th and final episode. One of the most popular shows in television history, "Cheers" was set in a bar modeled on the Bull and Finch...

Route 128 Opens Boston's High Tech Age

August 24, 1951
August 24, 1951

Route 128 Opens Boston's High Tech Age

On this day in 1951, the first segment of Route 128 was opened. By 1956, the expressway stretched 65 miles from Gloucester to Braintree. While officials were confident the road would relieve traffic in Boston...

Worcester Airport Opens

October 3, 1927
October 3, 1927

Worcester Airport Opens

On this day in 1927, two runways and two hangars opened for business at the new Worcester Airport. A week later, more than 30,000 people flocked to the official dedication. Stunt flyers, parachutists, and...

Christmas Celebration Outlawed

December 25, 1659
December 25, 1659

Christmas Celebration Outlawed

On this day in 1659, a law was passed by the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony requiring a five-shilling fine from anyone caught "observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by...

Stock Market Crash Heralds Great Depression

October 29, 1929
October 29, 1929

Stock Market Crash Heralds Great Depression

On this day in 1929, stock markets in Boston, New York, and other major American cities tumbled so dramatically that the day was named Black Tuesday. Capping five days of frenzied panic selling, Black Tuesday...

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...

Benjamin Franklin Introduces "Silence Dogood"

April 2, 1722
April 2, 1722

Benjamin Franklin Introduces "Silence Dogood"

On this day in 1722, the Boston paper The Courant first published a letter from a widow with a keen wit and a gift for satire. Every few weeks, another letter from "Silence Dogood" appeared....

Lewis Latimer Awarded First Patent

February 10, 1874
February 10, 1874

Lewis Latimer Awarded First Patent

On this day in 1874, inventor Lewis Latimer received his first patent. The son of a Virginia couple who had escaped from slavery, he was born and raised in Chelsea. After a stint in the...

Mercy Otis Marries James Warren

November 14, 1754
November 14, 1754

Mercy Otis Marries James Warren

On this day in 1754, Mercy Otis of Barnstable and James Warren of Plymouth began their remarkable 54-year partnership. When she married into a family active in public affairs, Mercy embraced the chance to be...

"Johnny Appleseed" Dies

March 18, 1845
March 18, 1845

"Johnny Appleseed" Dies

On this day in 1845, John Chapman died having made a fortune planting apple saplings on the American frontier. Born and raised in Leominster, the man remembered as "Johnny Appleseed" left Massachusetts in the 1790s...

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