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Henry David Thoreau Spends Night in Jail
Henry David Thoreau Spends Night in Jail
On this day in 1846, Henry David Thoreau left his cabin at Walden Pond for a brief walk into town and ended up in the Concord jail for refusing to pay his poll tax. A...
First "National Day of Mourning" Held in Plymouth
First "National Day of Mourning" Held in Plymouth
On this day in 1970, a group of Native Americans attending a Thanksgiving feast in Plymouth walked out in protest. The Indians and their supporters gathered on a hill overlooking Plymouth Rock near a statue...
Boston Tea Party Raider Born
Boston Tea Party Raider Born
On this day in 1738, David Kinnison was born in Old Kingston, Maine, or so he claimed. An early convert to the cause of American independence, he claimed to have participated in the dumping of...
Roger Williams Banished
Roger Williams Banished
On this day in 1635, Puritan minister Roger Williams was found guilty of spreading "newe & dangerous opinions" and banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Before leaving England in 1630, Williams had seen heretics whipped,...
Lizzie Borden's Father and Stepmother Murdered
Lizzie Borden's Father and Stepmother Murdered
On this day in 1892, a prosperous banker and his wife were hacked to death with a hatchet in their Fall River home. Suspicion immediately focused on the man's unmarried 32-year-old daughter, Lizzie Borden. Basing...
Nation's First Subway Opens in Boston
Nation's First Subway Opens in Boston
On this day in 1897, at 6 am, over 100 people crowded onto the first train to travel through a tunnel under downtown Boston. More than 100,000 people would take the three-and-a-half minute trip that...
Bread and Roses Strike Begins
Bread and Roses Strike Begins
On this day in 1912, the labor protest later known as the "Bread and Roses" strike began in Lawrence. A new state law had reduced the maximum workweek from 56 to 54 hours. Factory owners...
54th Massachusetts Regiment Marches Through Boston
54th Massachusetts Regiment Marches Through Boston
On this day in 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first black regiment from the North, paraded in full dress uniform on Boston Common. Crowds cheered as 1,007 black soldiers and 37 white officers...
First National Woman's Rights Convention Ends in Worcester
First National Woman's Rights Convention Ends in Worcester
On this day in 1850, the first national convention for woman's rights concluded in Worcester. For two days, more than 1,000 delegates from 11 different states had filled Brinley Hall to overflowing. Speakers, most of...
Rebels Attack Springfield Arsenal
Rebels Attack Springfield Arsenal
On this day in 1787, 2,000 farmers from western Massachusetts attacked the new federal arsenal at Springfield. The government soldiers returned fire, killing three of the farmers. This was the beginning of the end of...