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Boston Police Vote to Unionize, Precipitating Riots
Boston Police Vote to Unionize, Precipitating Riots
On this day in 1919, Boston policemen seeking better wages and working conditions voted to form a union. The Commissioner of Police forbade them to unionize. Tensions escalated until, three weeks later, 19 officers were...
Birth Control Pioneer Born
Birth Control Pioneer Born
On this day in 1890, birth control pioneer John Rock was born in the small Massachusetts town of Marlborough. He was a deeply religious Catholic even as a child. After college and medical school at...
Jordan Marsh Announces New Store
Jordan Marsh Announces New Store
On this day in 1947, Jordan, Marsh and Company announced that it was going to build "the greatest department store in the world" in downtown Boston. Almost a hundred years earlier, in 1851, Eben Jordan...
Boston Jews Petition for First Cemetery
Boston Jews Petition for First Cemetery
On this day in 1844, members of Boston's first Jewish congregation petitioned city officials to set aside a corner of an East Boston cemetery for their use. When the city refused, the 40 congregants of...
Globe Publishes First "Confidential Chat"
Globe Publishes First "Confidential Chat"
On this day in 1884, The Boston Globe published the first "Housekeepers Column," known since 1922 as "Confidential Chat." Although many Globe reporters at first looked with disdain on a column in which readers —...
Boston Lighthouse Lit for the First Time
Boston Lighthouse Lit for the First Time
On this day in 1716, Boston Light on Little Brewster Island was lit for the first time. The first lighthouse built in North America, the structure weathered 60 years of lightning strikes and hurricane-force winds...
Vietnam Veterans Arrested on Lexington Green
Vietnam Veterans Arrested on Lexington Green
On this day in 1971, over 450 anti-war protesters occupied the historic Lexington Green and refused to leave. The Vietnam Veterans Against the War had organized a three-day march from Concord to Boston — Paul...
Frances Perkins Born in Boston
Frances Perkins Born in Boston
On this day in 1880, Frances Perkins, the first woman to hold a cabinet position, was born in Boston. Raised in Worcester, she attended Mt. Holyoke College, where she became committed to improving the lot...
American Optical Celebrates 150th Anniversary
American Optical Celebrates 150th Anniversary
On this day in 1983, Southbridge celebrated the 150th anniversary of the nation's oldest optical company — the American Optical Company, or "the A.O." as it was known in the Worcester County town where it...
James Otis, Jr., Enrages Colonial Governor
James Otis, Jr., Enrages Colonial Governor
On this day in 1768, James Otis, Jr. gave a characteristically fiery speech to his fellow legislators in Boston. He referred to the British House of Commons as a gathering of "button-makers, horse jockey gamesters,...