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Boston Doctors Use First Iron Lung
Boston Doctors Use First Iron Lung
On this day in 1928, Children's Hospital in Boston was the scene of the first use of an "iron lung." Developed by a young Harvard doctor, it was little more than a galvanized iron box,...
Ground Broken for Symphony Hall
Ground Broken for Symphony Hall
On this day in 1899, ground was broken for Boston's Symphony Hall. From the day it was completed a year and a half later, the building would be considered one of finest concert halls in...
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...
Duxbury Dedicates Standish Monument
Duxbury Dedicates Standish Monument
On this day in 1872, a crowd of 10,000 climbed to the top of Captain's Hill in Duxbury to watch the cornerstone being laid for the Myles Standish Monument. Military leader of the Plymouth Colony,...
Agrippa Hull Enlists
Agrippa Hull Enlists
On this day in 1777, Agrippa Hull, a freeborn black man from the Berkshire County town of Stockbridge, signed on to serve in the Continental Army for the duration of the Revolutionary War. The 18-year-old...
Hurricane Devastates New England
Hurricane Devastates New England
On this day in 1938, a hurricane of astonishing force ravaged New England. Having gone to bed the night before to radio forecasts of scattered rain and fresh southerly winds, New Englanders woke on the...
Winthrop Buys Passage for Ironworkers
Winthrop Buys Passage for Ironworkers
On this day in 1643, John Winthrop, Jr. paid 50 pounds for the passage of skilled ironworkers from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Initially, the men worked at the iron works that Winthrop and...
Painter John Singleton Copley Born
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...
Workers Complete Hoosac Tunnel
Workers Complete Hoosac Tunnel
On this day in 1874, workers in the small western Massachusetts town of Florida finished the Hoosac Tunnel, bringing to completion one of the world's most ambitious engineering projects. The Hoosac Mountain Range had long...
Washington Commissions First Naval Officer
Washington Commissions First Naval Officer
On this day in 1775, General George Washington commissioned Nicholson Broughton captain "in the Army of the United Colonies of North America." Broughton had a novel assignment: The Marblehead man was to be master of...