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First African American Graduate of Harvard Born
First African American Graduate of Harvard Born
On this day in 1844, Richard Greener, the first African American graduate of Harvard, was born. Born in Philadelphia, his mother moved the family to the Boston area in search of educational opportunities for her children....
Gloucester Fish Companies Merge
Gloucester Fish Companies Merge
On this day in 1906, Slade Gorton and Company of Gloucester stunned the fishing industry by announcing that it would merge with three other local fishing companies. With a fleet of 55 vessels, mostly sleek...
Boston Dentist Demonstrates Ether
Boston Dentist Demonstrates Ether
On this day in 1846, a crowd gathered in the operating theater at Massachusetts General Hospital. A Boston printer with a tumor on his jaw lay on the table. Curious and skeptical physicians and...
Brookline Amateur Wins U.S. Open
Brookline Amateur Wins U.S. Open
On this day in 1913, at The Country Club in Brookline, 20-year-old Francis Ouimet became the first amateur to win the U.S. Open Golf Tournament. Growing up in an immigrant family across the street from...
Firemen and Irish Clash in Boston Riot
Firemen and Irish Clash in Boston Riot
On this day in 1837, an Irish funeral procession and a company of Yankee volunteer firefighters came face-to-face in the streets of Boston. Over the next few hours, the two groups and their supporters fought...
Boston Public Library Receives $1 Million Donation
Boston Public Library Receives $1 Million Donation
On this day in 1947, self-made millionaire John Deferrari donated over $1,000,000 to the Boston Public Library to express his gratitude to the institution he credited with his success. The son of poor Italian immigrants,...
Ponzi Scheme Begins to Unravel
Ponzi Scheme Begins to Unravel
On this day in 1920, the Boston Post ran a story that ultimately exposed one of the biggest financial swindles in history. In a series of articles that won the paper its first Pulitzer Prize,...
State Acts to Protect Mt. Greylock
State Acts to Protect Mt. Greylock
On this day in 1898, the legislature established the first state park in Massachusetts on Mount Greylock. The tallest peak in the state, at almost 3500 feet, Greylock is like an island, different in geology,...
Maria Mitchell Discovers Comet
Maria Mitchell Discovers Comet
On this day in 1847, 29-year-old Maria Mitchell stood on the roof of her parent's Nantucket home, focusing her telescope on what she believed to be a faraway star. Suddenly she realized that the blurry...
Red Sox Retire Yastrzemski's Number
Red Sox Retire Yastrzemski's Number
On this day in 1989, the Boston Red Sox retired Carl Yastrzemski's Number 8. Only 20 years old when he took over for the great Ted Williams in left field in 1961, he went on...