Trending Moments
John Greenleaf Whittier Dies
John Greenleaf Whittier Dies
On this day in 1892, the poet John Greenleaf Whittier died at the age of 85. He had come a long way from his Quaker boyhood on a struggling farm in Haverhill. He began writing...
Poet Anne Sexton Publishes First Book
Poet Anne Sexton Publishes First Book
On this day in 1960, Massachusetts poet Anne Sexton had her first collection of poems published, To Bedlam and Part Way Back. Just before the manuscript was to go to press, she made major changes...
Site for Cambridge Selected
Site for Cambridge Selected
On this day in 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Colony proprietors chose a site along the northern bank of the Charles River for their capital. They named it Newtowne, and laid out an orderly grid of...
Dr. Joslin Makes First Entry in Diabetic Ledger
Dr. Joslin Makes First Entry in Diabetic Ledger
On this day in 1893, a student at Harvard Medical School made the first entry in a ledger he would keep for the rest of his long career. Elliott Joslin examined a frail young Irish...
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...
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,...
Globe Publishes First Edition
Globe Publishes First Edition
On this day in 1872, a brand-new newspaper hit the streets of Boston. Costing four cents, the Globe had twice the number of pages as most competitors for the same price. But even at a...
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,...
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...
Ellen Swallow Marries Robert Richards
Ellen Swallow Marries Robert Richards
On this day in 1875, Ellen Swallow married M.I.T. Professor Robert Hallowell Richards. Three days later, they set off on a wedding trip to Nova Scotia — accompanied by Robert Richards's class in mining engineering....