Trending Moments

Ellen Swallow Marries Robert Richards

June 4, 1875
June 4, 1875

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....

Maria Mitchell Discovers Comet

October 1, 1847
October 1, 1847

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...

Ponzi Scheme Begins to Unravel

July 24, 1920
July 24, 1920

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,...

Red Sox Retire Yastrzemski's Number

August 6, 1989
August 6, 1989

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...

African Meeting House Opens

December 4, 1806
December 4, 1806

African Meeting House Opens

On this day in 1806, the Reverend Thomas Paul was installed as pastor of the new African Meeting House in Boston. Two days later, the church was officially dedicated. The Meeting House served as a...

Smithsonian Puts Julia Child's Kitchen on Display

August 19, 2002
August 19, 2002

Smithsonian Puts Julia Child's Kitchen on Display

On this day in 2002, a new exhibit opened in Washington, DC. The kitchen in Julia Child's Cambridge home of 32 years had been disassembled and moved to the Smithsonian. Designed by her husband Paul...

Boston Celebrates 250th Birthday

September 17, 1880
September 17, 1880

Boston Celebrates 250th Birthday

On this day in 1880 Boston celebrated its 250th birthday. For three and a half hours during the day, a column of 14,500 people marched four and a half miles though the city. The festivities...

Architect Charles Bulfinch Obtains Mortgage

December 18, 1794
December 18, 1794

Architect Charles Bulfinch Obtains Mortgage

On this day in 1794, Boston architect Charles Bulfinch obtained a mortgage for the house he had recently designed and built for his family. The 31-year-old Bulfinch had donated so many plans for city churches,...

First CCC Enrollees Arrive at Ft. Devens

April 13, 1933
April 13, 1933

First CCC Enrollees Arrive at Ft. Devens

On this day in 1933, the first enrollees of the Massachusetts Civilian Conservation Corps arrived at Fort Devens in Ayer. They were soldiers in a peacetime army that, in the words of the men who...

U.S. Hockey Team Wins Olympic Gold

February 24, 1980
February 24, 1980

U.S. Hockey Team Wins Olympic Gold

On this day in 1980, the U.S. hockey team beat Finland to win the Gold Medal at the Lake Placid Olympics. What really captured the country's imagination occurred two days earlier in the semi-finals. The...

Mass Moments is a project of Mass Humanities, whose mission is to support programs that use history, literature, philosophy, and the other humanities disciplines to enhance and improve civic life throughout the Commonwealth.

Please consider helping us towards our goals with a donation today.

Interested in sponsoring Mass Moments?

Please add 1 and 5.
An Error Occurred: Internal Server Error

Oops! An Error Occurred

The server returned a "500 Internal Server Error".

Something is broken. Please let us know what you were doing when this error occurred. We will fix it as soon as possible. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.