Trending Moments
Legislature Allows Establishment of Mount Auburn Cemetery
Legislature Allows Establishment of Mount Auburn Cemetery
On this day in 1831, the legislature granted the Massachusetts Horticultural Society permission to purchase land for use as an experimental garden and a rural cemetery. Located on the border of Cambridge and Watertown, the...
Quincy Shipyard Launches First Nuclear Powered Cruiser
Quincy Shipyard Launches First Nuclear Powered Cruiser
On this day in 1959, the nation's first nuclear-powered cruiser was launched from Fore River Shipyard in Quincy. With its deep and sheltered harbor, Quincy was an ideal site for shipbuilding. Men had been building...
Office to Help Freed Slaves Opens in Worcester
Office to Help Freed Slaves Opens in Worcester
On this day in 1867, a Worcester newspaper announced that "in accordance with the desire of a number of citizens," a freedmens' office would be established to make it easy for white employers to hire...
Boston Receives First Transcontinental TV Broadcast
Boston Receives First Transcontinental TV Broadcast
On this day in 1951, anyone in Boston with access to a television set could be part of history — a program was transmitted live from coast-to-coast for the first time ever. President Harry Truman's...
WW II Sends Record Number of Bay State Women to Work
WW II Sends Record Number of Bay State Women to Work
On this day in 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor launched the people of Massachusetts into World War II — and out of the Depression. The state's industrial cities and shipyards sprang back to...
Calvin Coolidge Sworn in as President
Calvin Coolidge Sworn in as President
On this day in 1923, upon the death of Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as President of the United States. "Silent Cal" had been the Republican governor of Massachusetts, little known outside...
Ruiz Wins World Heavyweight Championship
Ruiz Wins World Heavyweight Championship
On this day in 2001, boxer Johnny Ruiz of Chelsea defeated Evander Holyfield in 12 rounds to become the first-ever Latino WBA heavyweight champion. Trained at a club in Somerville, Ruiz combined discipline with determination...
First Artificial Snow Falls on Mt. Greylock
First Artificial Snow Falls on Mt. Greylock
On this day in 1946, an airplane flew over Mount Greylock in western Massachusetts and seeded the clouds with super-cooled ice crystals. The first-ever artificially-produced snow melted before it hit the slopes below, but the...
Harvard Shakers Record Spiritual Visit
Harvard Shakers Record Spiritual Visit
On this day in 1841, the Shakers in Harvard reported a spiritual visit by their long-dead founder Mother Ann, "Holy Angels," and "ancient Saints and departed spirits." Shaker communities across New England were receiving such...
Berkshire Town Sends Giant Cheese Ball to Washington
Berkshire Town Sends Giant Cheese Ball to Washington
On this day in 1801, the Berkshire County town of Cheshire made a 1235-pound ball of cheese and shipped it to Washington, D.C. as a gift for the newly-elected President, Thomas Jefferson, who was a...