Trending Moments

Babysitter Wins Lottery Jackpot

April 6, 1999
April 6, 1999

Babysitter Wins Lottery Jackpot

On this day in 1999, Maria Grasso of Boston won what was then the largest payoff to a single individual in an American lottery — $197,000,000. An immigrant from Chile, Grasso had arrived in the...

Berkshire Town Sends Giant Cheese Ball to Washington

July 20, 1801
July 20, 1801

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...

Dr. Susan Dimock Begins Medical Residency

August 20, 1872
August 20, 1872

Dr. Susan Dimock Begins Medical Residency

On this day in 1872, Dr. Susan Dimock became the resident physician at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston. Only a month earlier, she had returned from medical school in Europe,...

Dr. Harriot K. Hunt Visits the Shakers

July 7, 1848
July 7, 1848

Dr. Harriot K. Hunt Visits the Shakers

On this day in 1848, Dr. Harriot K. Hunt of Boston, one of the nation's first female physicians, made a visit to the Shaker community in Harvard. She found much to her liking. There were...

Annie Oakley Purchases Smith & Wesson Gun

April 25, 1888
April 25, 1888

Annie Oakley Purchases Smith & Wesson Gun

On this day in 1888, Annie Oakley, the star female sharpshooter in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, purchased a Model 3 handgun made by the Springfield firm of Smith & Wesson. Horace Smith and...

Boston Receives First Transcontinental TV Broadcast

September 4, 1951
September 4, 1951

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...

Legislature Designates Day of Remembrance for Armenian Genocide

April 24, 1990
April 24, 1990

Legislature Designates Day of Remembrance for Armenian Genocide

On this day in 1990, the 75th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Massachusetts legislature officially designated the date as a Day of Remembrance for the million and a half Armenians killed in the first...

Loyalist Despairs at British Defeat

December 9, 1781
December 9, 1781

Loyalist Despairs at British Defeat

On this day in 1781, Loyalist lawyer Ward Chipman of Boston wrote despairingly to his friend Jonathan Sewall who had gone into exile in London. Chipman confessed, "the mortification of seeing our Enemies . ....

USS Constitution Launched in Boston

October 21, 1797
October 21, 1797

USS Constitution Launched in Boston

On this day in 1797, USS Constitution was launched in Boston. It took three attempts to set the immense ship, reinforced with heavy diagonal planking and copper sheathing, afloat. Shipyard officials warned townspeople to be...

Boston Wheelmen Sponsor Nation's First 100-Mile Bicycle Race

September 6, 1882
September 6, 1882

Boston Wheelmen Sponsor Nation's First 100-Mile Bicycle Race

On this day in 1882, seven men took over 12 hours to cover the distance from Worcester to Boston in the nation's first 100-mile bicycle race. Boston was becoming the bicycle capital of America. Pedestrians...

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