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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...
Trainer Discovers Seabiscuit at Suffolk Downs
Trainer Discovers Seabiscuit at Suffolk Downs
On this day in 1936, Tom Smith, an experienced horse trainer, spied an unlikely looking three-year-old Thoroughbred on the track at East Boston's Suffolk Downs. The two exchanged knowing nods. One year later, Smith returned...
Loyalist Despairs at British Defeat
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 . ....
Mashpee Indians Sue for Recognition
Mashpee Indians Sue for Recognition
On this day in 1978, a trial began on Cape Cod to determine whether the Mashpee Indians met the legal definition of a tribe. If they did, they could sue for the return of land...
Babysitter Wins Lottery Jackpot
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...
USS Constitution Launched in Boston
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...
State House Celebrates "Return of the Colors"
State House Celebrates "Return of the Colors"
On this day in 1865, Governor John Andrew officially received the battered regimental colors of Massachusetts units of the Union Army in a solemn State House ceremony called "The Return of the Flags." It had...
John Howe Spies on Concord, or Not
John Howe Spies on Concord, or Not
On this day in 1775, John Howe arrived in Concord to spy for British General Gage. He quickly gained the trust of the town's leading patriots. They took him to a storehouse, showed him the...
Ted Shawn Theater Opens at Jacob's Pillow
Ted Shawn Theater Opens at Jacob's Pillow
On this day in 1942, the first theater in the nation dedicated exclusively to dance opened at Jacob's Pillow in Becket, a small town in the Berkshire Hills. The building was named for Ted Shawn,...
Boston Doctors Appeal for Mental Hospital
Boston Doctors Appeal for Mental Hospital
On August 20, 1810, two Boston doctors circulated an appeal for "a hospital for the reception of lunatics and other sick persons." (Some sources, including, until recently, Mass Moments, erroneously date the letter to August...