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Indian Rights Activist Born in Amherst

October 15, 1830
October 15, 1830

Indian Rights Activist Born in Amherst

On this day in 1830, an Amherst College professor and his wife rejoiced at the safe delivery of their second child, Helen Maria Fiske. A lifelong friend of Emily Dickinson and a talented poet in...

Boston Doctors Appeal for Mental Hospital

August 10, 1810
August 10, 1810

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...

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...

Northfield Couple Launches U.S. Youth Hostel Movement

December 27, 1934
December 27, 1934

Northfield Couple Launches U.S. Youth Hostel Movement

On this day in 1934, Isabel and Monroe Smith opened the first U.S. youth hostel in Northfield. The young couple had discovered hosteling during a trip to Europe and had become devoted disciples of the...

Ted Shawn Theater Opens at Jacob's Pillow

July 9, 1942
July 9, 1942

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,...

Worcester Becomes a City

February 29, 1848
February 29, 1848

Worcester Becomes a City

On this day in 1848, the Governor of Massachusetts signed a charter giving the once-sleepy village of Worcester the legal status of a city. For over a century, Worcester's isolated location in the hilly center...

Boston Celebrates Opening of Aqueduct

October 25, 1848
October 25, 1848

Boston Celebrates Opening of Aqueduct

On this day in 1848, 300,000 people from all over New England gathered on Boston Common. They came to celebrate the completion of the city's first municipal water system. With the construction of an aqueduct...

Eric Carle Museum Opens in Amherst

November 22, 2002
November 22, 2002

Eric Carle Museum Opens in Amherst

On this day in 2002, the nation's first museum of picture book art opened in Amherst. A decade earlier, children's book author and illustrator Eric Carle had visited a picture book museum in Tokyo and...

Governor Honors Activist Melnea Cass

June 19, 1968
June 19, 1968

Governor Honors Activist Melnea Cass

On this day in 1968, Governor John Volpe dedicated the Melnea Cass Swimming and Skating Rink in Roxbury. The new facility was intended to improve life in Boston's urban neighborhoods. It was named for a...

Foster Furcolo, State's First Italian American Governor, Born

July 29, 1911
July 29, 1911

Foster Furcolo, State's First Italian American Governor, Born

On this day in 1911, Foster Furcolo was born in New Haven. Raised in Connecticut and educated at Yale, Furcolo moved to Springfield after World War II. In 1948 he won a seat in the...

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