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Amherst's Troops Camp on Boston Common
Amherst's Troops Camp on Boston Common
On this day in 1758, 4,500 British troops under the command of Jeffrey Amherst camped on Boston Common before setting off to fight the French. Newly promoted to Major-General, Amherst had recently engineered an important...
Hawthorne Visits Natural Bridge in North Adams
Hawthorne Visits Natural Bridge in North Adams
On this day in 1838, Nathaniel Hawthorne visited Natural Bridge just outside of North Adams. It was just the kind of awe-inspiring scene that so moved early tourists. A 30-foot-long natural marble bridge — the...
Framingham Disassembles Meetinghouse
Framingham Disassembles Meetinghouse
On this day in 1735, Framingham's town meeting voted to "give the old meeting house frame" to their minister, who would undoubtedly find another use for it. The town had erected its first meetinghouse in...
Newbury Offers Wolf Bounty
Newbury Offers Wolf Bounty
On this day in 1704, the town of Newbury voted to pay a bounty to men who had killed two wolves on Plum Island. Wolves were a threat to the cattle, sheep, and pigs grazing...
First Whale Watch Departs
First Whale Watch Departs
On this day in 1975 charter boat captain Al Avellar left Provincetown Harbor with a boatload of school children. They were going to look, not fish. This was the first whale-watching trip on the eastern...
Strike Ends in Hopedale
Strike Ends in Hopedale
On this day in 1913, a 13-week strike at the Draper Corporation in Hopedale ended in failure, and the workers returned to their jobs. This was a time of labor unrest throughout the country, but...
Lowell Women Sign On to Teach in the West
Lowell Women Sign On to Teach in the West
On this day in 1864, a visitor from Seattle held a meeting in Lowell. Asa Mercer explained to his largely female audience that there was a great scarcity of teachers in the Washington Territory. Jobs...
Yiddish Book Rescuer Wins Genius Grant
Yiddish Book Rescuer Wins Genius Grant
On this day in 1989, an Amherst man who had spent more than a decade scrounging in dumpsters, basements, and attics was awarded a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant." Aaron Lansky led an initially quixotic campaign...
John Updike Elected to National Institute of Arts and Letters
John Updike Elected to National Institute of Arts and Letters
On this day in 1964, John Updike was at 32 the youngest person elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Updike wrote more than 60 books — novels, poetry, drama, essays, memoirs, and...
Boston Movie Mogul Releases First Movie
Boston Movie Mogul Releases First Movie
On this day in 1918, Louis B. Mayer traveled from his Boston office to New York City for the premiere of his first movie release, the silent film Virtuous Wives. A decade earlier, Mayer had...