Trending Moments

Abner Kneeland Prints Blasphemous Letter

December 20, 1833
December 20, 1833

Abner Kneeland Prints Blasphemous Letter

On this day in 1833, religious and social reformer Abner Kneeland printed a letter deemed so blasphemous by a Massachusetts court that it landed the former clergyman in jail. Kneeland capped 30 years of increasingly...

Boston Movie Mogul Releases First Movie

December 29, 1918
December 29, 1918

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...

Springfield Dedicates Memorial to Dr. Seuss

May 31, 2002
May 31, 2002

Springfield Dedicates Memorial to Dr. Seuss

On this day in 2002, Springfield celebrated the completion of a memorial to a hometown hero, Dr. Seuss. Located in the Library and Museum Quadrangle is a bronze sculpture garden peopled with characters from Dr....

Children's Cancer Research Foundation Incorporated

June 8, 1951
June 8, 1951

Children's Cancer Research Foundation Incorporated

On this day in 1951 the Children's Cancer Research Foundation was incorporated. Founded by pioneering Boston physician Sidney Farber, it was the first cancer center in the country designed specifically for children. In the days...

Bedford Responds to "Boston Pamphlet"

March 1, 1773
March 1, 1773

Bedford Responds to "Boston Pamphlet"

On this day in 1773, the town of Bedford held its annual meeting. Along with the routine matters to be addressed, there was one unusual item of business. The Town Meeting was asked to decide...

Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers Dies

September 10, 1960
September 10, 1960

Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers Dies

On this day in 1960, Representative Edith Nourse Rogers died of a heart attack in a Boston hospital, just three days before the end of her nineteenth campaign. The longest-serving woman in congressional history, she...

Islamic Society Breaks Ground in Roxbury

November 7, 2002
November 7, 2002

Islamic Society Breaks Ground in Roxbury

On this day in 2002, the Islamic Society of Boston held a ceremonial groundbreaking in Roxbury for New England's largest mosque and Islamic cultural center. The Society had grown from a handful of Cambridge-based students...

John Updike Elected to National Institute of Arts and Letters

April 1, 1964
April 1, 1964

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...

George Peabody Thanks Danvers

November 30, 1853
November 30, 1853

George Peabody Thanks Danvers

On this day in 1853, George Peabody thanked the citizens of South Danvers for naming the high school in his honor and immediately set up a $200 account "to be expended as rewards of merit...

Congress Designates Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

November 10, 1986
November 10, 1986

Congress Designates Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

On this day in 1986, Congress designated the historic Blackstone River Valley a National Heritage Corridor. Running from Worcester to Providence, the Blackstone Valley lays claim to being the birthplace of the industrial revolution in...

Mass Moments is a project of Mass Humanities, whose mission is to support programs that use history, literature, philosophy, and the other humanities disciplines to enhance and improve civic life throughout the Commonwealth.

Please consider helping us towards our goals with a donation today.

Interested in sponsoring Mass Moments?

Please calculate 1 plus 2.