Trending Moments
Critic Declares Springsteen Future of Rock and Roll
Critic Declares Springsteen Future of Rock and Roll
On this day in 1974, 25-year-old Bruce Springsteen played at the Harvard Square Theater in Cambridge. Although popular with the college crowd in the Northeast, Springsteen was not yet a star. That night, he and...
Nation's First Subway Opens in Boston
Nation's First Subway Opens in Boston
On this day in 1897, at 6 am, over 100 people crowded onto the first train to travel through a tunnel under downtown Boston. More than 100,000 people would take the three-and-a-half minute trip that...
Perkins School for the Blind Incorporated
Perkins School for the Blind Incorporated
On this day in 1829, the New England Asylum for the Blind was incorporated in Boston. The institution opened with six students, but within six years, it had ten times that number. For the first time, blind...
Shadrach Minkins Seized
Shadrach Minkins Seized
On this day in 1851, a group of outraged African American men burst into a courtroom in Boston and rescued Shadrach Minkins, the first escaped slave seized in New England under the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law....
Quakers Outlawed in Plymouth
Quakers Outlawed in Plymouth
On this day in 1658, Plymouth Court ordered that any boat carrying Quakers to Sandwich be seized to prevent the religious heretics from landing. A year earlier, Quakers in Sandwich had established the first Friends‘...
Puritans Leave for Massachusetts
Puritans Leave for Massachusetts
On this day in 1630, the last well-wishers stepped off the ship Arbella and returned to shore. More than a week after the vessel first set out, the winds were finally favorable. The ship weighed...
Fire Destroys Malden Mills
Fire Destroys Malden Mills
On this day in 1995, a massive, wind-whipped fire completely destroyed three buildings at Malden Mills in Lawrence, where the company's signature Polartec fabric was produced. Just two weeks before Christmas, thousands of workers faced...
King Philip's War Breaks Out
King Philip's War Breaks Out
On this day in 1675, Wampanoag warriors killed seven colonists in Swansea in retaliation for a series of injustices suffered at the hands of the English. This raid is generally considered the beginning of King...
Supreme Court Strikes Down "Separate but Equal"
Supreme Court Strikes Down "Separate but Equal"
On this day in 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the doctrine of separate but equal. "Segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race . . . deprives the children of...
Alexander Graham Bell Receives First Patent
Alexander Graham Bell Receives First Patent
On this day in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone. Born in Scotland, Bell settled in Boston when he was in his early 20s. He made his living as a teacher...