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Fugitive Slave Anthony Burns Arrested

May 24, 1854
May 24, 1854

Fugitive Slave Anthony Burns Arrested

On this day in 1854, Anthony Burns, a fugitive slave from Virginia, was arrested in Boston. His capture enraged black and white abolitionists. Two days after the arrest, a number of them attacked the federal...

Quabbin Reservoir Filled to the Brim

June 22, 1946
June 22, 1946

Quabbin Reservoir Filled to the Brim

On this day in 1946, water flowed over the spillway and officials declared Quabbin Reservoir full. Construction took more than 20 years and required the obliteration of four towns in the Swift River Valley. More...

Herman Melville Sails from New Bedford

January 3, 1841
January 3, 1841

Herman Melville Sails from New Bedford

On this day in 1841, Herman Melville boarded the whaleship Acushnet and sailed out of New Bedford, the whaling capital of the world. As he later wrote about his character Ishmael, that ship would be...

Skater Nancy Kerrigan Assaulted

January 6, 1994
January 6, 1994

Skater Nancy Kerrigan Assaulted

On this day in 1994, Nancy Kerrigan of Stoneham was practicing for the U.S Figure Skating championships. As she left the ice and stopped to speak to a reporter, a man assaulted her with a...

The Crucible Opens on Broadway

January 22, 1953
January 22, 1953

The Crucible Opens on Broadway

On this day in 1953, Arthur Miller's play The Crucible opened on Broadway. Four years after winning the Pulitzer Prize for Death of a Salesman, Miller had written a far more controversial play. Set in...

Boston Masons Organize First Grand Lodge in America

July 30, 1733
July 30, 1733

Boston Masons Organize First Grand Lodge in America

On this day in 1733, 18 men gathered at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern on King Street in Boston and organized the first Masonic Lodge in North America. The fraternal society was based loosely on...

Boston Burns

March 20, 1760
March 20, 1760

Boston Burns

On this day in 1760, the dreaded cry of "Fire!" roused sleeping Bostonians. Over the next ten hours, the worst fire to strike a colonial American city ravaged the capital of Massachusetts. Beginning in a...

Angelina Grimke Addresses Legislature

February 21, 1838
February 21, 1838

Angelina Grimke Addresses Legislature

On this day in 1838 a woman addressed a legislative body for the first time in American history. An overflow crowd gathered at the State House in Boston as Angelina Grimké, daughter of a South...

The Fortune Sails from Plymouth for England

December 13, 1621
December 13, 1621

The Fortune Sails from Plymouth for England

On this day in 1621, the ship Fortune set sail from Plymouth Colony. The arrival of the vessel two weeks earlier — sent by the English investors who had funded the Mayflower colonists— should have...

"Gerrymander" Born in Massachusetts

February 11, 1812
February 11, 1812

"Gerrymander" Born in Massachusetts

On this day in 1812, a political monster — the "Gerrymander" — was born in the Massachusetts State House. Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a bill that created oddly-shaped voting districts in several parts of the...

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