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Quabbin Reservoir Filled to the Brim
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...
The Crucible Opens on Broadway
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...
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...
Herman Melville Sails from New Bedford
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
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...
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...
Angelina Grimke Addresses Legislature
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...
Boston Burns
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...
The Fortune Sails from Plymouth for England
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...
Ku Klux Klan Rallies in Worcester
Ku Klux Klan Rallies in Worcester
On this day in 1924, the largest gathering of the Ku Klux Klan ever held in New England took place at the Agricultural Fairgrounds in Worcester. Klansmen in sheets and hoods, new Knights awaiting a...