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Fugitive Slave Anthony Burns Arrested
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
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
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...
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...
Boston Masons Organize First Grand Lodge in America
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
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
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
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
"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...