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King Philip's War Breaks Out

June 24, 1675
June 24, 1675

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...

Clarence Birdseye Tests Frozen Food

March 6, 1930
March 6, 1930

Clarence Birdseye Tests Frozen Food

On this day in 1930, shoppers in Springfield became the first Americans to find frozen food in their grocery stores. A test marketing program was designed to see if people would buy frozen food. And...

Fannie Farmer Cookbook Published

January 7, 1896
January 7, 1896

Fannie Farmer Cookbook Published

On this day in 1896, the first edition of the Boston Cooking-School Cookbook was published. Later known as the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, the book was the work of Fannie Farmer, born in Boston and raised...

Longfellow's Wife Dies

November 29, 1835
November 29, 1835

Longfellow's Wife Dies

On this day in 1835, 28-year-old Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was devastated by the death of his beloved young wife, Mary. The couple had been traveling in Europe as the poet prepared to begin teaching literature...

James Reeb Dies in Alabama

March 10, 1965
March 10, 1965

James Reeb Dies in Alabama

On this day in 1965, a white minister from Boston lay near death in an Alabama hospital. As James Reeb's life slipped away, his story was in every morning paper and on every evening news...

Jonathan Edwards Ordained

February 5, 1727
February 5, 1727

Jonathan Edwards Ordained

On this day in 1727, Jonathan Edwards was ordained in Northampton. Two years later, he succeeded his grandfather as minister of what was then the largest and most influential church outside of Boston. He was...

Brownies Take a Winter Swim

January 1, 1904
January 1, 1904

Brownies Take a Winter Swim

On this day in 1904, the L Street Brownies held their first New Year's Day swim in Boston Harbor. Every year since then, a crowd of swimmers and an even larger crowd of onlookers has...

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...

Pitcher Cy Young Dies

November 4, 1955
November 4, 1955

Pitcher Cy Young Dies

On this day in 1955, legendary pitcher Cy Young died. He spent much of his 22-year career in Boston, arriving in 1901 to play for the new American League team that would become the Red...

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...

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