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Stock Market Crash Heralds Great Depression
Stock Market Crash Heralds Great Depression
On this day in 1929, stock markets in Boston, New York, and other major American cities tumbled so dramatically that the day was named Black Tuesday. Capping five days of frenzied panic selling, Black Tuesday...
Battle Begins on Lexington Common
Battle Begins on Lexington Common
On this day in 1775, the first shots were fired in the cause of American independence. In Ralph Waldo Emerson's famous poem, "the shot heard 'round the world" came from the musket of a Concord...
Bostonians Respond to Irish Famine
Bostonians Respond to Irish Famine
On this day in 1847, Boston's leading citizens held a meeting at Fanueil Hall in response to news of the famine devastating Ireland. With the failure of the potato crop several years in a row,...
Lynn Shoeworkers Strike
Lynn Shoeworkers Strike
On this day in 1860, thousands of striking shoeworkers filled Lyceum Hall in Lynn. By choosing to begin their protest on Washington's birthday, the strikers were invoking the memory of their revolutionary forefathers. Lynn had...
Anti-war Activists Sentenced to Prison
Anti-war Activists Sentenced to Prison
On this day in 1968, four men were sentenced to federal prison for counseling young men to refuse military service. Dubbed the Boston Five, the defendants included famed baby doctor Benjamin Spock and Yale Chaplain...
Route 128 Opens Boston's High Tech Age
Route 128 Opens Boston's High Tech Age
On this day in 1951, the first segment of Route 128 was opened. By 1956, the expressway stretched 65 miles from Gloucester to Braintree. While officials were confident the road would relieve traffic in Boston...
Doug Flutie Throws "Hail Mary" Pass
Doug Flutie Throws "Hail Mary" Pass
On this day in 1984, Doug Flutie threw a last-second "Hail Mary" touchdown pass to Gerard Phelan in the end zone, giving Boston College a 47-45 win over the University of Miami. Considered too short...
Massachusetts Bay Colony Bans Catholic Priests
Massachusetts Bay Colony Bans Catholic Priests
On this day in 1647, Massachusetts Bay banned Jesuit priests from the colony on penalty of death. The English Puritans who settled the colony feared the Jesuits for several reasons. First, simply because they were...
Benjamin Franklin Introduces "Silence Dogood"
Benjamin Franklin Introduces "Silence Dogood"
On this day in 1722, the Boston paper The Courant first published a letter from a widow with a keen wit and a gift for satire. Every few weeks, another letter from "Silence Dogood" appeared....
Pitcher Cy Young Dies
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...