Trending Moments
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...
Longfellow's Wife Dies
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...
The 'Sacred' Cod Moves to the New State House
The 'Sacred' Cod Moves to the New State House
On this day in 1798, the Massachusetts legislature paraded solemnly from the Old State House to its quarters in a new building at the top of Beacon Hill. Designed by Boston-born architect Charles Bulfinch, the...
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...
Charles Goodyear Receives Patent for Vulcanized Rubber
Charles Goodyear Receives Patent for Vulcanized Rubber
On this day in 1844, after a decade of hardship and perseverance, Charles Goodyear received a patent for vulcanized rubber. The first boots and clothing made from rubber had performed poorly in the American environment....
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...
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,...
Emily Greene Balch Born
Emily Greene Balch Born
On this day in 1867, Emily Balch was born in Jamaica Plain. Her parents' affluence and enlightened views allowed her to attend college at a time when few women did. She entered Bryn Mawr in...
Sophia Smith Endows New Women's College
Sophia Smith Endows New Women's College
On this day in 1870, a shy but determined woman from Hatfield willed that her fortune be used to establish a women's college in Northampton. The first woman in America to endow a college for...
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...