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Bread and Roses Strike Begins

January 12, 1912
January 12, 1912

Bread and Roses Strike Begins

On this day in 1912, the labor protest later known as the "Bread and Roses" strike began in Lawrence. A new state law had reduced the maximum workweek from 56 to 54 hours. Factory owners...

Great Molasses Flood

January 15, 1919
January 15, 1919

Great Molasses Flood

On this day in 1919, people in Boston's North End were startled by a loud rumbling noise. They watched in horror as a five-story tank broke apart, unleashing a wave of molasses 15 feet high...

Marconi Transmits Radio Message

January 18, 1903
January 18, 1903

Marconi Transmits Radio Message

On this day in 1903, Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian inventor of wireless telegraphy, arrived on Cape Cod hoping to make history. The night was cold but perfectly clear, and the first trans-Atlantic radio transmission, a...

Rebels Attack Springfield Arsenal

January 25, 1787
January 25, 1787

Rebels Attack Springfield Arsenal

On this day in 1787, 2,000 farmers from western Massachusetts attacked the new federal arsenal at Springfield. The government soldiers returned fire, killing three of the farmers. This was the beginning of the end of...

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...

Alexander Graham Bell Receives First Patent

March 7, 1876
March 7, 1876

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...

Eli Whitney Patents the Cotton Gin

March 14, 1794
March 14, 1794

Eli Whitney Patents the Cotton Gin

On this day in 1794, Westborough native Eli Whitney applied for a patent on the cotton gin. Raised on a farm in Massachusetts, he invented a machine that made growing cotton so profitable that the...

Frances Perkins Born in Boston

April 10, 1880
April 10, 1880

Frances Perkins Born in Boston

On this day in 1880, Frances Perkins, the first woman to hold a cabinet position, was born in Boston. Raised in Worcester, she attended Mt. Holyoke College, where she became committed to improving the lot...

"Mill Girl" Writer Lucy Larcom Dies

April 17, 1893
April 17, 1893

"Mill Girl" Writer Lucy Larcom Dies

On this day in 1893, Lucy Larcom died. A popular poet during her lifetime, she would be forgotten today except for a work of prose that she wrote in 1889. Her autobiography, A New England...

G.E. Engineers Test Jet Engine

April 18, 1942
April 18, 1942

G.E. Engineers Test Jet Engine

On this day in 1942, after months of highly secret work, GE engineers in Lynn successfully tested the engine they called by the innocuous name "I-A." It was the first jet engine built in the...

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