Timeline of Boston history
Encyclopedia
This is a timeline of the history of Boston, Massachusetts
, USA.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, USA.
17th century
- 1625
- William BlaxtonWilliam BlaxtonReverend William Blaxton was an early British settler in New England, and the first European settler of modern day Boston and Rhode Island.-Biography:...
arrives
- William Blaxton
- 1630
- First Church in BostonFirst Church in BostonFirst Church in Boston is a Unitarian Universalist Church founded in 1630 by John Winthrop's original Puritan settlement in Boston, Massachusetts. The current building is on 66 Marlborough Street in Boston.-History:...
established - September - Boston named
- First Church in Boston
- 1635
- Boston Latin SchoolBoston Latin SchoolThe Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
founded
- Boston Latin School
- 1637
- Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of MassachusettsAncient and Honorable Artillery Company of MassachusettsThe Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the third oldest chartered military organization in the world...
founded
- Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts
- 1638
- Anne HutchinsonAnne HutchinsonAnne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
excommunicated
- Anne Hutchinson
- 1649
- Second Church, BostonSecond Church, BostonThe Second Church in Boston, Massachusetts was first a congregational church, and then beginning in 1802, a unitarian church. The congregation occupied a number of successive locations around town, including North Square, Hanover Street, Copley Square, and the Fenway. Ministers included Increase...
established
- Second Church, Boston
- 1657
- Scots Charitable Society of BostonScots Charitable Society of BostonThe Scots Charitable Society of Boston, Massachusetts, was established to provide relief for local, "needy Scotch people, after proper investigation." It "enjoys the distinction of being the oldest Scots society in America." It "became the prototype for thousands of other groups" of private...
founded
- Scots Charitable Society of Boston
- 1658
- First Town-House, BostonFirst Town-House, BostonThe First Town-House in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony was located on the site of the Old State House and served as Boston's first purpose-built town hall and colonial government seat....
built
- First Town-House, Boston
- 1660
- June 1 - Mary DyerMary DyerMary Baker Dyer was an English Puritan turned Quaker who was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony , for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony...
hanged
- June 1 - Mary Dyer
- 1679
- Province House (Boston, Massachusetts)Province House (Boston, Massachusetts)The Province House was a 17th-century mansion on old Marlborough Street in Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1679, it was the home of merchant Peter Sergeant, and after 1716, the official residence of royal governors of the Province of Massachusetts Bay...
built
- Province House (Boston, Massachusetts)
- 1680
- Paul Revere HousePaul Revere HouseThe Paul Revere House is the colonial home of American patriot Paul Revere during the time of the American Revolution. It is located at 19 North Square, Boston, Massachusetts, in the city's North End, and is now operated as a nonprofit museum by the Paul Revere Memorial Association. A small...
built (circa)
- Paul Revere House
- 1688
- King's ChapelKing's ChapelKing's Chapel is "an independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association" that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was formerly called "Stone Chapel", an 18th century...
built
- King's Chapel
- 1689
- The Boston Revolt1689 Boston revoltThe 1689 Boston revolt was a popular uprising on April 18, 1689, against the rule of Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of the Dominion of New England. A well-organized "mob" of provincial militia and citizens formed in the city and arrested dominion officials...
results in the overthrow of Sir Edmund Andros, unpopular governor of the Dominion of New EnglandDominion of New EnglandThe Dominion of New England in America was an administrative union of English colonies in the New England region of North America. The dominion was ultimately a failure because the area it encompassed was too large for a single governor to manage...
.
- The Boston Revolt
- 1699
- Brattle Street ChurchBrattle Street ChurchThe Brattle Street Church was a Congregational and Unitarian church on Brattle Street in Boston, Massachusetts.- Brief history :...
built
- Brattle Street Church
18th century
- 1704
- Capen houseUnion Oyster HouseYe Olde Union Oyster House, open to diners since 1826, is the oldest restaurant in the United States of America. It is located at 41-43 Union Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The building was listed as a National Historic Landmark on May 27, 2003....
built (circa) - April 24 - The Boston News-LetterThe Boston News-LetterFirst published on April 24, 1704, The Boston News-Letter is regarded as the first continuously published newspaper in British North America. It was heavily subsidized by the British government, with a limited circulation. The colonies’ first newspaper was Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and...
begins publication
- Capen house
- 1711
- Pierce-Hichborn HousePierce-Hichborn HouseThe Pierce-Hichborn House is an early Georgian house located at 19 North Square, Boston, Massachusetts. It is immediately adjacent to the Paul Revere House and is now operated as a nonprofit museum by the Paul Revere Memorial Association...
built (circa)
- Pierce-Hichborn House
- 1712
- Old Corner BookstoreOld Corner BookstoreThe Old Corner Bookstore is a historic building in the center of Boston, Massachusetts. It is located at the corner of Washington and School Streets, along the Freedom Trail of revolutionary and early American historic sites.-History:...
built (circa)
- Old Corner Bookstore
- 1713
- May - Boston Bread RiotBoston Bread RiotThe Boston Bread Riot was the last of a series of three riots by the poor of Boston, Massachusetts, between 1710 and 1713, in response to food shortages and high bread prices. The riot ended with minimal casualties.- Riot :...
- May - Boston Bread Riot
- 1719
- December 21 - Boston GazetteBoston GazetteThe Boston Gazette was a newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts, in the British North American colonies. It began publication December 21, 1719 and appeared weekly.-Brief history:...
begins publication
- December 21 - Boston Gazette
- 1723
- Old North ChurchOld North ChurchOld North Church , at 193 Salem Street, in the North End of Boston, is the location from which the famous "One if by land, and two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent...
built, Salem Street
- Old North Church
- 1729
- Old South Meeting HouseOld South Meeting HouseThe Old South Meeting House , in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston, Massachusetts, gained fame as the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. 5,000 colonists gathered at the Meeting House, the largest building in Boston at the time.-Church :The church, with its 56 m ...
built
- Old South Meeting House
- 1732
- Hollis Street ChurchHollis Street ChurchThe Hollis Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts, was a Congregational and Unitarian church. It merged with the South Congregational Society of Boston in 1887.- 1732-1825 :...
established
- Hollis Street Church
- 1733
- September 27 - Rebekah ChamblitRebekah ChamblitRebekah Chamblit lived in Boston, Massachusetts in the 18th-century. She was tried and executed in 1733 for infanticide.When she was 26 years old, the unmarried Chamblit became pregnant. In May, 1733, she gave birth to what was probably a stillborn...
executed
- September 27 - Rebekah Chamblit
- 1735
- Trinity ChurchTrinity Church, Boston (Summer Street)Trinity Church was an Episcopal church in Boston, Massachusetts, located on Summer Street. It housed Boston's third Anglican congregation...
built on Summer St.
- Trinity Church
- 1742
- Faneuil HallFaneuil HallFaneuil Hall , located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain, and is now part of...
built
- Faneuil Hall
- 1754
- Boston Marine SocietyBoston Marine SocietyThe Boston Marine Society is a charitable organization in Boston, Massachusetts, formed "to 'make navigation more safe' and to relieve members and their families in poverty or other 'adverse accidents in life.'" Membership generally consists of current and former ship captains...
incorporated
- Boston Marine Society
- 1755
- 1755 Cape Ann Earthquake1755 Cape Ann EarthquakeThe Cape Ann Earthquake took place off the coast of the British Province of Massachusetts Bay on November 18, 1755. At between 6.0 and 6.3 on the Richter scale, it remains the largest earthquake in the history of Massachusetts...
- 1755 Cape Ann Earthquake
- 1760
- March 20 - Fire
1770s
- 1770
- Massachusetts SpyMassachusetts SpyThe Massachusetts Spy was a newspaper published by Isaiah Thomas in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts in the 18th century.-Further reading:...
begins publication - March 5 - Boston MassacreBoston MassacreThe Boston Massacre, called the Boston Riot by the British, was an incident on March 5, 1770, in which British Army soldiers killed five civilian men. British troops had been stationed in Boston, capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, since 1768 in order to protect and support...
- Massachusetts Spy
- 1773
- Hutchinson Letters AffairHutchinson Letters AffairThe Hutchinson Letters Affair was an incident that increased tensions between the American colonies and the British government prior to the American Revolution...
- December 16 - Boston Tea PartyBoston Tea PartyThe Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
- Hutchinson Letters Affair
- 1774
- January - Royal American MagazineRoyal American MagazineThe Royal American Magazine, or Universal Repository of Instruction and Amusement was a short-lived monthly periodical published in Boston, Massachusetts by Isaiah Thomas and later by Joseph Greenleaf. It supported patriot sentiment...
begins publication
- January - Royal American Magazine
- 1775
- April 19 - Siege of BostonSiege of BostonThe Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...
begins
- April 19 - Siege of Boston
- 1776
- March 17 - Siege of Boston ends
1780s
- 1787
- October 18 - Massachusetts General CourtMassachusetts General CourtThe Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
receives U.S. Constitution
- October 18 - Massachusetts General Court
- 1788
- January 9 - Massachusetts convention to ratify U.S. ConstitutionHistory of the United States ConstitutionThe United States Constitution was written in 1787, but it did not take effect until after it was ratified in 1789, when it replaced the Articles of Confederation. It remains the basic law of the United States...
begins at State House - January 17 - Convention to ratify U.S. Constitution moves to Federal Street ChurchFederal Street Church (Boston)The Federal Street Church was a congregational unitarian church in Boston, Massachusetts. Organized in 1727, the presbyterian congregation changed in 1786 to Congregationalism, then adopted the liberal theology of its fifth Senior Minister, William Ellery Channing. For most of the 18th-century the...
- February 6 - Delegates ratify U.S. Constitution
- February 8 - Parade in honor of ratification of U.S. Constitution
- January 9 - Massachusetts convention to ratify U.S. Constitution
- 1789
- William Hill BrownWilliam Hill BrownWilliam Hill Brown was an American novelist, the author of what is usually considered the first American novel, The Power of Sympathy and "Harriot, Or The Domestick Reconciliation" as well as the serial essay "The Reformer" published in Isaiah Thomas' Massachusetts Magazine.In both, Brown proves an...
's The Power of Sympathy published - Massachusetts MagazineMassachusetts MagazineThe Massachusetts Magazine was published in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1789 through 1796. Also called the Monthly Museum of Knowledge and Rational Entertainment, it specialized in "poetry, music, biography, history, physics, geography, morality, criticism, philosophy, mathematics, agriculture,...
begins publication
- William Hill Brown
1790s
- 1791
- Massachusetts Historical SocietyMassachusetts Historical SocietyThe Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
founded
- Massachusetts Historical Society
- 1792
- Board Alley TheatreBoard Alley TheatreBoard Alley Theatre was an illegal theatre in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 18th-century. Also called the New Exhibition Room, it was located in Board Alley in the Financial District. Although some in town supported the theatre, others vehemently opposed it...
opens - Boston Library SocietyBoston Library SocietyThe Boston Library Society was a subscription library established in 1792 in Boston, Massachusetts. Incorporated in 1794, it was open to anyone able to pay the fee...
established
- Board Alley Theatre
- 1794
- Julien's RestoratorJulien's RestoratorJulien's Restorator was a restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts, established by French-born Jean Baptiste Gilbert Payplat dis Julien...
opens on Milk Street - February 3 - Federal Street TheatreFederal Street TheatreThe Federal Street Theatre , also known as the Boston Theatre, was located at the corner of Federal and Franklin streets in Boston, Massachusetts. It was "the first building erected purposely for theatrical entertainments in the town of Boston."-History:The original building was designed by Charles...
opening performance
- Julien's Restorator
- 1795
- Columbian MuseumColumbian MuseumThe Columbian Museum was a museum and performance space in Boston, Massachusetts, established by Daniel Bowen, and continued by William M. S. Doyle. The museum featured artworks, natural history specimens, wax figures, and other curiosities....
opens - Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic AssociationMassachusetts Charitable Mechanic AssociationThe Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association of Boston, Massachusetts, was "formed for the sole purposes of promoting the mechanic arts and extending the practice of benevolence." Founding members included Paul Revere, Benjamin Russell, and others...
established
- Columbian Museum
- 1796
- Haymarket Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)Haymarket Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)The Haymarket Theatre or Hay-Market Theatre was a theatre in late-18th century Boston, Massachusetts. Organized by Charles Stuart Powell, it occupied a large, wooden building "opposite the Mall on Common Street, near Hatch's Tavern." In addition to dramatic plays, the theatre presented some 62...
opens - Boston Medical Dispensary established
- Haymarket Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)
- 1797
- October 21 - USS ConstitutionUSS ConstitutionUSS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
launched
- October 21 - USS Constitution
- 1798
- Massachusetts State HouseMassachusetts State HouseThe Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the "New" State House, is the state capitol and house of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is located in Boston in the neighborhood Beacon Hill...
built
- Massachusetts State House
1800s
- 1803
- Boston Female AsylumBoston Female AsylumThe Boston Female Asylum was an orphanage in Boston, Massachusetts, "for the care of indigent girls." Its mission was to "receive ... protect ... and instruct ... female orphans until the age of 10 years, when they are placed in respectable families."-History:The Asylum incorporated in 1803....
incorporated - Holy Cross Church, BostonHoly Cross Church, BostonThe Church of the Holy Cross , located on Franklin Street in Boston, Massachusetts and designed by Charles Bulfinch, was the first church built for the city's Roman Catholics....
built
- Boston Female Asylum
- 1804
- Anthology ClubAnthology ClubThe Anthology Club, or Anthology Society was organized in 1804 in Boston, Massachusetts by the Rev. William Emerson, father of Ralph Waldo Emerson....
organized - Nichols houseNichols House MuseumNichols House Museum is a museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It was designed by the architect, Charles Bulfinch, and built by Jonathan Mason, the politician, in 1804. The building was renovated in 1830...
built - Social Law LibrarySocial Law LibraryThe Social Law Library, founded in 1804, is one of the oldest law libraries in the United States. It is located in the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston, Massachusetts, the same building which houses the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Appeals...
founded
- Anthology Club
- 1806
- African Meeting HouseAfrican Meeting HouseThe African Meeting House, also known variously as First African Baptist Church, First Independent Baptist Church and the Belknap Street Church, was built in 1806 and is now the oldest black church edifice still standing in the United States. It is located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston,...
built - Old West Church (Boston, Massachusetts) built
- African Meeting House
- 1807
- Boston AthenæumBoston AthenæumBoston Athenæum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of only sixteen extant membership libraries, meaning that patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use the Athenæum's services...
founded - Charles Street Meeting HouseCharles Street Meeting HouseThe Charles Street Meeting House, is an early-nineteenth-century historic church in Beacon Hill at 70 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The church has been used over its history by several Christian denominations and is a good example of reuse and adaptive reuse, having recently been renovated...
built
- Boston Athenæum
- 1808
- (Edward Augustus Kendall describes Boston in his travelogue)
- 1809
- Craigie Bridge opens
1810s
- 1810
- Boylston MarketBoylston MarketBoylston Market , designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, was located in Boston, Massachusetts, on the corner of Boylston and Washington Streets. Boylston Hall occupied the third floor of the building, and functioned as a performance and meeting space.-History:The Boylston Market Association...
built - Park Street ChurchPark Street ChurchThe Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts is an active Conservative Congregational Church at the corner of Tremont Street and Park Street. The church is currently pastored by Gordon P. Hugenberger.-History:...
built
- Boylston Market
- 1811
- Massachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
founded
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- 1813
- Boston Daily AdvertiserBoston Daily AdvertiserThe Boston Daily Advertiser was the first daily newspaper in Boston, and for many years the only daily paper in Boston.-History:...
begins publication
- Boston Daily Advertiser
- 1814
- Linnaean Society of New EnglandLinnaean Society of New EnglandLinnaean Society of New England was established in Boston, Massachusetts, to promote natural history. The society organized a natural history museum, and also arranged lectures and excursions for its members. In 1817 it became involved in the Gloucester sea serpent debate...
established
- Linnaean Society of New England
- 1815
- Handel and Haydn SocietyHandel and Haydn SocietyThe Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1815, it remains one of the oldest performing arts organizations in the United States.-Early history:...
founded - May - North American ReviewNorth American ReviewThe North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. Founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others, it was published continuously until 1940, when publication was suspended due to J. H. Smyth, who had purchased the magazine, being unmasked as a Japanese...
begins publication
- Handel and Haydn Society
- 1816
- Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of BostonProvident Institution for Savings in the Town of BostonThe Provident Institution for Savings in Boston, Massachusetts, was the first chartered savings bank in the United States. James Savage and others founded the bank on the belief that "savings banks would enable the less fortunate classes of society to better themselves in a manner which would...
established
- Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston
- 1818
- New-England Museum (Boston)New-England Museum (Boston)The New-England Museum in Boston, Massachusetts was established at 76 Court Street by Ethan A. Greenwood, Peter B. Bazin, John Dwight and Samuel Jackson. It featured displays of fine art, natural history specimens, wax figures, and other curiosities...
opens - November 3 - Exchange Coffee House, BostonExchange Coffee House, BostonThe Exchange Coffee House was a hotel, coffeehouse, and place of business in Boston, Massachusetts in the early 19th-century. Designed by architect Asher Benjamin, it was located at Congress Square, on Congress Street, and in its day it was the largest building in Boston, and one of the tallest...
burns down
- New-England Museum (Boston)
- 1819
- Cathedral Church of St. Paul, BostonCathedral Church of St. Paul, BostonThe Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston is the historic cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. Located at 138 Tremont Street near Downtown Crossing, directly across from Boston Common and Park Street Station, the cathedral is adjacent to the diocesan offices. The current dean...
built
- Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston
1820s
- 1820
- Mercantile Library Association (Boston, Massachusetts)Mercantile Library Association (Boston, Massachusetts)The Mercantile Library Association of Boston was an organization dedicated to operating a subscription library, reading room and lecture series. Members included James T. Fields and Edwin Percy Whipple...
established
- Mercantile Library Association (Boston, Massachusetts)
- 1822
- Boston incorporated as a city
- Leverett Street JailLeverett Street JailThe Leverett Street Jail in Boston, Massachusetts served as the city and county prison for some three decades in the mid-19th century. Inmates included John White Webster...
opens; old jailBoston Gaol (Massachusetts)The Boston Gaol was a jail in the center of Boston, Massachusetts, located off Court Street, in the block bounded by School, Washington and Tremont Streets. It was rebuilt several times on the same site, before finally moving to the West End in 1822...
closes - May 1 - John Phillips (mayor)John Phillips (mayor)John Phillips was an American politician, serving as the first mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1822 to 1823. He was the father of abolitionist Wendell Phillips.-Biography:...
- 1823
- Josiah Quincy IIIJosiah Quincy IIIJosiah Quincy III was a U.S. educator and political figure. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives , Mayor of Boston , and President of Harvard University...
, mayor
- Josiah Quincy III
- 1826
- Massachusetts General Colored AssociationMassachusetts General Colored AssociationThe Massachusetts General Colored Association was organized in Boston in 1826 to combat slavery and racism.One of their most influential founders was David Walker, who probably expressed many of their ideas in his 1829 "Appeal in Four Articles to the Colored Citizens of the World". Walker had moved...
organized - Quincy MarketQuincy MarketQuincy Market is a historic building near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was constructed 1824–1826 and named in honor of Mayor Josiah Quincy, who organized its construction without any tax or debt.-History:...
built
- Massachusetts General Colored Association
- 1827
- September 24 - Tremont Theatre, BostonTremont Theatre, BostonThe Tremont Theatre on 88 Tremont Street was a playhouse in Boston. A group of wealthy Boston residents financed the building's construction. Architect Isaiah Rogers designed the original Theatre structure in 1827 in the Greek Revival style...
opens
- September 24 - Tremont Theatre, Boston
- 1829
- Harrison Gray Otis (lawyer)Harrison Gray Otis (lawyer)Harrison Gray Otis , was a businessman, lawyer, and politician, becoming one of the most important leaders of the United States' first political party, the Federalists...
, mayor - Tremont House (Boston) built
- Harrison Gray Otis (lawyer)
1830s
- 1830
- Boston Society of Natural HistoryBoston Society of Natural HistoryThe Boston Society of Natural History in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the society occupied several successive locations in Boston's Financial...
established - July 24 - Boston Evening TranscriptBoston Evening TranscriptThe Boston Evening Transcript was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941.-Beginnings:...
begins publication
- Boston Society of Natural History
- 1831
- The Boston Post begins publication
- New England Anti-Slavery Society established
- January 1 - The Liberator begins publication
- 1833
- The Boston JournalThe Boston JournalThe Boston Journal was a daily newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts from 1833 until October 1917 when it was merged with the Boston Herald....
begins publication
- The Boston Journal
- 1834
- Temple SchoolTemple School, Boston (1830s)The Temple School in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, was established by Bronson Alcott in 1834, and featured a teaching style based on conversation. Teachers working at the school included Elizabeth Peabody and Margaret Fuller.-History:...
opens
- Temple School
- 1835
- Abiel Smith SchoolAbiel Smith SchoolAbiel Smith School, founded in 1835, is a school located at 46 Joy Street in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, adjacent to the African Meeting House. It is named for Abiel Smith, a white philanthropist who left money in his will to the city of Boston for the education of black children. The...
founded
- Abiel Smith School
- 1836
- East Boston annexed to Boston
- National TheatreNational Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)The National Theatre was a theatre in the West End of Boston, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. William Pelby established the enterprise in 1836, and presented productions of "original pieces, and the efforts of a well selected stock company, which, with few exceptions, have been American....
built in the West End
- 1837
- June 11 - Broad Street RiotBroad Street RiotThe Broad Street Riot occurred in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., on June 11, 1837. The riot began when a company of Yankee firefighters met with an Irish funeral procession on Broad Street. Fire Engine Company 20 was returning from a fire in Roxbury. Many of the firefighters went to a saloon nearby...
- June 11 - Broad Street Riot
1840s
- 1841
- Boston Artists' AssociationBoston Artists' AssociationThe Boston Artists' Association was established in Boston, Massachusetts by Washington Allston, Henry Sargent, and other painters, sculptors, and architects, in order to organize exhibitions, a school, a workspace for members, and to promote art "for the art's sake."-History:According to the...
established - Boston Museum (theatre)Boston Museum (theatre)The Boston Museum , also called the Boston Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts, was a theatre, wax museum, natural history museum, zoo, and art museum in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts...
opens
- Boston Artists' Association
- 1842
- Merchants Exchange (Boston, Massachusetts)Merchants Exchange (Boston, Massachusetts)The Merchants Exchange building in Boston, Massachusetts was built in 1841 from a design by architect Isaiah Rogers. Centrally located on State Street, it functioned as a hub for business activities in the city.- History :...
built
- Merchants Exchange (Boston, Massachusetts)
- 1843
- Tremont TempleTremont TempleThe Tremont Temple on 88 Tremont Street is a Baptist church in Boston, affiliated with the American Baptist Churches, USA. The existing structure opened in May 1896 and was designed by architect Clarence Blackall.-History:...
established
- Tremont Temple
- 1845
- Chinese Museum (Boston)Chinese Museum (Boston)The Chinese Museum in Boston, Massachusetts showed to the public some 41 cases displaying approximately 800 objects related to Chinese fine arts, agriculture, costume, and other customs. It was located on Washington Street in the Marlboro Chapel Items exhibited included:* "Long-gans...
opens - Howard AthenaeumHoward AthenaeumThe Howard Athenæum in Boston, Massachusetts, was one of the most famous theaters in Boston history. Founded in 1845, it remained an institution of culture and learning for most of its years, finally closing in 1953.- History :...
opens - New England Historic Genealogical SocietyNew England Historic Genealogical SocietyThe New England Historic Genealogical Society is the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States, founded in 1845. A charitable, nonprofit educational institution, NEHGS is located at 99-101 Newbury Street, in Boston, Massachusetts, in an eight-story archive and research center....
established
- Chinese Museum (Boston)
- 1846
- October 16 - First public demonstration of the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic, Ether DomeEther DomeThe Ether Dome is an amphitheater in the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. It served as the hospital's operating room from its opening in 1821 until 1867. It was the site of the first use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic on 16 October 1846. William Thomas...
- October 16 - First public demonstration of the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic, Ether Dome
- 1848
- October 25 - Water celebration
- 1849
- Custom HouseBoston Custom HouseThe Custom House in Boston, Massachusetts, was established in the 17th century and stood near the waterfront in several successive locations through the years. In 1849 the U.S. federal government constructed a neoclassical building on State Street; it remains the "Custom House" known to Bostonians...
built - November 23 - Beacon Hill ReservoirBeacon Hill ReservoirThe Beacon Hill Reservoir in Boston, Massachusetts provided water to Beacon Hill from Lake Cochituate. It could hold . By 1876, the reservoir no longer distributed water, but rather functioned as a storage facility; it was dismantled in the early 1880s.-History:The reservoir occupied a site on the...
opens
- Custom House
1850s
- 1850
- Parkman–Webster murder case
- 1851
- Charles Street JailCharles Street JailThe Charles Street Jail or "Suffolk County Jail" is a historic former jail located at 215 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts...
built - Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room CompanionGleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room CompanionGleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion was a 19th-century illustrated periodical published in Boston, Massachusetts. The magazine was founded by Frederick Gleason in 1851. It became Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion in 1855, after managing editor Maturin Murray Ballou bought out the...
begins publication - Sept. 17-19 - Railroad Jubilee
- Charles Street Jail
- 1852
- Orpheum Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)Orpheum Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)The Orpheum Theatre is a music venue located at 1 Hamilton Place in Boston, Massachusetts. One of the oldest theaters in the United States, it was built in 1852 and was originally known as the Boston Music Hall, the original home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The concert hall was converted for...
built - February 9 -Ordway Hall (Boston)Ordway Hall (Boston)Ordway Hall was a theatre in Boston, Massachusetts located off Washington Street in the former Province House. John P. Ordway established and managed the hall, which specialized in "negro minstrelsy," particularly the Ordway Aeolians, his own troupe....
opens - October 24 - Daniel WebsterDaniel WebsterDaniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
dies
- Orpheum Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)
- 1854
- Boston Public LibraryBoston Public LibraryThe Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to...
opens - Boston TheatreBoston TheatreThe Boston Theatre was a theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.-Further reading:* Eugene Tompkins. History of the Boston Theatre 1854-1901. Houghton Mifflin, 1908. -External links:...
opens
- Boston Public Library
- 1857
- State Street Block (Boston)State Street Block (Boston)State Street Block is a granite building near the waterfront in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Architect Gridley James Fox Bryant designed it. In the 1850s "the Long and Central Wharf Corporation .....
built - November 1 - Atlantic Monthly begins publication
- State Street Block (Boston)
- 1859
- Boston Aquarial GardensBoston Aquarial GardensThe Boston Aquarial Gardens was a public aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts, established by James Ambrose Cutting and Henry D Butler. The "conservatories [were] filled with rare marine animals imported and collected exclusively for this establishment; .....
open
- Boston Aquarial Gardens
1860s
- 1860
- Gibson houseGibson House MuseumThe Gibson House Museum is a historic house museum located at 137 Beacon Street in the Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts. It preserves the 1860 building occupied by three generations of the Gibson family.-History:...
built - Public Garden (Boston) built
- Old Feather StoreOld Feather StoreThe Old Feather Store was a shop located at Dock Square and North Street in Boston, Massachusetts in the 17th-19th centuries. It was also called the Old Cocked Hat. Built in 1680 by Thomas Stanbury, it was demolished in 1860.-Brief history:...
demolished - October 18 - Edward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
visits Boston
- Gibson house
- 1861
- Arlington Street Church built
- Jordan MarshJordan MarshJordan Marsh & Company was a department store in Boston, Massachusetts, which grew to be a major regional chain in the New England area of the United States. In 1996, the last of the Jordan Marsh stores were converted to Macy's. The store was formerly part of Allied Stores and then Federated...
opens
- 1863
- Hancock ManorHancock ManorThe Hancock Manor was a house located at 30 Beacon Street on Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts. It stood near the southwest corner of what are today the grounds of the Massachusetts State House.-Description:...
demolished - March 24 - National Theatre burns down
- Hancock Manor
- 1864
- Natural History Museum built
- Boston City HospitalBoston City HospitalThe Boston City Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and .....
opens
- 1865
- Old City Hall (Boston)Old City Hall (Boston)Boston's Old City Hall was home to its city council from 1865 to 1969. It was one of the first buildings in the French Second Empire style to be built in the United States and is now one of few remaining...
built
- Old City Hall (Boston)
- 1867
- New England Conservatory established
- YWCA BostonYWCA BostonYWCA Boston's mission is to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all...
incorporated
- 1868
- Roxbury, Boston annexed to Boston
- 1869
- National Peace JubileeNational Peace JubileeThe National Peace Jubilee was a celebration, organized by Patrick Gilmore in Boston on June 15, 1869. It featured an orchestra and a chorus, as well as numerous soloists. In total, more than 11,000 performers participated, including the famous violinist Ole Bull as the orchestra's concertmaster,...
- National Peace Jubilee
1870s
- 1870
- Dorchester, Boston annexed to Boston
- Museum of Fine Arts, BostonMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonThe Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
founded
- 1871
- May 16 - South End GroundsSouth End GroundsSouth End Grounds refers to any one of three baseball parks on one site in Boston, Massachusetts. They were home to the Boston club in the National Association and the National League from 1871 to 1914....
open
- May 16 - South End Grounds
- 1872
- March 4 - The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
begins publication - June - World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical FestivalWorld's Peace Jubilee and International Musical FestivalThe World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival of 1872 took place in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts. Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore directed the festival, which lasted some 18 days. The jubilee honored the ending of the Franco-Prussian War.- Brief history :For this...
- November 9 - Great Boston Fire of 1872Great Boston Fire of 1872The Great Boston Fire of 1872 was Boston's largest urban fire, and still ranks as one of the most costly fire-related property losses in American history. The conflagration began at 7:20 p.m. on November 9, 1872, in the basement of a commercial warehouse at 83—87 Summer Street in Boston,...
- March 4 - The Boston Globe
- 1873
- Old South Church built
- Brookline-Boston annexation debate of 1873
- Roslindale, Boston annexed to Boston
- 1874
- Allston, Massachusetts annexed to Boston
- Brighton, Massachusetts annexed to Boston
- January 5 - Charlestown, Boston annexed to Boston
- 1875
- Cathedral of the Holy CrossCathedral of the Holy CrossThe Cathedral of the Holy Cross is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and the largest Roman Catholic church in New England....
built
- Cathedral of the Holy Cross
- 1876
- Old elm tree felled by storm, Boston Common
- 1877
- Trinity Church (Boston) built
- 1879
- Massachusetts Bicycle ClubMassachusetts Bicycle ClubThe Massachusetts Bicycle Club was a cycling club in Boston, Massachusetts.- Brief history :The club was founded on January 10, 1879. "We, the undersigned, hereby agree to organize ourselves into a bicycle club, to be called The Massachusetts Bicycle Club." Founders included Albert A. Pope, ...
established - New England Manufacturers and Mechanics InstituteNew England Manufacturers and Mechanics InstituteThe New England Manufacturers and Mechanics Institute flourished in the 1880s in Boston, Massachusetts. It existed as a rival to the long-established Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. Individuals affiliated with the NEM and M Institute included businessman John F. Wood, James L....
established
- Massachusetts Bicycle Club
1880s
- 1880
- Sept. 17 - 250th anniversary of settlement of Boston
- 1881
- Boston Symphony OrchestraBoston Symphony OrchestraThe Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
founded - The Bostonian SocietyThe Bostonian SocietyThe Bostonian Society is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1881 for the purpose of preventing the Old State House from being "moved brick by brick" from Boston, Massachusetts to Chicago, Illinois...
founded - Filene'sFilene'sFilene's was a Boston-based department store owned by Federated Department Stores , and May Department Stores . It operated throughout New England and in New York.-Early years:...
established
- Boston Symphony Orchestra
- 1884
- Cyclorama BuildingCyclorama BuildingThe Cyclorama Building is an 1884 building at 543-547 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts that is operated by the Boston Center for the Arts.-History:...
built
- Cyclorama Building
- 1885
- Boston Pops OrchestraBoston Pops OrchestraThe Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....
established
- Boston Pops Orchestra
- 1886
- June - New England FairNew England Manufacturers and Mechanics InstituteThe New England Manufacturers and Mechanics Institute flourished in the 1880s in Boston, Massachusetts. It existed as a rival to the long-established Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. Individuals affiliated with the NEM and M Institute included businessman John F. Wood, James L....
exhibition building burns down
- June - New England Fair
- 1889
- January 7 - Thomas N. HartThomas N. HartThomas Norton Hart was an American manufacturer, businessman, and politician from Massachusetts who served as mayor of Boston from 1889 to 1890 and from 1900 to 1902.- References :...
, mayor
- January 7 - Thomas N. Hart
1890s
- 1894
- The First Church of Christ, Scientist built
- John Adams CourthouseSuffolk County CourthouseThe Suffolk County Courthouse, also known as the "John Adams Courthouse", is a historic courthouse building on Pemberton Square in Boston, Massachusetts that is home to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court....
built
- 1891
- Nathan Matthews, Jr.Nathan Matthews, Jr.Nathan Matthews, Jr. was an American politician from Massachusetts who served as Mayor of Boston from 1891–1894.-Biography:...
, mayor
- Nathan Matthews, Jr.
- 1895
- Edwin Upton CurtisEdwin Upton CurtisEdwin Upton Curtis was an American attorney and politician from Massachusetts who served as the 34th Mayor of Boston in 1895...
, mayor - Josiah Quincy (1859–1919)Josiah Quincy (1859–1919)Josiah Quincy was an American politician from Massachusetts who served as mayor of Boston from 1895 to 1899. His grandfather, Josiah Quincy, Jr., and great-grandfather, Josiah Quincy III, also served as mayor of Boston.-External links:*...
, mayor - McKim building, Boston Public Library, built
- Edwin Upton Curtis
- 1897
- April 19 - Boston MarathonBoston MarathonThe Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
begins - September 3 - Park Street (MBTA station)Park Street (MBTA station)Park Street is a rapid transit and light rail station of the MBTA subway system in Downtown Boston. One of the four subway hub stations, Park Street is a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. Park Street is the fourth-busiest station in the MBTA network, with an average of 19,836 entries...
opens
- April 19 - Boston Marathon
- 1898
- YMCA "Evening Institute for Younger Men" established, precursor to Northeastern University
- 1899
- South StationSouth StationSouth Station, New England's second-largest transportation center , located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston, a prominent train station in the northeastern...
built
- South Station
1900s
- 1900
- Symphony Hall, BostonSymphony Hall, BostonSymphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by McKim, Mead and White, it was built in 1900 for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the hall its home. The hall was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1999...
built - Thomas N. Hart, mayor
- Symphony Hall, Boston
- 1901
- Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
founded - Horticultural Hall, Boston, MassachusettsHorticultural Hall, Boston, MassachusettsHorticultural Hall, at the corner of Huntington Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, was built in 1901. It sits across the street from Symphony Hall. Since 1992, it has been owned by the Christian Science Church...
built, Massachusetts Avenue - April 20 - Huntington Avenue GroundsHuntington Avenue GroundsHuntington Avenue American League Base Ball Grounds is the full name of the baseball stadium that formerly stood in Boston, Massachusetts and was home to the Boston Red Sox from 1901-1911...
open
- Boston Red Sox
- 1902
- Patrick Collins (mayor)Patrick Collins (mayor)Patrick Andrew Collins was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and mayor of Boston.-Early life:Patrick Collins was born March 12, 1844 near Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland....
- Patrick Collins (mayor)
- 1903
- Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
established - Jordan HallJordan HallJordan Hall is a 1,019-seat concert hall in Boston, Massachusetts, the principal performance space of the New England Conservatory. It is one block from Boston's Symphony Hall, and together they are considered two of America's most acoustically perfect performance spaces...
opens
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- 1905
- Daniel A. WheltonDaniel A. WheltonDaniel Aloysius Whelton was an American political figure. Whelton was the first native-born Irish-Catholic mayor of Boston, Massachusetts and remains the youngest person to hold that political office....
, acting mayor
- Daniel A. Whelton
- 1906
- John F. FitzgeraldJohn F. FitzgeraldJohn Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald was an Irish-American politician and the maternal grandfather of three prominent United States politicians—President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Senators Robert Francis Kennedy and Edward Moore Kennedy.-Early life and family:Fitzgerald was born in...
, mayor - Longfellow BridgeLongfellow BridgeThe Longfellow Bridge, also known to locals as the "Salt-and-Pepper Bridge" or the "Salt-and-Pepper-Shaker Bridge" due to the shape of its central towers, carries Route 3 and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Red Line across the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill...
built - Suffolk UniversitySuffolk UniversitySuffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...
established
- John F. Fitzgerald
- 1908
- The Christian Science MonitorThe Christian Science MonitorThe Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
begins publication - George A. HibbardGeorge A. HibbardGeorge Albee Hibbard was a U.S. political figure. Hibbard was the Mayor of Boston from 1908 to 1910.-Election as Mayor:...
, mayor
- The Christian Science Monitor
- 1909
- Boston Flower ExchangeBoston Flower ExchangeThe Boston Flower Exchange is a wholesale flower market located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as a marketplace that local growers could rent cooperatively to sell their products in a space more suited to their needs than Boston's historic Haymarket open-air marketplace. It has been the focal...
founded
- Boston Flower Exchange
1910s
- 1910
- Charles River Dam BridgeCharles River Dam BridgeThe Charles River Dam Bridge, officially the Craigie Bridge, also called Craigie's Bridge or the Canal Bridge, is a six-lane bascule bridge across the Charles River, connecting Leverett Circle in downtown Boston, to Monsignor O'Brien Highway in East Cambridge, Massachusetts...
built - John F. Fitzgerald, mayor
- Charles River Dam Bridge
- 1912
- Hyde Park, Boston annexed to Boston
- January - Revere House hotel burns down in Bowdoin Square
- April 20 - Fenway ParkFenway ParkFenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
opens
- 1913
- Boylston Street FishweirBoylston Street FishweirIn archeological literature, the name Boylston Street Fishweir refers to ancient fishing structures first discovered in 1913 buried 29 to below Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts...
discovered
- Boylston Street Fishweir
- 1914
- James Michael CurleyJames Michael CurleyJames Michael Curley was an American politician famous for his four terms as mayor of Boston, Massachusetts. He also served twice in the United States House of Representatives and one term as 53rd Governor of Massachusetts.-Early life:Curley's father, Michael Curley, left Oughterard, County...
mayor
- James Michael Curley
- 1915
- Custom House TowerCustom House TowerThe Custom House Tower - now Marriott's Custom House Hotel - is a skyscraper in McKinley Square, in the Financial District neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Construction began in the mid-19th century; the tower was added in the 1910s...
built
- Custom House Tower
- 1918
- Andrew James PetersAndrew James PetersAndrew James Peters was an American politician. He was born on April 3, 1872 in Jamaica Plain, a section of Boston. His family had been in Massachusetts since the first Andrew Peters arrived there in 1657. Peters attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School. He served two terms in the...
, mayor - Red Sox win World Series
- Andrew James Peters
- 1919
- January 15 - Boston Molasses DisasterBoston molasses disasterThe Boston Molasses Disaster, also known as the Great Molasses Flood and the Great Boston Molasses Tragedy, occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. A large molasses storage tank burst, and a wave of molasses rushed through the...
- September 9 - Boston Police StrikeBoston Police StrikeIn the Boston Police Strike, the Boston police rank and file went out on strike on September 9, 1919 in order to achieve recognition for their trade union and improvements in wages and working conditions...
- January 15 - Boston Molasses Disaster
1920s
- 1922
- James Michael Curley, mayor
- 1923
- September 8 - Boston Airport opens
- 1926
- Malcolm NicholsMalcolm NicholsMalcolm E. Nichols was a Journalist and a U.S. political figure. Nichols served as the mayor of Boston in the late 1920s as well as the last Republican to serve in that post to date.-Family life:...
, mayor
- Malcolm Nichols
- 1927
- August 23 - Sacco and VanzettiSacco and VanzettiFerdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were anarchists who were convicted of murdering two men during a 1920 armed robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts, United States...
executed
- August 23 - Sacco and Vanzetti
- 1928
- Boston University BridgeBoston University BridgeThe Boston University Bridge , and commonly referred to as the BU Bridge, is a steel truss bridge with a suspended deck carrying Route 2 over the Charles River, connecting Boston to Cambridge, Massachusetts. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials route...
built - November 17 - Boston GardenBoston GardenThe Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
opens
- Boston University Bridge
1930s
- 1930
- James Michael Curley, mayor
- 1934
- Frederick MansfieldFrederick MansfieldFrederick William Mansfield was a U.S. political figure.-Early life:Mansfield was born in East Boston, Massachusetts, March 26, 1877. Mansfield was the son of Michael Read Mansfield and Catherine Mansfield....
, mayor - Sumner TunnelSumner TunnelThe Sumner Tunnel is a road tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It carries traffic under Boston Harbor in one direction, from Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston. The tunnel originally deposited traffic at the west side of the North End but with the completion of the Big Dig,...
opens
- Frederick Mansfield
- 1936
- Boston Museum of Modern Art founded
- 1938
- Maurice J. TobinMaurice J. TobinMaurice Joseph Tobin was a Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, the 56th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, and U.S. Secretary of Labor....
, mayor
- Maurice J. Tobin
1940s
- 1940
- Citgo sign erected
- Hatch Memorial Shell built
- 1942
- November 28 - Cocoanut Grove fireCocoanut Grove fireThe Cocoanut Grove was Boston's premier nightclub during the post-Prohibition 1930s and 40s. On November 28, 1942, occurred the scene of what remains the deadliest nightclub fire, killing 492 people and injuring hundreds more...
- November 28 - Cocoanut Grove fire
- 1945
- John E. KerriganJohn E. KerriganJohn E. Kerrigan was the acting mayor ofBoston in 1945 when Maurice J. Tobin was elected Governor. Kerrigan waslater given full mayoral powers by the Legislature but was defeated in...
, acting mayor - Schillinger House founded
- John E. Kerrigan
- 1946
- James Michael Curley, mayor
- 1947
- Old John Hancock BuildingBerkeley BuildingThe Berkeley Building is a 36-story, structure located at 200 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It is the second of the three John Hancock buildings built in Boston; it was succeeded by the John Hancock Tower. The building is known for the weather beacon at its summit, which...
built
- Old John Hancock Building
1950s
- 1950
- John HynesJohn HynesJohn B. Hynes , a Massachusetts politician, was mayor of Boston 1950-1960.Family backgroundHynes was the son of Bernard Hynes, Abbey Street, Loughrea, County Galway, Ireland, who emigrated to Boston about 1890...
mayor - January 17 - Great Brink's Robbery
- John Hynes
- 1951
- Museum of Science (Boston) opens
- June 15 - Storrow DriveStorrow DriveStorrow Drive is a major cross town expressway in Boston, Massachusetts, running south and west from Leverett Circle along the Charles River. It is a parkway—it is restricted to cars; trucks and buses are not permitted on it...
opens - October 6 - WGBH (FM)WGBH (FM)WGBH is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member station of NPR and PRI. The license-holder is the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns WGBH-TV and WGBX-TV....
begins broadcasting
- 1954
- Schillinger House renamed Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
- Schillinger House renamed Berklee College of Music
- 1955
- May 2- WGBH-TVWGBH-TVWGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
begins broadcasting - June 5 - Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
earns PhD from Boston UniversityBoston UniversityBoston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
- May 2- WGBH-TV
- 1956
- Boston Airport renamed Logan International AirportLogan International AirportGeneral Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
- Boston Airport renamed Logan International Airport
- 1957
- Boston Redevelopment AuthorityBoston Redevelopment AuthorityThe Boston Redevelopment Authority is the municipal planning and development agency for Boston, working on both housing and commercial developments.The BRA was established by the Boston city council and the Massachusetts legislature in 1957...
established
- Boston Redevelopment Authority
- 1958
- Freedom TrailFreedom TrailThe Freedom Trail is a red path through downtown Boston, Massachusetts, that leads to 16 significant historic sites. It is a 2.5-mile walk from Boston Common to Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Simple ground markers explaining events, graveyards, notable churches and other buildings, and a...
established
- Freedom Trail
1960s
- 1960
- John F. CollinsJohn F. CollinsJohn Frederick Collins was the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States from 1960 to 1968.-Biography:John Collins was born in Roxbury, Boston on July 20, 1919. In 1941 he graduated from Suffolk University Law School. He served a tour in the Army during World War II and four years later was...
mayor
- John F. Collins
- 1961
- Callahan TunnelCallahan TunnelThe Callahan Tunnel, officially the Lieutenant William F. Callahan Tunnel is one of four tunnels beneath Boston Harbor in Boston, Massachusetts. It carries motor vehicles from the North End to Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston...
opens
- Callahan Tunnel
- 1962
- Scollay SquareScollay SquareScollay Square was a vibrant city square in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was named for William Scollay, a prominent local developer and militia officer who bought a landmark four-story merchant building at the intersection of Cambridge and Court Streets in 1795...
razed - June 14 - Boston StranglerBoston StranglerThe Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders were not committed by one person.-First Stage...
murders begin
- Scollay Square
- 1964
- Prudential TowerPrudential TowerThe Prudential Tower, also known as the Prudential Building or, colloquially, The Pru, is a skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts. The building, a part of the Prudential Center complex, currently stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Boston, behind the John Hancock Tower. The Prudential Tower was...
built - University of Massachusetts BostonUniversity of Massachusetts BostonThe University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on on Harbor Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States...
established
- Prudential Tower
- 1966
- Boston PhoenixThe Phoenix (newspaper)The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
begins publication
- Boston Phoenix
- 1968
- Kevin White (mayor)
- April 5 - James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
concert, Boston Garden
- 1969
- Boston City HallBoston City HallBoston City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of Boston, Massachusetts. Architecturally, it is an example of the brutalist style. It was designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles...
built - New England AquariumNew England AquariumThe New England Aquarium is an aquarium located in Boston, Massachusetts.In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at the New England Aquarium include the Simons IMAX Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch, which operates from April through November...
opens
- Boston City Hall
1970s
- 1970
- Boston Center for the ArtsBoston Center for the ArtsThe Boston Center for the Arts is a 501 nonprofit visual and performing arts complex in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The BCA houses several performance and rehearsal spaces, restaurants, a gallery, the headquarters of the Boston Ballet, the Community Music Center of Boston...
established
- Boston Center for the Arts
- 1971
- Government Service Center (Boston)Government Service Center (Boston)The Government Service Center is an unfinished, controversial, and neglected brutalist structure by architect Paul Rudolph. It is one of the major buildings in the Government Center complex in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, at Cambridge, Staniford and New Chardon Streets.- Function :The building...
built
- Government Service Center (Boston)
- 1972
- June 17 - Hotel Vendome fireHotel Vendome firethumb|right|400px|Hotel Vendome, Boston as it appeared circa 1880The Hotel Vendome fire was the worst firefighting tragedy in Boston history. Nine firefighters were killed when part of the building collapsed, June 17, 1972...
- June 17 - Hotel Vendome fire
- 1973
- Bunker Hill Community CollegeBunker Hill Community CollegeBunker Hill Community College is a two-year community college located in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts. It is an urban campus with over 10,000 students. Six in ten students are people of color and more than half of all students are women. There are 650 international students attending BHCC;...
established - Roxbury Community CollegeRoxbury Community CollegeRoxbury Community College is a community college in the Roxbury Crossing neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. RCC offers associate degrees in arts, and sciences, as well as certificates...
established - City Life/Vida UrbanaCity Life/Vida UrbanaCity Life/Vida Urbana commonly known as "City Life," is a social justice group in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2008 the City Life has focused on preventing evictions of both former owners and renters resulting from a rise in foreclosures....
founded
- Bunker Hill Community College
- 1974
- Desegregation busing conflict
- 1976
- Federal Reserve Bank of BostonFederal Reserve Bank of BostonThe Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, commonly known as the Boston Fed, is responsible for the First District of the Federal Reserve, which covers most of Connecticut , Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. It is headquartered in the Federal Reserve Bank Building in Boston,...
built - First NightFirst NightFirst Night is an artistic and cultural celebration on New Year's Eve, taking place from afternoon until midnight. Some cities have all their events during the celebration outside, but some cities have events that are hosted indoors by organizations in the city, such as churches and theaters...
begins - John Hancock TowerJohn Hancock TowerThe John Hancock Tower, officially named Hancock Place and colloquially known as The Hancock, is a 60-story, 790-foot skyscraper in Boston. The tower was designed by Henry N. Cobb of the firm I. M. Pei & Partners and was completed in 1976...
built
- Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
- 1979
- Boston Children's MuseumBoston Children's MuseumBoston Children's Museum is a children's museum in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to the education of children. Located on Children's Wharf along the Fort Point Channel, Boston Children's Museum is the second oldest children's museum in the United States...
opens in Fort Point Channel - The Computer Museum, BostonThe Computer Museum, BostonThe Computer Museum was a Boston, Massachusetts museum that opened in 1979 and operated in three different locations until 1999. It was once referred to as TCM and is sometimes called the Boston Computer Museum....
opens - John F. Kennedy LibraryJohn F. Kennedy LibraryThe John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, next to the Boston campus of the University of...
built
- Boston Children's Museum
1980s
- 1980
- Boston Early Music FestivalBoston Early Music FestivalThe Boston Early Music Festival is a music festival held every two years in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, for all people interested in historical music performance....
founded
- Boston Early Music Festival
- 1983
- Boston Community Access and Programming Foundation founded
- 1984
- Raymond FlynnRaymond FlynnRaymond Leo Flynn , also known as Ray Flynn, served as Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1984 until 1993. He was later appointed United States Ambassador to the Holy See by President Bill Clinton.-Early life:...
mayor
- Raymond Flynn
- 1988
- City of Boston ArchivesCity of Boston ArchivesThe City of Boston Archives are located in West Roxbury, MA, and are the repository for all official records that must be kept to honor both the history of the municipal government in Boston and the legal rights of its citizens. The City Archives were established in 1988...
established - Hynes Convention CenterHynes Convention CenterThe John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center located in Boston was built in 1988 from a design by architects Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood. It replaced a previous building, also a convention center, regarded as "ungainly." The 1988 design "attempted to relate in scale and materials to its...
built
- City of Boston Archives
1990s
- 1991
- Deer Island PrisonDeer Island PrisonThe Deer Island Prison in Suffolk County, Massachusetts was located on Deer Island in Boston Harbor. Also known as the Deer Island House of Industry and later, House of Correction, it held people convicted of drunkenness, illegal possession of drugs, disorderly conduct, larceny, and other crimes...
closes
- Deer Island Prison
- 1993
- July 12 - Thomas MeninoThomas MeninoThomas Michael "Tom" Menino is the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States and the city's first Italian-American mayor...
mayor
- July 12 - Thomas Menino
- 1995
- Ted Williams TunnelTed Williams TunnelThe Ted Williams Tunnel, also known as the Williams Tunnel, is the name of the third highway tunnel under Boston Harbor in Boston, Massachusetts, the Sumner and Callahan Tunnels being the other two...
opens
- Ted Williams Tunnel
- 1996
- Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation AreaBoston Harbor Islands National Recreation AreaThe Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsula, many of which are open for public recreation and some...
established
- Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
- 1999
- John Joseph Moakley United States CourthouseJohn Joseph Moakley United States CourthouseThe John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse is a federal courthouse for the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, located on Fan Pier on the Boston, Massachusetts waterfront...
built
- John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse
21st century
- 2003
- Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge opens
- 2004
- June - Boston Convention and Exhibition CenterBoston Convention and Exhibition CenterThe Boston Convention and Exhibition Center is the largest exhibition center in the Northeast United States, with some 516,000 square feet of contiguous exhibition space. It is located on Summer Street near the South Boston waterfront, Boston's World Trade Center, and across the harbor from Logan...
opens - July - 2004 Democratic National Convention2004 Democratic National ConventionThe 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to July 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated John Kerry and John Edwards as the official candidates of the Democratic Party for President and Vice President of the United States, respectively, in the 2004...
- October 27 - Red Sox win World Series
- Boston Social ForumBoston Social ForumThe Boston Social Forum was the first North American social forum to use the methodology of the World Social Forum process and adhere closely to its Charter of Principles...
held
- June - Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
- 2005
- Boston Workers AllianceBoston Workers AllianceThe Boston Workers Alliance of Boston, Massachusetts, is a "community organization led by unemployed and underemployed workers fighting for employment rights." Based in Boston's low-income neighborhood of Grove Hall, Roxbury, it acts as an unemployed-workers' union, providing direct services,...
established
- Boston Workers Alliance
- 2006
- July 10 - Big Dig ceiling collapse
- December - Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston opens in South Boston
- 2007
- Big DigBig DigThe Central Artery/Tunnel Project , known unofficially as the Big Dig and as the Big Dug since completion, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery , the chief highway through the heart of the city, into a 3.5-mile tunnel...
completed
- Big Dig
- 2008
- Rose Kennedy GreenwayRose Kennedy GreenwayThe Rose Kennedy Greenway is a roughly 1.5-mile-long long series of parks and public spaces being created in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It is the final part of the Big Dig that put Interstate 93 underground and removed the elevated freeway that served as the main highway through downtown...
built
- Rose Kennedy Greenway
- 2009
- Boston Street Lab incorporated
- 2011
- Occupy BostonOccupy BostonOccupy Boston is a protest that began on September 30, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dewey Square in the Financial District opposite the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston...
- Occupy Boston
See also
- Annual events in BostonAnnual events in BostonThere are a number of events held annually in Boston, Massachusetts, in the USA. They include:-January:-March:-April:-May:-June:-July:-August:-September:-November:-December:-See also:*Culture in Boston*Massachusetts culture...
- History of Boston
- List of mayors of Boston
- Past Members of the Boston City Council
Further reading
- Bowen's picture of Boston, 3rd ed. 1838.
- Edward Hartwell Savage. Boston events: a brief mention and the date of more than 5,000 events that transpired in Boston from 1630 to 1880, covering a period of 250 years, together with other occurrences of interest, arranged in alphabetical order. Boston: Tolman & White, printers, 1884.
- Jim Vrabel. When in Boston: a time line & almanac. UPNE, 2004.