Massachusetts History Timeline

Massachusetts is a state rich in history. Its geological history dates back millions of years while its native population has lived in the area for over 10,000 years.

Explorers, fishermen and traders first started visiting New England around the 15^th and 16^th centuries. After Massachusetts was colonized in the 17^th century, its population exploded and the Massachusetts colonies quickly became some of the most prosperous colonies in the New World.

As the Age of Enlightenment dawned, the highly literate and well educated citizens of Massachusetts began to rebel against the English monarchy in the name of liberty and, as a result, Massachusetts became the birthplace of the American Revolution.

During the 19^th century, the industrial revolution spread from England and quickly took hold in Massachusetts, completely transforming the state, its economy and its landscape.

The following is a timeline of the history of Massachusetts:

Pre-Historic Massachusetts:

• Around 565 million years ago, a microcontinent called Avalonia developed as a volcanic island arc and was made up of what would later become the coastal area of New England as well as sections of Nova Scotia in Canada and western Europe.

• Around 450 million years ago, a volcano on Avalonia violently erupted, then eventually collapsed and eroded over millions of years, forming what is now the Great Blue Hill in Milton, Massachusetts

• Between 425 and 375 million years ago, all the major continents collided and formed a major supercontinent called Pangaea. During this collision, Avalonia and another continent called Laurentia merged

• Around 201 – 145 million years ago, Pangaea broke off into two minor supercontinents: Laurasia (which was made up of Avalonia and Laurentia) and Gondwana

• Around 145 – 66 million years ago, Laurasia split into two separate continents called Laurentia and Eurasia. Laurentia became the continent of North America and Eurasia became Europe and Asia.

• Around 75,000 years ago, the Laurentide Ice Sheet formed, covering much of Canada and large portions of the northern United States

• Around 25,000 years ago, the expanding ice sheet reached New England

• Around 21,000 years ago, the climate began to warm which caused the ice sheet to retreat and drop its soil, sand and gravel deposits along the north and south shores of Massachusetts, creating the peninsulas of Cape Cod and Cape Ann and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket

• Around 12,200 and 11,600 years ago, the ice sheet made a short readvance and pushed some of the blue clay in Boston harbor into a low ridge, forming Boston neck, a small land bridge that once connected Boston to the mainland

• Around 12,000 years ago, nomadic Paleoindian hunters began migrating into New England and established a site, now called the Turners Falls site, in Montague, Mass

• Around 11,000 – 10,000 years ago, Paleoindians established a site now called the Bull Brook Site in Ipswich, Massachusetts and a site now called the Sands of the Blackstone site, in the Blackstone River Valley in southern Massachusetts

• Around 10,000 years ago, Paleoindians established a site in Middleboro, Mass

• Between 9,000 to 8,000 B.P., at least 10 sites were established by Archaic peoples in central Massachusetts, at least four were established on mainland Cape Cod, two were established on Martha’s Vineyard and four on Nantucket

• Between 8,000 and 6,500 B.P, around 22 sites were established by Archaic peoples in central Massachusetts, 29 sites were established in the Greater Boston area, 34 sites were established on the mainland of Cape Cod, 25 sites were established on Martha’s Vineyard and 12 sites were established on Nantucket

• Between 6,500 and 3,000 B.P, around 87 sites were established by Archaic peoples in central Massachusetts and 20 were established on mainland Cape Cod, 26 on Martha’s Vineyard and nine on Nantucket

• Between 3,000 and 2,400 B.P, a total of 87 sites were established by Woodland peoples on Cape Cod

• Between 2,400 and 1,000 B.P , a total of 95 sites were established by Woodland peoples on Cape Cod

• Between 1,000 and 500 B.P, a total of 144 sites were established by Woodland peoples on Cape Cod while only a handful of sites were established in central Massachusetts during the entire Woodland period, indicating humans were migrating to the coast

17^th Century Massachusetts:

• On May 15, 1602, English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold anchors off the Massachusetts coast

• On July 15, 1605, French explorer Samuel de Champlain visits Cape Ann in northern Massachusetts

• On July 17, 1605, French explorer Samuel de Champlain visits Boston Harbor and the harbor islands

• On July 19, 1605, French explorer Sameul de Champlain visits Plymouth Harbor

• On October 15, 1606, around 400 Native-Americans attack French explorer Sieur de Monts and his crew at Stage Harbor in Chatham, Mass

• Between 1616 – 1619, an epidemic broke out and decimated the native population in coastal New England

• On August 15, 1620, the Mayflower sets sail for the New World alongside the Speedwell but is forced to turn back after the Speedwell begins taking on water

• On September 16, 1620, the Mayflower departs Plymouth, England and sets sail for the New World

• On November 9, 1620, the Mayflower pilgrims get their first glimpse of the New World off the coast of Massachusetts

• On November 11, 1620, the Mayflower pilgrims sign the Mayflower Compact

• On December 7, 1620, Dorothy Bradford falls overboard on the Mayflower and drowns in Cape Cod Bay

• On December 18, 1620, the Mayflower anchors at Plymouth Harbor

• On August 14, 1621, the Plymouth pilgrims rescue Squanto after he was taken prisoner by a nearby tribe

• On March 16, 1621, Samoset befriends the pilgrims of Plymouth Colony

• On December 25, 1621, Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony confiscates toys from Pilgrims on Christmas Day

• On June 20, 1628, John Endecott of the New England Company arrives in the New World and officially settles Salem, Mass

• On March 4, 1629, King Charles I grants a charter to the Massachusetts Bay Company

• On June 12, 1630, John Winthrop and the Massachusetts Bay Company reach the New World and land in Salem, Mass

• In September of 1630, Plymouth colonist John Billington is hanged for the murder of fellow colonist John Newcomen

• On September 7, 1630, the Massachusetts Bay colonists officially name their new settlement Boston

• On February 5, 1631, religious leader Roger Williams arrives in the Massachusetts Bay Colony aboard the ship Lyon

• On September 3, 1633, Reverend John Cotton arrives in the Massachusetts Bay Colony

• On September 18, 1634, Anne Hutchinson arrives in the Massachusetts Bay Colony

• On September 12, 1635, the General Court grants permission to start a settlement in Concord, Mass

• On October 9, 1635, Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony

• On August 15, 1636, the Covenant of the Town of Dedham, Mass is first signed

• On September 8, 1636, Harvard College is founded in Cambridge, Mass

• On December 13, 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. This organization is recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard

• On November 7, 1637, Anne Hutchinson is brought to trial for sedition

• On February 16, 1638, the first slaves imported directly from Africa arrive in Massachusetts

• On April 1, 1638, Anne Hutchinson leaves the Massachusetts Bay Colony and travels to Rhode Island on foot

• On September 6, 1638, the General Court grants permission to start a settlement in Salisbury, Mass

• On November 6, 1639, the first post office is established in Boston, Mass

• On November 14, 1640, Judge Jonathan Corwin is born in Salem, Mass

• On August 5, 1641, Salem Witch Trials Judge John Hathorne is born in Salem, Mass

• On December 10, 1641, Massachusetts becomes the first colony to legalize slavery

• On April 14, 1642, the Massachusetts Bay Colony passes the first education law

• On May 16, 1643, Salem Witch Trials victim Samuel Wardwell is born in Boston, Mass

• On June 15, 1648, Margaret Jones becomes the first person executed for witchcraft in Massachusetts

• On January 12, 1652, the Salem Witch Trials ringleader Thomas Putnam is born in Salem, Mass

• On May 9, 1657, William Bradford dies in Plymouth at the age of 69

• On May 11, 1659, the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislature banned Christmas

• On June 1, 1660, Mary Dyer is hanged for defying a law banning Quakers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony

• On August 6, 1662, Metacom, aka King Philip, makes an appearance at the Plymouth court where he denies he is planning a war against the English

• On February 12, 1663, Cotton Mather is born in Boston, Mass

• On January 29, 1675, John Sassamon’s body is found at Assawompset Pond in Lakeville, Mass during the build up to King Philip’s War

• On June 24, 1675, King Philip’s War begins in Swansea, Mass

• On August 13, 1675, the Massachusetts Council orders all Christian Indians to be confined to their Praying Towns to prevent them from joining King Philip’s War

• On October 13, 1675, the Massachusetts Council orders all Christian Indians to be relocated and confined to Deer Island for the duration of King Philip’s War

• On April 21, 1676, around 500 Algonquins attack Sudbury, Mass during King Philip’s War

• On June 19, 1676, Massachusetts issues a declaration of amnesty for Native-Americans who surrender during King Philip’s War

• On October 18, 1679, afflicted girl Ann Putnam, Jr., is born in Salem, Mass

• In 1681, the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislature repeals its ban on Christmas

• On November 28, 1682, Salem Witch Trials afflicted girl Betty Parris is born in Boston, Mass

• On March 27, 1683, the Northampton county court magistrates examines Mary Webster of Hadley on suspicion of witchcraft

• On October 23, 1684, the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter is revoked

• On December 20, 1686, Sir Edmund Andros arrives in Boston and takes control of the Dominion of New England

• On February 13, 1689, Mary and William of Orange become King and Queen of England during the Glorious Revolution, sparking a series of revolts in the colonies

• On April 18, 1689, news of the Glorious Revolution in England inspires the Boston Revolt during which the Dominion of New England is overthrown

• On September 25, 1690, the first newspaper is published in the colonies in Boston, Mass

• On October 7, 1691, the charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay is issued

• On September 19, 1692, Giles Corey is pressed to death during the Salem Witch Trials

• On September 22, 1692, Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Margaret Scott, Wilmot Redd, Samuel Wardwell, & Mary Parker are hanged. These are the last hangings of the Salem Witch Trials

• On July 19, 1692, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe and Sarah Wildes are hanged during the Salem Witch Trials

• On August 2, 1692, the trial of Martha Carrier begins in Salem, Mass

• On August 5, 1692, John and Elizabeth Proctor are found guilty of witchcraft and sentenced to death

• On June 16, 1692, Roger Toothaker dies in prison during the Salem Witch Trials

• On June 29, 1692, the trial of Sarah Wildes begins in Salem, Mass

• On June 30, 1692, the trial of Elizabeth Howe begins in Salem, Mass

• On September 1, 1692, Samuel Wardwell is arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On March 1, 1692, Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourn are arrested on charges of witchcraft in Salem, Mass

• On March 21, 1692, Martha Corey is arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On March 24, 1692, Rebecca Nurse is arrested on charges of witchcraft in Danvers, Mass

• On April 11, 1692, Elizabeth Proctor is examined in Salem on charges of witchcraft

• On April 18, 1692, Mary Warren, Giles Corey, Abigail Hobbs & Bridget Bishop are arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On April 21, 1692, a warrant is issued for the arrest of Sarah Wildes, Mary Easty, Williams Hobbs, Deliverance Hobbs, Nehemiah Abott, Jr, Edward Bishop, Jr, Sarah Bishop, Mary Black, and Mary English on charges of witchcraft

• On April 22, 1692, Sarah Wildes of Topsfield is examined at Salem Village

• On May 2, 1692, Susannah Martin is arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On May 4, 1692, George Burroughs is arrested in Wells, Maine on charges of witchcraft

• On May 10, 1692, George Jacobs Sr is arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On May 12, 1692, Anne Pudeator and Alice Parker are arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On May 14, 1692, the charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay takes effect

• On May 18, 1692, John Willard is arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On May 18, 1692, Roger Toothaker is arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On May 28, 1692, Martha Carrier is arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On May 29, 1692, Elizabeth Howe is arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On May 31, 1692, John Alden Jr is arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On May 31, 1692, Wilmott Redd is arrested on charges of witchcraft

• On June 2, 1692, the trial of Bridget Bishop begins in Salem, Mass

• On June 10, 1692, Bridget Bishop becomes the first person executed during the Salem Witch Trials

• On August 19, 1692, John Proctor, George Jacobs, Sr, Reverend George Burroughs, Martha Carrier, John Willard are hanged during the Salem Witch Trials

• On July 27, 1694, Abenaki warriors attack Groton, Mass

• On May 24, 1699, Thomas Putnam dies in Salem at the age of 47

18^th Century Massachusetts:

• On May 15, 1700, Reverend John Hale dies in his home at the John Hale Farm in Beverly, Mass

• On February 29, 1704, the Raid on Deerfield, Mass occurs during Queen Anne’s War

• On August 25, 1706, afflicted girl Ann Putnam, Jr, publicly apologizes for her role in the Salem Witch Trials

• On October 17, 1711, the Massachusetts Legislature clears the names of some of the Salem Witch Trials victims

• On May 10, 1717, Salem Witch Trials Judge John Hathorne dies at the age of 76

• On June 9, 1718, Salem Witch Judge Jonathan Corwin dies in Salem, Mass

• On February 27, 1720, former Salem minister Samuel Parris dies at the age of 67

• On February 13, 1728, Cotton Mather dies at the age of 65

• On October 30, 1735, John Adams is born in Braintree, Mass

• On January 23, 1737, John Hancock is born in Braintree, Mass

• On November 18, 1755, the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Massachusetts occurs

• On September 30, 1759, Massachusetts soldiers threaten mutiny during the French and Indian War

• On December 17, 1760, Deborah Sampson is born in Plimpton, Mass

• On July 11, 1761, Phillis Wheatley is purchased as a slave in Boston, Mass

• On October 7, 1763, the British government issues the Royal Proclamation of 1763

• On August 24, 1764, 3,000 angry colonists storm Salem after members of the committee of correspondence are arrested for holding a town meeting

• On August 14, 1765, the Sons of Liberty incite a riot in Boston over the Stamp Act

• On March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre takes place on King Street

• On December 14, 1770, two British soldiers convicted in the Boston Massacre trial are branded as punishment

• On January 6, 1773, Massachusetts slaves petition legislature for freedom

• On December 16, 1773, the Boston Tea Party takes place in Boston harbor

• On March 28, 1774, Britain passes the Coercive Acts against Massachusetts

• On September 1, 1774, thousands of farmers storm Cambridge to protest the powder raid in Somerville, Mass

• On September 26, 1774, Johnny Appleseed is born in Leominster, Mass

• On October 6, 1774, Judge John Hathorne’s mansion at 114 Washington Street, a nearby meetinghouse, 8 dwellings and 14 stores are destroyed in a fire in Salem, Mass

• On December 13, 1774, Paul Revere rides to Portsmouth N.H. to warn colonists the redcoats were coming

• On February 26, 1775, a skirmish occurs at North Bridge in Salem during the American Revolution

• On April 7, 1775, Francis Cabot Lowell is born in Newburyport, Mass

• On April 19, 1775, Paul Revere and William Dawes take their midnight ride

• On April 19, 1775, the Shot Heard Round the World occurs in Concord, Mass

• On April 19, 1775, the Siege of Boston begins after the battles of Lexington and Concord take place

• On April 22, 1775, British General Thomas Gage meets with town officials to work out a deal that would allow civilians to leave or enter Boston during the Siege of Boston

• On May 21, 1775, the Battle of Grape Island takes place during the Siege of Boston

• On May 27, 1775, the Battle of Chelsea Creek takes place during the Siege of Boston

• On June 17, 1775, the Battle of Bunker Hill takes place in Charlestown, Mass

• On July 8, 1775, a skirmish at Boston Neck during Siege of Boston

• On July 21, 1775, the Battle of Brewster Island takes place during the Siege of Boston

• On August 8, 1775, the Battle of Gloucester occurs during the Siege of Boston

• On March 17, 1776, the Siege of Boston comes to an end

• On April 28, 1778, the Massachusetts legislature passes a law officially allowing the enlistment of African-American soldiers in the Continental Army

• On September 9, 1779, Paul Revere is court-martialed for disobeying orders during the Penobscot Expedition

• On June 16, 1780, Massachusetts legislature approves the State Constitution

• On October 25, 1780, John Hancock becomes the first elected governor of Massachusetts

• On October 8, 1782, the Dutch Republic signs a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States during the Revolutionary War

• On August 29, 1786, Shays’ Rebellion begins in Massachusetts

• On January 25, 1787, rebels attack Springfield Arsenal during Shay’s Rebellion

• On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts becomes the sixth state to join the United States of America

• On March 14, 1794, Massachusetts native Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin

• On September 20, 1797, the first attempt to launch the newly built USS Constitution into Boston harbor fails

• On September 22, 1797, the second attempt to launch the USS Constitution fails

• On October 21, 1797, the USS Constitution is officially launched at Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard in Boston, Mass

• On February 24, 1799, midnight rider William Dawes dies

19^th Century Massachusetts:

• On March 7, 1801 Massachusetts enacts the first state voter registration law in history

• On March 26, 1802, Revolutionary War veteran Deborah Sampson performs in Boston, Mass

• On October 2, 1803, Samuel Adams dies

• On July 4, 1804, Nathaniel Hawthorne is born in Salem, Mass

• On January 19, 1809, Edgar Allan Poe is born in Boston, Mass

• On February 11, 1812, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signs a redistricting bill, now known as the “gerrymander”

• On June 26, 1812, the Massachusetts House of Representatives condemns the war of 1812 and votes against it

• On August 5, 1812, the Massachusetts Governor Caleb Strong refuses to commit the Massachusetts state militia to the War of 1812. In response, President Madison refuses to send troops to Massachusetts to protect them from a British invasion

• On June 1, 1813, the Battle of Boston Harbor takes place during the War of 1812

• On June 11, 1814, barges from two British ships enter Scituate Harbor in Massachusetts and burn several ships before stealing several others during the War of 1812

• On June 13, 1814, British troops from the HMS Nimrod bombard and invade Wareham, Mass during the War of 1812

• On September 9, 1814, Old Stone Fort at Bearskin Neck in Rockport, Mass is captured by British forces during the War of 1812

• On January 28, 1814, Falmouth, Mass is bombarded by a British brig, HMS Nimrod, during the War of 1812

• On April 3, 1814, the USS Constitution is chased into Marblehead Harbor by two British warships, the Tenedos and Junon, during the War of 1812

• On February 12, 1815, news of a peace treaty reaches Boston during the War of 1812

• On July 12, 1817, Henry David Thoreau is born in Concord, Mass

• On May 10, 1818, Paul Revere dies of natural causes at the age of 83

• On August 13, 1818, Women’s rights pioneer Lucy Stone is born in West Brookfield, Mass

• On March 15, 1820, Massachusetts loses Maine when it officially becomes a state

• On July 4, 1826, John Adams dies at the age of 91

• On August 26, 1826, Quincy Market opens in Boston, Mass

• On October 11, 1828, the defunct Beverly Cotton Manufactory burns down

• On November 1, 1830, former U.S. President John Adams is elected to the House of Representatives

• On April 30, 1844, Henry David Thoreau accidentally burns down half of the Concord woods

• On March 18, 1845, Johnny Appleseed dies

• On July 23, 1846, Henry David Thoreau spends a night in jail for refusing to pay a poll tax

• On October 16, 1846, a Boston dentist demonstrates ether for the first time at Massachusetts General Hospital

• On February 18, 1847, Bostonians hold a meeting at Faneuil Hall in response to the news of the Irish famine

• On February 29, 1848, Worcester becomes a city

• On February 14, 1849, the first American-made Valentines are sold in Worcester, Mass

• On November 23, 1849, Dr. George Parkman is murdered and his body is dismembered and partially cremated in a furnace at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Mass

• On January 26, 1850, John Webster is indicted in the murder of Dr. George Parkman

• On April 1, 1850, John Webster is found guilty in the murder of Dr. George Parkman is sentenced to death by hanging

• On August 30, 1850, John Webster is publicly hanged at the Leverett Street Jail in Boston for the murder of Dr. George Parkman

• On May 24, 1854, fugitive slave Anthony Burns is captured in Boston, Mass

• On August 9, 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden is published

• On February 17, 1855, William Bradford’s long lost manuscript about Plymouth Colony is discovered in England

• On April 28, 1855, a state law was signed making segregated schools in Massachusetts unlawful

• On May 22, 1856, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner is attacked on the floor of the U.S. Senate

• On March 12, 1857, abolitionist John Brown speaks in Concord, Mass

• On April 3, 1860, Concord schoolmaster Franklin Benjamin Sanborn is detained by federal marshals on suspicion that he was a member of the Secret Six who assisted abolitionist John Brown

• On May 6, 1862, Henry David Thoreau dies of tuberculosis at the age of 44

• On April 9, 1863, John Wilkes Booth purchases property on Commonwealth Ave in Boston

• On July 14, 1863, the Boston Draft Riots occur on Prince Street in the North End

• On July 26, 1864, John Wilkes Booth meets with his fellow conspirators at the Parker House Hotel in Boston to hatch a plan to kidnap Abraham Lincoln

• On February 2, 1865, Governor Andrew orders a 100 gun salute on Boston Common in celebration of the newly passed 13^th amendment

• On April 5, 1865, John Wilkes Booth arrives in Boston for a short trip during which he is seen at a local firing range practicing his pistol shooting just 10 days before assassinating President Lincoln

• On April 17, 1865, after being detained in Boston by federal marshals following Lincoln’s assassination, Edwin Booth, brother to John Wilkes Booth, is released and allowed to return to New York City

• On November 19, 1867, Charles Dickens arrives in Boston during a two-year reading tour of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and other stories

• On March 4, 1872, the Boston Globe publishes its first edition

• On November 9, 1872, the Great Boston Fire begins in a warehouse basement on Sumner Street

• On February 12, 1877, Alexander Graham Bell publicly demonstrates the telephone for the first time in Salem, Mass

• On April 4, 1877, the first home telephone is installed in Somerville, Mass

• On May 13, 1878, the Danvers State Hospital officially opens in Danvers, Mass

• On March 29, 1880, Louisa May Alcott is the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Mass

• On January 5, 1885, Boston swears in first Irish-born mayor

• On March 6, 1888, Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, dies in Concord, Mass at the age of 55

• In 1891, the first gasoline-powered car debuts in Springfield, Mass

• On December 12, 1891 the first game of basketball is played in Springfield, Mass

• On August 4, 1892, Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother are murdered in Fall River, Mass

• On September 7, 1892, poet John Greenleaf Whittier dies at the age of 85

• On June 20, 1893, Lizzie Borden is acquitted in Fall River, Mass

• On February 9, 1895, volleyball is invented by W. G. Morgan in Holyoke, Mass

• On April 18, 1895, workers building the Boston subway discover human remains under Boylston street

• On March 4, 1897, a gas explosion on Tremont street in Boston kills 10 people and causes extensive damage to nearby buildings

• On April 12, 1897, a royal decree is issued to return William Bradford’s manuscript, Of Plymouth Plantation, to the United States, more than 40 years after it was discovered in Fulham, England

• On May 26, 1897, the British government officially returns William Bradford’s manuscript, Of Plymouth Plantation, to Massachusetts

• On September 1, 1897, the first subway in America opens in Boston, Mass

20^th Century Massachusetts:

• On March 17, 1901, Boston celebrates its first Evacuation Day

• On December 12, 1901, Parker Brothers is founded in Salem, Mass

• On February 23, 1903, the Gardner Museum opens in Boston, Mass

• On January 18, 1903, the first trans-Atlantic radio broadcast, between President Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII of Great Britain, takes place at Marconi Station in Wellfleet, Mass

• On August 21, 1909, the Pilgrim Monument is completed in Provincetown, Mass

• On June 4, 1912, Massachusetts passes the first US minimum wage law

• On December 24, 1912, one of the nation’s first public Christmas trees is lit on Boston Common

• On July 21, 1918, a German submarine U-156 attacks Nauset Beach, in Orleans, Mass

• On September 11, 1918, the Boston Red Sox win the World Series

• On January 15, 1919, the Great Molasses Flood takes place in Boston, Mass

• On June 25, 1914, the Great Salem Fire of 1914 takes place in Salem, Mass

• On May 5, 1920, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are arrested for the robbery and murder of a paymaster at a shoe factory in Massachusetts

• On August 23, 1927, Massachusetts executes anarchists and convicted murderers Sacco and Vanzetti

• On September 22, 1940, the Paul Revere Statue is unveiled in Boston, Mass

• On February 27, 1946, Malcolm X is imprisoned at Charlestown State Prison in Charlestown, Mass

• On June 22, 1946, the Quabbin Reservoir is filled in

• On July 16, 1952, the Coast Guard spots unidentified flying objects over Winter’s Island in Salem, Mass

• On May 16, 1957, the Massachusetts Turnpike opens

• On November 8, 1960, Boston native John F. Kennedy is elected President of the United States

• On January 9, 1961, John F. Kennedy bids farewell to the Massachusetts Legislature before leaving for Washington D.C. for his presidential inauguration

• On June 14, 1962, police find the first victim of the Boston strangler

• On November 6, 1962, Edward “Ted” Kennedy of Massachusetts is elected to the U.S. Senate and remains Senator until his death in 2009

• On July 2, 1976, domestic terrorists bomb three sites in Massachusetts

• On August 8, 1984, the 1629 Massachusetts Bay Colony charter is stolen from a display case at the Old Statehouse in Boston, Mass

• On March 10, 1985, the stolen Massachusetts Bay Colony charter is found during a drug raid at an apartment in Dorchester, Mass

• On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

• In September of 1991, construction begins on the Big Dig

• On June 24, 1992, the Danvers State Hospital officially closes down in Danvers, Mass

21^st Century Massachusetts:

• On September 11, 2001, two planes take off from Logan Airport in Boston and are hijacked and flown into the Twin Towers in New York City during the September 11 terrorist attacks

• On October 31, 2001, the Massachusetts Legislature clears the names of five Salem Witch Trials victims

• On October 4, 2002, the newly constructed Leonard P. Zakim bridge is dedicated

• On October 14, 2002, fourteen elephants from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus are walked across the Zakim Bridge to test its structural integrity

• In December of 2003, the southbound lanes of the Zakim bridge are opened and the remaining lanes are opened in April of 2005

• On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts becomes the first state to legalize same-sex marriage after a ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court

• On October 27, 2004, the Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the first time in 86 years

• On April 4, 2006, the Massachusetts General Court passes a healthcare reform law, titled An Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care, that makes it the first state in America to offer universal healthcare

• On December 31, 2007, construction on the Big Dig is completed

• On August 25, 2009, Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy dies of cancer in Hyannis Port, Mass

• On June 22, 2011, Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger is captured in California after 16 years on the run

• On April 15, 2013, the Boston Marathon Bombing takes place near the finish line on Boylston Street

• On April 18, 2013, a massive two-day manhunt ensues for the Boston Marathon bombers after surveillance photos of two suspects are made public and the two men attack a MIT police officer and carjack a vehicle on campus

• On April 19, 2013, one of the suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is killed during a shoot out with police in Watertown while the other suspect, his brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is injured but escapes on foot. He is captured eight hours later in Watertown

• On April 8, 2015, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is convicted on 30 counts

• On May 15, 2015, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is sentenced to death on six counts for his role in the Boston Marathon Bombing

For more information on Massachusetts history, check out this article on Massachusetts historic sites.

Sources:
Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “Timeline of the American Revolution.” History of Massachusetts Blog, November 10, 2011, historyofmassachusetts.org/timeline-of-the-american-revolution/
Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “Timeline of the Salem Witch Trials.” History of Massachusetts Blog, Jan. 4, 2012, historyofmassachusetts.org/timeline-of-the-salem-witch-trials/
Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “Timeline of the War of 1812.” History of Massachusetts Blog, Jan. 25, 2018, historyofmassachusetts.org/war-of-1812-timeline/
Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “Industrial Revolution Timeline.” History of Massachusetts Blog, March 16, 2019, historyofmassachusetts.org/industrial-revolution-timeline/
Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “Plymouth Colony Timeline.” History of Massachusetts Blog, Sept. 19, 2017, historyofmassachusetts.org/plymouth-colony-timeline/
Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “Massachusetts Bay Colony Timeline.” History of Massachusetts Blog, Dec. 14, 2019, historyofmassachusetts.org/massachusetts-bay-colony-timeline/
O’Neill, Ann. “Tsarnaev Trial: Timeline of the Bombings, Manhunt and Aftermath.” CNN, 15 March. 2015, www.cnn.com/2015/03/04/us/tsarnaev-trial-timeline/index.html
“USS Constitution Timeline.” USS Constitution Museum, ussconstitutionmuseum.org/discover-learn/history/timeline/