History Hop Tags - Massachusetts

1613-07-02

The first English expedition from Massachusetts against Acadia led by Samuel Argall.

1621-12-25

Gov William Bradford of Plymouth Colony (now in Massachusetts) forbids game playing on Christmas

1623-11-01

Fire at Plymouth, Massachusetts destroys several buildings

1628-03-04

England's King Charles I grants a royal charter to Massachusetts Bay Colony

1628-03-19

Massachusetts Bay Colony granted land by England

1629-08-26

Cambridge Agreement, Massachusetts Bay Company stockholders agree to emigrate

1630-09-17

The city of Boston, Massachusetts is founded.

1631-05-18

English colony Massachusetts Bay grants puritarian voting right

1631-05-18

John Winthrop is elected 1st governor of Massachusetts

1633-10-08

Massachusetts Bay Colony forms its first government

1634-05-31

The colony of Massachusetts Bay annexes Maine colony

1636-08-18

The Covenant of the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts is first signed.

1636-10-04

In Massachusetts the Plymouth Colony's 1st law drafted

1636-10-28

Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) founded

1636-12-13

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.

1637-11-07

Anne Hutchinson tried in Massachusetts Bay Colony as a heretic

1638-03-22

Religious dissident Anne Hutchinson expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony

1639-06-06

Massachusetts grants 500 acres of land to erect a gunpowder mill

1639-11-05

First post office in the colonies is set up in Massachusetts

1642-06-14

1st compulsory education law in America passed by Massachusetts

1643-05-19

Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut & New Harbor form United Colonies of New England

1643-07-05

1st recorded tornado in US (Essex County, Massachusetts)

1644-03-07

Massachusetts establishes 1st two-chamber legislature in colonies

1646-10-28

First Protestant church assembly for American indians (Massachusetts)

1646-11-04

Massachusetts uses death penalty for denying that Holy Bible is God's word

1647-05-26

Massachusetts disallows priest access to colony

1647-11-11

Massachusetts passes first compulsory school attendance law in the American colonies

1651-12-25

Massachusetts General Court ordered a five shilling fine for "observing any such day as Christmas"

1660-06-01

Mary Dyer is hanged for defying a law banning Quakers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1672-05-15

1st copyright law enacted by Massachusetts

1675-06-20

Abenaki, Massachusetts, Mohegan & Wampanoag indians form anti-English front under Metacom

1675-11-02

A combined attack by the Plymouth, Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut colonies attacks the Great Swamp Fort, owned by the Narragansetts during King Philip's War.

1677-03-13

Massachusetts gains title to Maine for $6,000

1679-09-18

New Hampshire becomes a county in Massachusetts Bay Colony

1680-07-08

The first confirmed tornado in America kills a servant at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1684-06-21

King Charles II revokes Massachusetts Bay Colony charter

1684-10-23

Colony Massachusetts under authority of English crown mounted

1691-09-17

Massachusetts Bay Colony granted new charter

1691-10-17

New royal charter for Massachusetts, now including Maine, Plymouth

1692-05-27

Court of Oyer and Terminer established by Governor of Massachusetts to hear accussations of witchcraft

1692-08-19

Five more people hanged for witchcraft (20 in all) in Salem, Massachusetts

1699-01-14

Massachusetts holds day of fasting for wrongly persecuting "witches"

1722-07-25

The Three Years War begins along the Maine and Massachusetts border.

1765-08-14

Massachusetts colonists challenge British rule by an Elm (Liberty Tree)

1769-09-18

John Harris of Boston, Massachusetts, builds 1st spinet piano

1773-01-06

Massachusetts slaves petition legislature for freedom

1774-03-28

Britain passes Coercive Act against Massachusetts

1774-10-21

First display of the word "Liberty" on a flag, raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts and which was in defiance of British rule in Colonial America.

1775-12-05

At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1776-01-24

Henry Knox arrives at Cambridge, Massachusetts with the artillery that he has transported from Fort Ticonderoga.

1776-03-04

The American War of Independence: The Americans capture Dorchester Heights dominating the port of Boston, Massachusetts.

1780-10-25

John Hancock becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts

1785-01-29

In a surprising announcement, John Hancock resigns as Governor of Massachusetts, allegedly due to his failing health

1787-02-04

Shays' Rebellion (of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers) fails

1788-02-06

Massachusetts becomes 6th state to ratify constitution

1792-02-23

Humane Society of Massachusetts incorporated (erected life-saving stations for distressed mariners)

1799-02-13

1st US law regulating insurance passed, by Massachusetts

1801-03-07

Massachusetts enacts 1st state voter registration law

1812-02-11

Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signs a redistricting bill - 1st "gerrymander"

1844-03-21

The original date predicted by William Miller of Massachusetts for the return of Christ and the end of the world.

1851-12-29

1st American Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) chapter opened in Boston Massachusetts.

1852-05-18

Massachusetts rules all school-age children must attend school

1854-10-01

The watch company founded in 1850 in Roxbury by Aaron Lufkin Dennison relocates to Waltham, Massachusetts, to become the Waltham Watch Company, a pioneer in the American System of Watch Manufacturing.

1855-10-09

Joshua Stoddard of Worcester, Massachusetts, patents first calliope

1861-01-19

Misssissippi troops take Fort Massachusetts and Ship Island (US Civil War)

1862-01-31

Astronomer Alvan Graham Clark makes first observation of Sirius B (first known white dwarf star) in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts while testing his new telescope

1863-01-26

American Civil War: Massachusetts Governor receives permission from Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent (54th Massachusetts Regiment)

1869-05-26

Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

1875-10-25

The first performance of the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is given in Boston, Massachusetts with Hans von Bülow as soloist.

1875-11-04

Massachusetts Rifle Association is founded in Boston

1885-05-19

1st mass production of shoes (Jan Matzeliger in Lynn, Massachusetts)

1890-03-18

1st US state naval militia organized (Massachusetts)

1891-09-20

The first gasoline-powered car debuts in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.

1894-01-09

New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts.

1895-02-09

Volleyball invented by W G Morgan in Massachusetts

1898-10-06

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity founded at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

1900-08-10

1st Davis Tennis Cup: USA beats British Isles at Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts (3-0)

1901-10-29

In Amherst, Massachusetts, nurse Jane Toppan is arrested for murdering the Davis family of Boston with an overdose of morphine.

1907-11-28

In Haverhill, Massachusetts, scrap-metal dealer Louis B. Mayer opens his first movie theater.

1908-04-12

Fire makes 17,000 homeless in Chelsea Massachusetts

1912-01-11

Bread & Roses Strike begins in Lawrence, Massachusetts

1912-06-04

Massachusetts passes 1st US minimum wage law

1918-07-21

U-156 shells Nauset Beach, in Orleans, Massachusetts.

1924-09-24

Boston, Massachusetts, opens its airport

1927-06-04

1st Ryder Cup: US beats England, 9½-2½ at Worcester Country Club (Worcester, Massachusetts, US)

1939-03-02

Massachusetts Legislature votes to ratify the US Bill of Rights - 147 years late

1942-12-15

Massachusetts issues 1st US vehicular license plate tabs

1946-11-05

John F Kennedy (Democrat, Massachusetts) elected to US House of Representatives

1950-01-17

The Great Brinks Robbery - 11 men rob $1.2M cash & $1.5M securities from armored car company Brink's offices in Boston, Massachusetts

1951-07-17

Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts, is chartered.

1954-03-04

Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant.

1954-12-23

The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

1955-08-18

46.1 cm rainfall at Westfield, Massachusetts (state record)

1960-06-27

Chlorophyll "A" synthesized in Cambridge, Massachusetts

1960-08-19

The first commercial atomic energy reactor, owned by the Yankee Atomic Electric Company, achieves a self-sustaining nuclear reaction in Rowe, Deerfield River, Massachusetts

1962-11-06

Edward W Brooke (R) elected attorney general of Massachusetts

1965-08-05

Jeff Coffin, Massachusetts, musician (Bela Fleck & the Flecktones)

1975-08-02

107°F (42°C) at Chester/New Bedford, Massachusetts (state record)

1976-12-15

Argo Merchant tanker off Massachusetts' SE coast, spills 7.6 m gallons of crude when ship ran aground

1981-01-12

-35°F (-37°C), Chester, Massachusetts (state record)

1985-10-04

Free Software Foundation is founded in Massachusetts, USA.

1988-07-21

Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis accepts Democratic nomination for president

1989-04-24

Massachusetts declares today "New Kids on the Block Day"

1999-10-31

EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board.

2004-05-17

Massachusetts becomes the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage

2006-02-12

A powerful winter storm blankets the Northeastern United States dumping 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington DC up to Boston, Massachusetts. The storm dumped a record 26.9 inches of snow in New York City.

2007-12-31

The Massive Big Dig construction project in Boston, Massachusetts ends.

2008-05-15

California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.

2017-08-24

Winning ticket sold in Massachusetts for $758.7 million Powerball jackpot

1594-05-01

John Haynes, Massachusetts colonial magistrate

1603-03-18

Simon Bradstreet, Massachusetts Bay colonist (d. 1693)

1609-10-26

William Sprague, English co-founder of Charlestown, Massachusetts (d. 1675)

1663-02-12

Cotton Mather, Boston Massachusetts, American Puritan minister (Salem witchcraft trials)

1675-09-03

Paul Dudley, Attorney-General of Massachusetts (d. 1751)

1694-12-02

William Shirley, Colonial Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1771)

1722-09-27

Samuel Adams, Boston Massachusetts, US revolutionary and politican (Lt Gov-Mass, 1789-94)

1725-03-24

Thomas Cushing, American Continental Congressman and acting Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1788)

1735-10-30

John Adams, Braintree (Quincy) Massachusetts, 2nd US President (1797-1801)

1739-03-05

Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, doctor, Massachusetts militia officer, member of the Massachusetts legislature (d. 1819)

1744-04-22

James Sullivan, 7th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1808)

1744-12-22

Abigail Adams, Weymouth Massachusetts, 2nd first lady (1797-1801)

1745-01-09

Caleb Strong, 6th and 10th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1819)

1746-11-27

Increase Sumner, 5th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1799)

1749-05-15

Levi Lincoln, Sr., American revolutionary, statesman, politician, and acting Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1820)

1752-05-04

John Brooks, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)

1753-06-10

William Eustis, 12th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)

1758-09-21

Christopher Gore, 8th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1827)

1765-12-08

Eli Whitney, Westborough Massachusetts, inventor (Cotton Gin)

1766-07-09

Jacob Perkins, Newburyport Massachusetts, American Inventor

1767-07-11

John Quincy Adams, Braintree (Quincy) Massachusetts, 6th President of the United States (D) (1825-1829)

1782-10-25

Levi Lincoln, Jr., 13th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1868)

1784-04-29

Samuel Turell Armstrong, American politician and acting Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1850)

1784-12-19

Marcus Morton, 16th and 18th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1864)

1787-01-13

John Davis, 14th and 17th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1854)

1791-04-27

Samuel Morse, Charlestown, Massachusetts, American inventor (telegraph, Morse code) and painter

1796-04-12

George N. Briggs, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861)

1796-05-04

Horace Mann, Franklin Massachusetts, American educator/author/editor (pioneered public schools)

1800-02-14

Emory Washburn, 22nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1877)

1800-10-03

George Bancroft, Worcester Massachusetts, American historian (History of the United States)

1803-05-25

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Boston Massachusetts, American essayist/philosopher (Concord Hymn)

1804-03-08

Alvan Clark, Ashfield Massachusetts, American Astronomer and maker of the Dearborn Observatory telescope, Old University of Chicago, the largest telescope in the world at the time

1804-07-04

Nathaniel Hawthorne, Salem Massachusetts, author (House of 7 Gables, Scarlet Letter)

1809-09-21

Sophia Hawthorne, Salem Massachusetts, American writer, painter and illustator

1816-03-02

Alexander H. Bullock, 26th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1882)

1818-03-06

William Claflin, 27th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1905)

1818-08-30

Alexander H. Rice, 30th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1895)

1818-09-07

Thomas Talbot, 31st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1886)

1819-06-14

Henry J. Gardner, 23rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1892)

1819-11-23

Josiah Dwight Whitney, Northampton Massachusetts, American Geologist who led the California Geological Survey (Mount Whitney and Whitney Glacier are named for him)

1820-01-31

William B. Washburn, 28th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1887)

1831-02-04

Oliver Ames, 35th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1895)

1832-01-13

Horatio Alger, Jr., Chelsea Massachusetts, American minister and author (Lost at Sea, Work & Win)

1834-01-20

George D. Robinson, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)

1834-08-18

Marshall Field, Conway Massachusetts, owner (Field Dept Store)

1834-11-21

henrietta (Hetty) Green, New Bedford, Massachusetts, financier (Witch of Wall Street), (d. 1916)

1838-10-27

John Davis Long, 32nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)

1841-03-08

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr, Boston Massachusetts, 59th Supreme Court justice (1902-32)

1842-01-04

Frederic T. Greenhalge, 38th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)

1842-06-08

John Q. A. Brackett, 36th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1918)

1845-08-22

William Lewis Douglas, 42nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1924)

1847-09-02

Roger Wolcott, 39th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1900)

1851-02-28

Samuel W. McCall, 47th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1923)

1853-04-23

Winthrop M. Crane, 40th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1920)

1856-09-03

Louis Sullivan, Boston Massachusetts, American architect (father of skyscrapers)

1857-01-06

William E. Russell, 37th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)

1857-03-23

Fannie Farmer, Boston, Massachusetts, American culinary figure

1858-09-24

Eugene Foss, 45th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1939)

1859-09-18

John L. Bates, 41st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1946)

1860-02-02

Curtis Guild, Jr., 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)

1860-07-19

Lizzie Borden, Fall River Massachusetts, acquitted of murder (gave her mother forty whacks)

1862-12-22

Connie Mack, East Brookfield, Massachusetts, HOF baseball executive/manager (Phila A's 1900-1950), (d. 1956)

1868-02-23

William E B Du Bois, Great Barrington Massachusetts, civil rights activist and writer (Souls of Black Folk)

1872-04-07

William Monroe Trotter, Hyde Park, Massachusetts, newspaper editor and African-American rights activist

1872-11-11

David I. Walsh, 46th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1947)

1874-08-31

Edward Thorndike, Williamsburg, Massachusetts, USA, American psychologist (father of modern educational psychology)

1874-10-06

Frank G. Allen, 51st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1950)

1874-11-20

James Michael Curley, 53rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)

1878-02-27

Alvan T. Fuller, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)

1879-10-28

Channing H. Cox, 49th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1968)

1889-01-01

Charles Bickford, Cambridge Massachusetts, actor (John-The Virginian)

1890-07-22

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Boston Massachusetts, mom of JFK, RFK & Ted, (d. 1995)

1892-09-01

Leverett Saltonstall, 55th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1979)

1893-11-24

Charles F. Hurley, 54th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1946)

1894-05-31

Fred Allen, Cambridge Massachusetts, comedian (Fred Allen Radio Show)

1894-10-14

E.E.Cummings (Edward Estlin), Cambridge Massachusetts, poet (Tulips & Chimneys)

1895-03-28

Christian Herter, 59th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1966)

1898-08-10

Jack Haley [John Joseph], Boston, Massachusetts, American actor (The Wizard of Oz, Ford Star Revue)

1900-12-06

Agnes Moorehead, Clinton, Massachusetts, American actress (Endora-Bewitched)

1901-05-22

Maurice J. Tobin, 56th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1953)

1902-08-05

Irene Rice Pereira, Chelsea, Massachusetts, American abstract artist

1902-12-15

Robert F. Bradford, 57th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1983)

1903-01-15

Paul A. Dever, 58th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)

1903-12-19

George Davis Snell, Bradford, Massachusetts, American geneticist (H-2 gene)

1904-03-02

Dr. Seuss, [Theodor Geisel], Springfield, Massachusetts, children's author (Horton Hears a Who!)

1905-02-10

Walter Brown, Massachusetts US, original owner of the Boston Celtics and important figure in the development of ice hockey in the United States

1909-02-16

Jeffrey Lynn, Auburn, Massachusetts, American actor (Four Daughters, Roaring Twenties)

1911-07-29

Foster Furcolo, 60th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1995)

1915-06-02

Florence Holway, Massachusetts, 75 year old rape victim and activist, (d. 2012)

1915-07-29

Francis W. Sargent, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1998)

1917-03-01

Robert Lowell, Boston, Massachusetts, American poet/pacifist (Lord Weary's Castle, Near the Ocean)

1920-02-15

Endicott Peabody, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1997)

1920-04-19

Frank Fontaine, Cambridge Massachusetts, comedian (Crazy Guggenheim)

1923-03-26

Bob Elliot, Boston, Massachusetts, American comedian (Bob & Ray, Get a Life)

1923-06-05

Daniel Rogers Pinkham, Lynn Massachusetts, composer (Signs of Zodiac)

1923-09-01

Rocky Marciano, Brockton, Massachusetts, heavyweight champion boxer (1952-56), (d. 1969)

1924-08-21

Jack Buck, Holyoke Massachusetts, American sports announcer (St. Louis Cardinals)

1925-05-11

Edward J. King, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2006)

1925-09-17

Dorothy Loudon, Boston, Massachusetts, American actress and singer (Garry Moore Show, Annie)

1927-04-27

John Joseph Moakley, (Rep-D-Massachusetts, 1973- )

1928-01-02

Vaughn Beals, Cambridge Massachusetts, CEO (Harley Davidson motorcycle)

1928-03-25

Hilton Kramer, Gloucester, Massachusetts, art critic, (d. 2012)

1929-09-03

Whitey Bulger [James Joseph Bulger Jr.], Boston Massachusetts, American gangster

1929-09-25

Kevin White, Boston, Massachusetts, American politicians (Mayor of Boston, 1968-1984), (d. 2012)

1929-10-07

Harold Zirin, Boston, Massachusetts, astronomer, (d. 2012)

1930-01-01

Frederick Wiseman, Boston, Massachusetts, documentary filmmaker

1930-03-27

Richard Hayman, Cambridge Massachusetts, orchestra leader (Vaughn Monroe Show)

1931-05-27

James Wilson, Boston, Massachusetts, criminologist ('Zero Tolerance' policing), (d. 2012)

1931-10-16

Charles W Colson, Boston Massachusetts, presidential adviser (Watergate figure), (d. 2012)

1932-02-22

Edward M "Ted" Kennedy, Boston Massachusetts Politician (Sen-D-Mass 1962- 2009 )

1932-10-27

Sylvia Plath, Boston Massachusetts, American poet (Colossus, 3 Women, Bell Jar)

1933-11-26

Robert Goulet, Lawrence, Massachusetts, American singer and actor (d. 2007)

1934-08-19

William Cleary, Cambridge Massachusetts, hockey center, (Oly-gold/silv-56, 60)

1936-09-03

John W Olver, (Rep-D-Massachusetts)

1936-11-05

Michael Dertouzos, Greek internet pioneer, Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Director of the M.I.T. Laboratory for Computer Science (d. 2001)

1938-04-05

Nancy Holt, Worcester Massachusetts, American artist (land art)

1938-04-25

Roger Boisjoly, Lowell, Massachusetts, aerodynamicist (anticipated challenger disaster), (d. 2012)

1940-02-04

John Schuck, Boston, Massachusetts, American actor (McMillan & Wife, Holmes & Yoyo)

1940-11-15

Sam Waterson, Cambridge Massachusetts, American actor (Capricorn One, Heaven's Gate)

1941-04-18

Walter Francis Sweeney, Cohasset, Massachusetts, NFL Guard (San Diego Chargers), (d. 2013)

1941-06-05

Robert Kraft, Brookline Massachusetts, American owner of the New England Patriots

1942-03-25

Paul Michael Glaser, Cambridge Massachusetts, actor (Starsky-Starsky & Hutch)

1947-03-12

Mitt Romney, 70th Governor of Massachusetts

1947-09-06

Jane Curtin, Cambridge Massachusetts, actress (SNL, Allie Lowell-Kate & Allie)

1947-10-10

Alan Rachins, Cambridge Massachusetts, actor (Douglas-LA Law)

1948-04-24

Paul Cellucci, 69th Governor of Massachusetts and former United States Ambassador to Canada, (d. 2013)

1949-02-14

Richard E Neal, (Rep-D-Massachusetts)

1950-01-29

Ann Jillian, Cambridge Massachusetts, actress (Mr Mom, Jennifer Slept Here)

1950-09-10

Joe Perry, Lawrence, Massachusetts, American rock guitarist (Aerosmith-Walk this Way)

1950-11-03

James Rothman, Haverhill Massachusetts, American Biochemist and Nobel Laureate who discovered how vesicles, sac-like structures that transport hormones and growth factors, reach their destination in cells and know where and when to release their contents

1951-03-24

Pat Bradley, Westford Massachusetts, LPGA golfer (1981 US Women's Open)

1952-09-24

Joseph P Kennedy II, (Rep-D-Massachusetts)

1954-10-25

Mike Eruzione, Winthrop Massachusetts, American ice hockey player (Olympic Gold Medal 1980)

1956-07-31

Deval Patrick, 71st Governor of Massachusetts

1962-08-13

John Slattery, Boston, Massachusetts, American actor (Mad Men, The Adjustment Bureau)

1963-04-14

Meg Mallon, Natick Massachusetts, LPGA golfer (1991 US Women's Open)

1963-05-29

Brian Tierney, The Kennedys of Massachusetts

1963-08-30

Michael Chiklis, Lowell, Massachusetts, American actor (Commish, The Shield)

1963-09-05

Kristian Alfonso, Brockton, Massachusetts, American actress (Days of Lives, Falcon Crest)

1965-02-24

Jane Swift, former acting Governor of Massachusetts

1965-12-14

Ken Hill, Lynn, Massachusetts, American MLB pitcher (Montreal Expos)

1967-07-25

Matt LeBlanc, Newton Massachusetts, actor (Joey Tribbiani-Friends)

1970-03-07

Jacquelyn Doucette, Miss Massachusetts USA (1996)

1970-10-08

Matt Damon, Cambridge, Massachusetts, American actor (Good Will Hunting, Ocean's trilogy, Bourne trilogy)

1971-06-05

Mark Wahlberg, Boston, Massachusetts, rap singer (Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch) and actor (Boogie Nights, The Departed)

1971-9-17

Nicole Jesson, The Gores of Massachusetts

1972-03-23

Jennifer K Chapman, Miss USA-Massachusetts (1997)

1972-04-21

Lori Flick, Boston Massachusetts, Miss America-Massachusetts (1997)

1972-07-12

Travis Best, Springfield, Massachusetts, American basketball player (1995-2002 Indiana Pacers)

1974-02-10

Elizabeth Banks, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, American actress (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Man on a Ledge)

1974-05-17

Marcia Turner, Cambridge Massachusetts, Miss America (Mass-Top 10-1996)

1974-08-30

Rich Cronin, Boston Massachusetts, US singer songwriter (Lyte Funkie Ones)

1975-08-21

Alicia Witt, Worcester, Massachusetts, American actress (Cybill, Fun)

1978-06-08

Maria Menounos, Medford, Massachusetts, 1996 Miss Massachusetts Teen USA

1979-08-09

Jessica Gregory, Miss Massachusetts Teen USA (1997)

1981-07-12

Christina Nikitas, The Kennedys of Massachusetts

1749-11-17

Founding Father of the United States Roger Sherman (28) weds first wife Elizabeth Hartwell in Massachusetts

1757-08-04

American revolution patriot Paul Revere (22) weds Sarah Orne in Bridgewater, Massachusetts

1764-10-25

2nd American President John Adams (28) weds Abigail Smith (19) in Weymouth, Massachusetts (marriage lasts 54 years)

1773-10-10

American revolution patriot Paul Revere (38) weds Rachel Walker in Boston, Massachusetts

1835-09-14

American leading transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson (33) marries 2nd wife Lydia (Lidian) Jackson in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

1847-08-04

Author of Moby Dick, American novelist Herman Melville (28) marries Elizabeth Shaw, daughter of Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

1877-07-11

Scientist and inventor Alexander Graham Bell (30) weds Mabel Hubbard (19) at the Hubbard estate in Cambridge, Massachusetts

1894-06-20

Basketball inventor James Naismith (32) weds Maude Evelyn Sherman (23) in Springfield, Massachusetts

1895-12-19

Poet Robert Frost (21) weds Elinor Miriam White in Lawrence, Massachusetts

1906-03-14

Film director D. W. Griffith (31) weds Linda Arvidson (21) at Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts

1907-04-08

Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser (24) weds Bess Fosburgh in Boston, Massachusetts

1910-05-26

US General George S. Patton (24) weds Frederick Ayer's daughter Beatrice Ayer at Beverly Farms Episcopal Church near Boston, Massachusetts

1913-04-09

US Admiral Chester Nimitz (28) weds Catherine Freeman (21) in Wollaston, Massachusetts

1940-08-30

CBS news correspondent Mike Wallace (22) weds Norma Kaphan in Brookline, Massachusetts

1973-08-09

Actor Anthony Perkins (41) weds photographer Berinthia Berenson (25) in Cape Cod, Massachusetts

1978-06-04

Broadcaster Howard Stern (24) marries Alison Berns at Temple Ohabei Shalom, Brookline Massachusetts.

1978-08-23

Actress Kate Jackson (29) weds actor Andrew Stevens (23) in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts

1986-07-19

Caroline Kennedy (28) weds Edwin Schlossberg (41) at the Church of Our Lady of Victory in Centerville, Massachusetts

1996-10-19

"Rescue Me" actor-comedian Lenny Clarke (43) weds former TV producer Jennifer Miller (31) at Martha's Vineyard in Cambridge, Massachusetts

1998-08-22

FOX News Channel correspondent and Robert F. Kennedy's youngest son Douglas Kennedy (32) weds Molly Stark (29) in Nantucket, Massachusetts

2002-07-05

"Smallville" actor Tom Welling (25) weds model Jamie White in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

2004-07-31

"Ed" actor Tom Cavanagh (35) weds "Sports Illustrated" photo editor Maureen Grise (33) at a 19th-century, cedar-shingled Roman Catholic church in Nantucket, Massachusetts

2007-11-10

Former "E.R." actress Julianna Margulies (41) weds lawyer Keith Lieberthal in Lenox, Massachusetts

2009-07-11

WWE star John Cena (32) weds Liz Huberdeau in Boston, Massachusetts

2011-07-15

Former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy (44) weds Amy Petitgout in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts

2013-09-01

Screenwriter Seth Meyers (39) weds human rights lawyer Alexi Ashe on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts

1653-07-31

Thomas Dudley, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1576)

1660-06-01

Mary Dyer, English Quaker (martyred) - hanged for defying a law banning Quakers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony

1662-06-14

Henry Vane the Younger, British Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1613)

1672-12-07

Richard Bellingham, English-born Massachusetts colonial magistrate (b. 1592)

1675-10-26

William Sprague, English co-founder of Charlestown, Massachusetts (b. 1609)

1679-03-16

John Leverett, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1616)

1690-05-21

John Eliot, English missionary in Massachusetts, dies at 85

1692-07-10

Bridget Bishop, 1st person to be hanged in Salem witch trials Massachusetts USA

1704-07-20

Peregrine White, first English child born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1620)

1720-04-02

Joseph Dudley, colonial Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1647)

1751-01-25

Paul Dudley, Attorney-General of Massachusetts (b. 1675)

1779-06-16

Sir Francis Bernard, Governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts (b. 1712)

1780-06-03

Thomas Hutchinson, American colonial governor of Massachusetts (b. 1711)

1819-03-08

Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, doctor, Massachusetts militia officer, member of the Massachusetts legislature (b. 1739)

1832-04-01

Robert the Hermit, US ex-slave/hermit in Massachusetts, dies

1900-12-21

Roger Wolcott, American political figure, 39th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1847)

1947-12-25

Gaspar G. Bacon, was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1886)

1994-11-11

John A. Volpe, 61st and 63rd Governor of Massachusetts, 2nd United States Secretary of Transportation (b. 1908)

1997-02-10

Matthew Eappen of Newton Massachusetts (b. 1996)

1997-12-01

Endicott Peabody, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1920)

1998-10-21

Francis W. Sargent, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1915)

2006-09-18

Edward J. King, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1925)

2009-08-25

Edward [Ted] M. Kennedy, United States Senator from Massachusetts (b. 1932)