The vacancy that prompted the special election was created by the death of Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy on August 25, 2009. Kennedy had served as a U.S. senator since 1962, having been elected in a special election to fill the vacancy created when his brother John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States in 1960. The seat was held until the election by an appointee, Senator Paul Kirk, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who was not a candidate in the election to complete the term. This was the first open seat U.S. senate election in Massachusetts since 1984 and the first in this seat since 1962 where Ted Kennedy was first elected. (Full article...)
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Thomas Chalmers Peebles (June 5, 1921 – July 8, 2010) was an American physician who made multiple discoveries in the field of medicine, including being the first to isolate the measlesvirus. Peebles also did research that led to the development of fluoridated vitamins and did research that showed that tetanus vaccine could be given once every ten years, rather than annually as had been the widespread practice. (Full article...)
USS Massachusetts (BB-59) is the third of four South Dakota-classfast battleships built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s. The first American battleships designed after the Washington treaty system began to break down in the mid-1930s, they took advantage of an escalator clause that allowed increasing the main battery to 16-inch (406 mm) guns, but refusal to authorize larger battleships kept their displacement close to the Washington limit of 35,000 long tons (36,000 t). A requirement to be armored against the same caliber of guns as they carried, combined with the displacement restriction, resulted in cramped ships, a problem that was exacerbated by wartime modifications that considerably strengthened their anti-aircraft batteries and significantly increased their crews.
On completion, Massachusetts was sent to support Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa, in November 1942. There, she engaged in an artillery duel with the incomplete French battleship Jean Bart and neutralized her. Massachusetts thereafter transferred to the Pacific War for operations against Japan; she spent the war primarily as an escort for the fast carrier task force to protect the aircraft carriers from surface and air attacks. In this capacity, she took part in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in 1943 and early 1944 and the Philippines campaign in late 1944 and early 1945. Later in 1945, the ship supported Allied forces during the Battle of Okinawa and thereafter participated in attacks on Japan, including bombarding industrial targets on Honshu in July and August. (Full article...)
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Theodore John Conrad (July 10, 1949 – May 18, 2021) was an American bank teller who stole $215,000 (equivalent to $1.79 million in 2023) in cash from the vault of a Cleveland bank in July 1969. He was never apprehended or convicted, but he privately admitted to the crime on his deathbed. He assumed the name of Thomas Randele and eventually settled in Massachusetts, where he lived the rest of his life. Conrad avoided capture for more than five decades. He confessed to his family before his death, and shortly after his death his identity was discovered by the son of one of the original investigators using details from the obituary of Thomas Randele. (Full article...)
Timothy Henry Hoʻolulu Pitman (March 18, 1845 – February 27, 1863) was an American Union Army soldier of Native Hawaiian descent. Considered one of the "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War", he was among a group of more than one hundred documented Native Hawaiian and Hawaii-born combatants who fought in the American Civil War while the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was still an independent nation.
Born and raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, he was the eldest son of Kinoʻoleoliliha, a Hawaiian high chiefess, and Benjamin Pitman, an American pioneer settler from Massachusetts. Through his father's business success in the whaling and sugar and coffee plantation industries and his mother's familial connections to the Hawaiian royal family, the Pitmans were quite prosperous and owned lands on the island of Hawaiʻi and in Honolulu. He and his older sister Mary were educated in the mission schools in Hilo alongside other children of mixed Hawaiian descent. After the death of his mother in 1855, his father remarried to the widow of a missionary, thus connecting the family to the American missionary community in Hawaiʻi. However, following the deaths of his first wife and later his second wife, his father decided to leave the islands and returned to Massachusetts with his family in 1861. The younger Pitman continued his education in the public schools of Roxbury, where the Pitman family lived for a period of time. (Full article...)
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Donald Featherstone (January 25, 1936 – June 22, 2015) was an American artist most widely known for his 1957 creation of the plastic pink flamingo while working for Union Products. Featherstone resided in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where he kept 57 plastic flamingos on his back lawn. Featherstone and his wife Nancy dressed alike for over 35 years. (Full article...)
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Stephen E. Herbits (born March 13, 1942) is an American businessman, former consultant to several Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries of Defense, advisor to the Edgar M. Bronfman family, executive vice president and corporate officer of the Seagram Company, advisor to the President's Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets, and secretary general of the World Jewish Congress. He was the youngest person to be appointed commissioner on the Gates Commission (All-Volunteer Armed Force). Herbits' career has specialized in "fixing" institutions – governmental, business, and not-for-profit – with strategic planning and management consulting. (Full article...)
Born in New Haven, Connecticut and educated at Yale, Furcolo practiced law before serving in the United States Navy during World War II. He first won election to Congress in 1948, and served most of two terms, resigning after being appointed Massachusetts Treasurer in 1952 by Governor Paul A. Dever. He won two terms as governor, serving from 1957 to 1961. In addition to supporting community colleges, he also furthered the redevelopment of parts of Boston, supporting development of the Prudential Center and Government Center. His administration was overshadowed by corruption scandals, but no charges against him made it to trial. He was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. He was the author of several books, including a novel set amid events surrounding the World War II Katyn massacre. (Full article...)
In 2016, eleven other states had enacted laws against some of these forms of confinement, and California had a law prohibiting the sale of any eggs from chickens kept in small cages. The measure was supported by the Humane Society of the United States and its allies, and opposed by regional and national animal agriculture groups. Proponents argued that the initiative represented a modest animal welfare reform that would benefit food safety, while opponents rejected both claims and warned that the regulations would sharply increase the price of animal products, harming low-income Massachusetts residents. (Full article...)
The Paper House is a historic house museum in Rockport, Massachusetts, United States. It was constructed between 1922 and 1924 by American engineer Elis F. Stenman as a summer house. He decided to leave the walls unclad and formed only from their varnished newspaper insulation. He later added furniture constructed from rolled newspaper. By 1927 the house had become a tourist attraction. It is now run as a museum by members of the Stenman family. (Full article...)
Bowdoin opened in 1916 as part of an extension of the East Boston Tunnel, serving as the terminal for streetcar lines from East Boston. The line was converted to use high-floor trains in 1924, with raised platforms constructed at the stations. The station was modernized in 1968, with a new brutalistheadhouse designed by Josep Lluís Sert. Bowdoin was closed for two periods in the early 1980s due to budget cuts; it was open for limited hours on weekdays only until 2014, when it returned to full-time service during the reconstruction of nearby Government Center station. The proposed Red–Blue connector would extend the Blue Line west to a Red Line transfer at Charles/MGH station, with Bowdoin station likely eliminated. (Full article...)
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Dinosaur Footprints in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA is an 8-acre (3 ha) wildernessreservation purchased for the public in 1935 by The Trustees of Reservations. The Reservation is currently being managed with the assistance from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The fossil and plant resources on the adjacent Holyoke Gas and Electric (HG&E) riverfront property are being managed cooperatively by The Trustees, Mass DCR, and HG&E. The dinosaur tracks at this site were among the first to be scientifically described in 1836, and are still visible to visitors. Hundreds of tracks, which were made by as many as four distinct types of two-legged dinosaur, are present in the sandstone outcrops. Additional fossils that have been found at the site or nearby include invertebrate burrows, fish, and plants (including charcoalified logs and leaves). The parallel orientation of many of the dinosaur trackways was among the first lines of evidence used to support the novel theory that dinosaurs traveled in packs or groups. (Full article...)
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The territory of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the fifty United States, was settled in the 17th century by several different English colonies. The territories claimed or administered by these colonies encompassed a much larger area than that of the modern state, and at times included areas that are now within the jurisdiction of other New England states or of the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Some colonial land claims extended all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
The first permanent settlement was the Plymouth Colony (1620), and the second major settlement was the Massachusetts Bay Colony at Salem in 1629. Settlements that failed or were merged into other colonies included the failed Popham Colony (1607) on the coast of Maine, and the Wessagusset Colony (1622–23) in Weymouth, Massachusetts, whose remnants were folded into the Plymouth Colony. The Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies coexisted until 1686, each electing its own governor annually. Governance of both colonies was dominated by a relatively small group of magistrates, some of whom governed for many years. The Dominion of New England was established in 1686 which covered the territory of those colonies, as well as that of New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. In 1688, it was further extended to include New York and East and West Jersey. The Dominion was extremely unpopular in the colonies, and it was disbanded when its royally appointed governor Sir Edmund Androswas arrested and sent back to England in the wake of the 1688 Glorious Revolution. (Full article...)
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Boston Latin School is a publicexam school located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1635. It is the first public school and the oldest existing school in the United States.
The school's first class included nine students; the school now has 2,400 pupils drawn from all parts of Boston. Its graduates have included four Harvard presidents, eight Massachusetts state governors, and five signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, as well as several preeminent architects, a leading art historian, a notable naturalist and the conductors of the New York Philharmonic and Boston Pops orchestras. There are also several notable non-graduate alumni, including Louis Farrakhan, a leader of the Nation of Islam. Boston Latin admitted only male students at its founding in 1635. The school's first female student was admitted in the nineteenth century. In 1972, Boston Latin admitted its first co-educational class. (Full article...)
, there are 135 active stations on twelve lines, two of which have branches. 108 active stations are accessible; 26 are not. Six additional stations (Prides Crossing, Mishawum, Hastings, Silver Hill, Plimptonville, and Plymouth) are indefinitely closed due to service cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two stations (Winchester Center and South Attleboro) are temporarily closed due to structural deterioration. Six additional stations are under construction as part of the South Coast Rail project; several other stations are planned. (Full article...)
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The Boston Red Sox are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Boston, Massachusetts. From 1912 to the present, the Red Sox have played in Fenway Park. The "Red Sox" name originates from the iconic uniform feature. They are sometimes nicknamed the "BoSox", a combination of "Boston" and "Sox" (as opposed to the "ChiSox"), the "Crimson Hose", and "the Olde Towne Team". Most fans simply refer to them as the Sox.
One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Boston in 1901. They were a dominant team in the early 20th century, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903. They won four more championships by 1918, and then went into one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history. Many attributed the phenomenon to the "Curse of the Bambino" said to have been caused by the trade of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920. The drought was ended and the "curse" reversed in 2004, when the team won their sixth World Series championship. Championships in 2007 and 2013 followed. Every home game from May 15, 2003, through April 10, 2013, was sold out—a span of 820 games over nearly ten years. The team most recently won the World Series in 2018, the ninth championship in franchise history. (Full article...)
Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. (Full article...)
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Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England, is home to 555 completed high-rises, 37 of which stand taller than 400 feet (122 m). The city's skyscrapers and high-rises are concentrated along the roughly 2.5 mile High Spine, which runs from the Back Bay to the Financial District and West End, while bypassing the surrounding low-rise residential neighborhoods. The tallest structure in Boston is the 60-story200 Clarendon, better known to locals as the John Hancock Tower, which rises 790 feet (241 m) in the Back Bay district. It is also the tallest building in New England and the 80th-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest building in Boston is the Prudential Tower, which rises 52 floors and 749 feet (228 m). At the time of the Prudential Tower's completion in 1964, it stood as the tallest building in North America outside of New York City.
Boston's history of skyscrapers began with the completion in 1893 of the 13-story Ames Building, which is considered the city's first high-rise. Boston went through a major building boom in the 1960s and 1970s, resulting in the construction of over 20 skyscrapers, including 200 Clarendon and the Prudential Tower. The city is the site of 25 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m) in height, more than any other city in New England. , the skyline of Boston is ranked 10th in the United States and 79th in the world with 57 buildings rising at least 330 feet (100 m) in height. (Full article...)
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This list of birds of Massachusetts includes species documented in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and accepted by the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee (MARC). As of July 2023, there are 516 species included in the official list. Of them, 194 are on the review list (see below), six have been introduced to North America, three are extinct, and one has been extirpated. An additional seven species are on a supplemental list of birds whose origin is uncertain. An additional accidental species has been added from another source.
This list is presented in the taxonomic sequence of the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds, 7th edition through the 62nd Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS). Common and scientific names are also those of the Check-list, except that the common names of families are from the Clements taxonomy because the AOS list does not include them. (Full article...)
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The Boston Reds were a Major League Baseball franchise that played in the Players' League (PL) in 1890, and one season in the American Association (AA) in 1891. In both seasons, the Reds were their league's champion, making them the second team to win back-to-back championships in two different leagues. The first franchise to accomplish this feat was the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who won the AA championship in 1889 and the National League (NL) championship in 1890. The Reds played their home games at the Congress Street Grounds.
The Reds were an instant success on the field and in the public's opinion. The team signed several top-level players, and they played in a larger, more comfortable and modern ballpark than the Boston Beaneaters, the popular and well established cross-town rival. Player signings that first year included future Hall of FamersKing Kelly, Dan Brouthers, and Charles Radbourn, along with other veterans such as Hardy Richardson, Matt Kilroy, Harry Stovey, and Tom Brown. The PL ended after one season, leaving most of its teams without a league. (Full article...)
Godsmack is an American rock band founded in 1995 by singer Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. The band has released eight studio albums, one EP, two compilations, three video albums, and thirty-four singles. Erna and Merrill recruited local friend and guitarist Lee Richards and drummer Tommy Stewart to complete the band's lineup. In 1996, Tony Rombola replaced Richards, as the band's guitarist. In 1998, Godsmack released their self-titled debut album, a remastered version of the band's self-released debut, All Wound Up.... The album was distributed by Universal/Republic Records and shipped four million copies in the United States. In 2001, the band contributed the track "Why" to the Any Given Sunday soundtrack. After two years of touring, the band released Awake. Although the album was a commercial success, it failed to match the sales of Godsmack. In 2002, Stewart left the band due to personal differences, and was replaced by Shannon Larkin.
The band's third album, Faceless (2003), debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. In 2004, Godsmack released an acoustic-based EP titled The Other Side. The EP debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA. The band contributed the track "Bring It On" to the Madden 2006 football game in 2005; this track is not featured on any known album or compilation. The band released its fourth studio album, IV, in 2006. IV was the band's second release to debut at number one, and has since been certified platinum. After touring in support of IV for over a year, Godsmack released a greatest hits album called Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack. The album included every Godsmack single (with the exception of "Bad Magick"), a cover of the Led Zeppelin song "Good Times Bad Times" and a DVD of the band's acoustic performance at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Full article...)
The U.S. state of Massachusetts has 14 counties, though eight of these fourteen county governments were abolished between 1997 and 2000. The counties in the southeastern portion of the state retain county-level local government (Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Norfolk, Plymouth) or, in one case, (Nantucket County) consolidated city-county government. Vestigial judicial and law enforcement districts still follow county boundaries even in the counties whose county-level government has been disestablished, and the counties are still generally recognized as geographic entities if not political ones. Three counties (Hampshire, Barnstable, and Franklin) have formed new county regional compacts to serve as a form of regional governance. (Full article...)
Image 5Fenway Park, the home stadium of the Boston Red Sox. Opened in 1912, Fenway Park is the oldest professional baseball stadium still in use. (from Boston)
Image 10Certificate of government of Massachusetts Bay acknowledging loan of £20 to state treasury by Seth Davenport. September 1777 (from History of Massachusetts)
Image 11Major boundaries of Massachusetts Bay and neighboring colonial claims in the 17th century and 18th century; modern state boundaries are partially overlaid for context (from History of Massachusetts)
Image 23Boston and its neighbors as seen from Sentinel-2 with Boston Harbor (center). Boston itself lies on the southern bank of the Charles River. On the river's northern bank, the outlines of Cambridge and Watertown can be seen; to the west are Brookline and Newton; to the south lie Quincy and Milton. (from Boston)
Image 40Boston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It, an 1860 photograph by James Wallace Black, was the first recorded aerial photograph. (from Boston)
Image 41Boston Latin School was established in 1635 and is the oldest public high school in the U.S. (from Boston)
Image 58An MBTA Red Line train departing Boston for Cambridge. Over 1.3 million Bostonians utilize the city's buses and trains daily as of 2013. (from Boston)
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