Sullivan was born and raised in Berwick, Maine (then part of Massachusetts), and studied law with his brother John. After establishing a successful law practice, he became actively involved in the Massachusetts state government during the American Revolutionary War, and was appointed to the state's highest court in March 1776. He was involved in drafting the state constitution and the state's ratifying convention for the United States Constitution. After resigning from the bench in 1782 he returned to private practice, and was appointed Attorney General in 1790. During his years as judge and attorney general he was responsible for drafting and revising much of the state's legislation as part of the transition from British rule to independence. While attorney general he worked with the commission that established the border between Maine and New Brunswick, and prosecuted several high-profile murder cases. (Full article...)
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The Sacred Cod in its "natural habitat". "Humble the subject and homely the design; yet this painted image bears on its finny front a majesty greater than the dignity that art can lend to graven gold or chiselled marble", said an 1895 paean by Massachusetts legislators.[C]: 12
The Sacred Cod is a four-foot-eleven-inch (150 cm) carved-wood effigy of an Atlantic codfish, painted to the life, hanging in the House of Representatives chamber of Boston's Massachusetts State House—"a memorial of the importance of the Cod-Fishery to the welfare of this Commonwealth" (i.e. Massachusetts, of which cod is officially the "historic and continuing symbol"). The Sacred Cod has gone through as many as three incarnations over three centuries: the first (if it really existed—the authoritative source calling it a "prehistoric creature of tradition") was lost in a 1747 fire; the second disappeared during the American Revolution; and the third, installed in 1784, is the one seen in the House chamber today.
"Sacred Cod" is not a formal name but a nickname which appeared in 1895, soon after the carving was termed "the sacred emblem" by a House committee appointed "to investigate the significance of the emblem [which] has kept its place under all administrations, and has looked upon outgoing and incoming legislative assemblies, for more than one hundred years".[C]: 3–4, 12 Soon sacred cod was being used in reference to actual codfish as well, in recognition of the creature's role in building Massachusetts's prosperity and influence since early colonial times. (Full article...)
Charles A. Bevilacqua, head of the Seabees team that built the first permanent station at the South Pole. 1956 photo by Dick Prescott, NSF. Charles A. Bevilacqua (June 8, 1930 – November 29, 2019) was a United States NavySeabee who, during Operation Deep Freeze I, helped to build McMurdo Station and was then promoted to Chief Builder, in which role he led the building of Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station and the installation of the first South Pole "ceremonial pole", which he painted orange and black to honor his Woburn, Massachusetts, high school. He served with the Seabees construction battalions 1948–1978, including service in the Korean and Vietnam wars as well as Antarctica. (Full article...)
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A train arriving at Kendal Green station in February 2024
Construction of the station (originally named Massachusetts) began in December 1912; it opened in October 1914 along with the Boylston Street subway for use by the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy). Construction on a surface-level transfer station for streetcars on Boylston Street and Massachusetts Avenue began in April 1918 and was completed the following November. These surface routes were gradually replaced by buses from the 1930s to the 1960s. The transfer station was closed in January 1963 due to construction of the adjacent Massachusetts Turnpike Extension; it was partially demolished. (Full article...)
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Wenlock Christison (before 1660 – c. 1679) was the last person to be sentenced to death in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for being a Quaker. Four people had previously been executed in Massachusetts for this reason. However, Christison was not executed. He left Massachusetts and lived the remainder of his life in Talbot County, Maryland. (Full article...)
It is unclear where and when Atherton was born. It is presumed he came from Lancashire, England. He was active in the governance of the colony, taking part in the acquisition of Native American lands, the persecution of Quakers, and the apprehension and convictions of heretics. His accidental death was seen by the Quakers as a punishment from God for his persecution of them, an idea repeated in a play by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He was one of the most successful land speculators in the New England colonies. He and his wife, Mary, had a number of children and several New England families have traced their ancestry to them. He is interred at Dorchester North Burying Ground, one of the oldest cemeteries in New England. (Full article...)
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Farley in 2025
Matt Farley (born June 3, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, filmmaker, author and podcaster who has released more than 26,000 songs as of April 1, 2025. Farley's creative output is released under his label Motern Media, and he usually presents his musical work under a variety of pseudonyms and band names, including the Toilet Bowl Cleaners, Papa Razzi and the Photogs, the Hungry Food Band, the Guy Who Sings Songs About Cities & Towns, and the Odd Man Who Sings About Poop, Puke and Pee.
Farley has starred in, co-written, co-produced and released over 15 amateur feature-length movies with his friend Charlie Roxburgh including Don't Let the Riverbeast Get You! (2012), and he hosts two podcasts. (Full article...)
Growing up in Boxford, Massachusetts, Kreider played high school hockey for Masconomet Regional High School and Phillips Andover. As a junior at Phillips Andover, Kreider led the team to the New England Prep semifinals and was named New England Prep Player of the Year. Following high school, Kreider played college ice hockey for the Boston College Eagles from 2009 to 2012. Before the start of his freshman season, Kreider was drafted in the first round, 19th overall, by the New York Rangers in the 2009 NHL entry draft. At Boston College, Kreider was named to the All-Hockey East Rookie and All-Hockey East Second Team before turning professional in April 2012 after winning his second NCAA championship. (Full article...)
The sperm whale is a pelagicmammal with a worldwide range, and will migrate seasonally for feeding and breeding. Females and young males live together in groups, while mature males (bulls) live solitary lives outside of the mating season. The females cooperate to protect and nurse their young. Females give birth every four to twenty years and care for the calves for more than a decade. A mature, healthy sperm whale has no natural predators, although calves and weakened adults are sometimes killed by pods of orcas. (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...)
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...)
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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Fenway Park pictured c. 1914, two years after completion
A dominant team in the early 20th century, the Red Sox (as the Boston Americans) won the first World Series in 1903 and had won a further four championships by 1918. Their following 86-year championship drought is one of the longest in baseball history, often attributed to the "Curse of the Bambino" said to have been initiated against the Red Sox upon the 1919 trade of star player Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox' drought ended when the team won their sixth World Series championship in 2004, and they have since gone on to win another three World Series titles (in 2007, 2013, and 2018), to become the first and so far only team to win at least four World Series championships in the 21st century. The team's overall .518 regular season winning percentage is the 5th-highest in MLB. (Full article...)
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Team photograph of the 1890 Boston Reds 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...)
Boston is the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England. It is home to over 580 completed high-rises, 73 of which stand taller than 300 feet (91 m) as of 2026. Boston's skyline is by far the largest in New England, and the city has the second most skyscrapers taller than 492 ft (150 m) in the Northeastern United States, after New York City. The tallest building in Boston is the 62-story 200 Clarendon, better known as the John Hancock Tower; the office skyscraper rises 790 ft (241 m) in the Back Bay district, southwest of Downtown Boston.
The history of skyscrapers in Boston began early with the completion of the 13-story Ames Building in 1893. The Greek Revival style Custom House Tower, which was Boston's tallest building from 1915 to 1964, was among the first skyscrapers outside of New York City. Boston went through a major building boom from the 1960s to the early 1990s, resulting in the construction of over 30 buildings taller than 300 ft (91 m), including the John Hancock Tower and the city's second-tallest building, the Prudential Tower. 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. (Full article...)
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The front entrance to Boston Latin School on Avenue Louis Pasteur
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...)
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Map depicting lines of charters and grants for Massachusetts-related colonies and provinces 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. The 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 and 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...)
Godsmack is an American rock band founded in 1995 by singer Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. The band has released nine 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.[1] 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...)
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The Commonwealth 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 town-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 (Barnstable, Hampshire, and Franklin) have formed new county regional compacts to serve as a form of regional governance. (Full article...)
Image 3Certificate of government of Massachusetts Bay acknowledging loan of £20 to state treasury by Seth Davenport. September 1777 (from History of Massachusetts)
Image 17Fenway Park, home stadium of the Boston Red Sox. Opened in 1912, Fenway Park is the oldest professional baseball stadium still in use. (from Boston)
Image 22An 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)
Image 27Major 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)
This list was generated from these rules. Questions and feedback are always welcome! The search is being run daily with the most recent ~14 days of results. Note: Some articles may not be relevant to this project.
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