Named a best book of the year by The Wall Street Journal, one of the most acclaimed and original colonial historians of our time, Mary Beth Norton, shares her landmark text 1774: The Long Year of Revolution chronicling the changes that occurred from December 1773 to April 1775—from the Boston Tea Party to the Battles […]
Learn about Marbleheaders during the Revolutionary War and visit various historic sites in town during this weekend-long event. Pick up a program book and experience Revolutionary War-era Marblehead at various sites in the Historic District. Meet the wife of war hero, James Mugford; explore Fort Sewall with Glover’s Regiment; meet diarist Ashley Bowen portrayed by […]
What makes someone who becomes famous, famous? Harvard law professor, public intellectual, and bestselling author Cass Sunstein offers clear and surprising answers in his new book How To Become Famous: Lost Einsteins, Forgotten Superstars, and How the Beatles Came to Be. Using modern data analysis techniques to show the role of accident and serendipity in […]
Historian Mary Fuhrer returns to explore this critical point in Acton history in the next edition of the Acton 250 lecture series. Remote Participation: You can participate in the Q&A using ZOOM http://tinyurl.com/Acton250-ZOOM or watch live at Acton TV http://tinyurl.com/Acton-TV. Please see https://www.actonma.gov/250 for all programming information and a link to our commemorative store. What happened in Acton on that fateful day, […]
Renowned presidential historian and Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky, joins us for a conversation on John Adams’ five year-battle to defend the presidency. 1797 wasn’t too different from 2024, with pandemics, battles over immigration and citizenship, legislation to limit free speech, foreign interference in national […]
The 2024 Massachusetts Provincial Congress “Exploring Democracy – Our Rights and Our Responsibilities” October 11, 2024 9:30am – 4:30pm First Parish in Concord and The Wright Tavern *Register here to attend* In October 1774, the political conflict between Great Britain and Massachusetts reached a crisis. Parliament enacted the “Intolerable Acts” to punish the province for […]
The renowned author of the classic “The Minutemen and their World” will share the unique conflicts and changes Acton and Concord citizens experienced in their economic and social lives that led up to dramatic events of 250 years ago. Wednesday, Oct. 23, 7-8:30 PM Room 204, Acton Town Hall https://www.actonma.gov/250
Discover Boston’s rich 400-year African American history! Many vibrant Black communities flourished in Boston stretching back to early colonial times. Wednesday, Nov. 6, 6 PM Acton Memorial Library
Northeastern University Professor Malcolm F. Purinton discusses the role of the tavern in local society as the colonies headed into the American Revolution. There were few places more important in colonial and revolutionary America than local community taverns that played witness to local, regional, and national events in American history. Tuesday, Nov. 12, 7PM Acton […]
REV250 Lecture: J.J. Bell, Historian and blogger, presents "The Spies in Henry Barnes House: as part of the Hingham Historical Society 2024-2025 lecture series: Revisiting the American Revolution. The lecture series is an in-depth and expanded look at our Nation's founding drama; the series features renowned historians and writers each of who will share fascinating […]
Join us for a special award ceremony followed by a conversation between two Pulitzer Prize-winning biographical authors. In recognition of her career as an essayist and award-winning author, Stacy Schiff will be presented with the William Hickling Prescott Award for Excellence in Historical Writing by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in […]
