Boston

“Here … we claim the first blow was struck in the war of independence,” wrote Salem historian Charles Moses Endicott in his account of Leslie's Retreat.

Was This Little-Known Standoff Between British Soldiers and Colonists the Real Start of the American Revolution?

On February 26, 1775, residents of Salem, Massachusetts, banded together to force the British to withdraw from their town during an oft-overlooked encounter known as Leslie's Retreat

Best known for her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar and poetry collections The Colossus and Ariel, Plath sourced much of the fodder for these great works from the troubled last years of her life.

When This Brilliant Author Died, She Left Behind a Legacy of Grief, Haunting Poetry and Surprising Resilience

Modern accounts of Sylvia Plath’s renowned work and legacy seek to highlight the author’s resilience through a decade-long journey of depression

A pink man looking into a bar at the Vermillion Club in Boston

These Massive Inflatable Pink Men Are Waving From Rooftops and Peering Into Windows in Boston

Created by French artist Phillippe Katerine, the figures are part of an artistic movement known as Mignonisme, which promotes the aesthetics of cuteness

Atop Faneuil Hall sits a grasshopper weather vane, imitating a similar one on London’s Royal Exchange.

Why Faneuil Hall Is the Perfect Metaphor for the American Revolution's Complicated Definition of Liberty

How a lively market on Boston Harbor became part of many defining moments of the Colonial and Revolutionary eras

Harriet Bell Hayden 

The Remarkable Life of One of Boston's Most Fervent and Daring Abolitionists

Harriet Bell Hayden is believed to have helped hundreds of people fleeing slavery from her Beacon Hill residence

Painted around 1730, the angels were covered up in 1912.

Conservators Are Uncovering Elaborate Angel Murals Hidden Behind Seven Layers of White Paint at a Colonial-Era Church

The colorful wall paintings adorn Boston's Old North Church, which played a crucial role during Paul Revere's famed 1775 midnight ride

This necklace was likely stolen from a Turkish archaeological site in 1976.

Boston Museum Returns Looted 2,700-Year-Old Necklace to Turkey

The gold and carnelian artifact is nearly identical to other jewelry found at an archaeological site in western Turkey

The five musket balls were found near the Concord River in Massachusetts, just under 20 miles northwest of Boston.

Musket Balls Fired in Early Revolutionary War Battle Unearthed in Concord

Colonial militiamen fired the lead balls on April 19, 1775—and likely missed their mark

Not everyone was a fan of rumor clinics. Some critics faulted them for helping hearsay reach an even larger audience.

World War II 'Rumor Clinics' Helped America Battle Wild Gossip

Newspapers and magazines across the United States published weekly columns debunking lurid claims that were detrimental to the war effort

The Bostonians’ “preferred outcome” was for the tea to be “peacefully sent back to London,” says historian Benjamin L. Carp. “It’s only when they find out … the governor is not going to let [that happen] that they say, ‘Well, we have no choice [but] to destroy [the tea].”

The Many Myths of the Boston Tea Party

Contrary to popular belief, the 1773 protest opposed a tax break, not a tax hike. And it didn't immediately unify the colonies against the British

Boston artist Peter Stephenson completed The Wounded Indian in 1850.

'Wounded Indian' Sculpture Will Return to Boston—Decades After It Was Supposedly Destroyed

The piece was rediscovered in 1999 at a Virginia museum, which has finally agreed to hand it over

The bar from the TV sitcom "Cheers"

You Can Buy the Bar Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Fans of the hit sitcom "Cheers" now have a chance to purchase the beloved set piece

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The Noble Fury of Samuel Adams

How America’s “first politician” galvanized a colony—and helped set a revolution in motion

Empty frames at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are a tangible reminder of the 1990 theft. 

A Tantalizing Clue Emerges in the Unsolved Gardner Museum Art Heist

Boston police officers tell local media that the 1991 murder of Jimmy Marks might be linked to modern history's biggest art heist

Established in 1949, the Freedom House in Boston once served as a meeting place for civil rights activists. Today, the nonprofit center continues its work to improve the lives of Black Americans and other marginalized groups.

Freedom House, an Iconic Civil Rights Hub in Boston, Is Set for Demolition

Nicknamed the "Black Pentagon," the building served as a meeting place for local racial justice activists

Billie Farrell is saluted by crewmembers during the change-of-command ceremony aboard the Constitution.

First Woman Commander of the U.S. Navy's Oldest Ship Takes the Helm

Billie Farrell is the new captain of the U.S.S. "Constitution," a 1797 frigate that now serves as a floating museum

Artifacts found in an attic in a Boston home consisted of items such as letters, tools and a trade sign, all believed to have been owned by the family of Paul Revere.

Sold: Paul Revere Family Artifacts Found in a Boston-Area Attic

A trade sign bearing the name of the patriot’s son, along with letters and personal items owned by his grandchildren, sold at auction for $20,000

A new Netflix documentary, "This Is a Robbery," delves into the mystery of a 1990 art heist.

Five Things to Know About the Gardner Museum Heist—the Biggest Art Theft in Modern History

In 1990, two thieves made off with a $500 million cache of art by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and more. Three decades later, the works remain missing

A 1932 facsimile of the first issue of the Emancipator, published on April 30, 1820

New Project Reimagines the U.S.' First Antislavery Newspaper, the 'Emancipator'

A joint initiative from Boston University and the "Boston Globe" revamps a 19th-century abolitionist publication for 21st-century research about race

A bell previously recovered from the wreck of the Whydah pirate ship

Six Skeletons Found in Wreck of 18th-Century Pirate Ship Sunk Off Cape Cod

The "Whydah" sank off the coast of Massachusetts in 1717, killing all but two people on board

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