Boston History Timeline

Almost 400 years of historical Boston events

What are the key events in Boston history?

And why should you care?

Almost 400 years have passed since the first group of English Puritans set foot on the small peninsula that they named "Boston" and built into one of America's biggest and best cities.

During those 400 years, Boston has led the nation in fighting for independence, in establishing great civic institutions, and finally in rejuvenating city neighborhoods so that old red brick buildings blend seamlessly with the soaring steel and glass business towers of today.

Walk around the city and you'll see evidence of Boston's history everywhere. But who remembers the difference between a Puritan and a Pilgrim?  What things happened first in Boston?  And why did Red Sox fans once moan about the "Curse of the Bambino?"

You can certainly enjoy Boston without knowing any of these things.  But in case you're planning a visit and would like to know more, I've put together a Boston history timeline detailing the significant events.

Scroll down to see the highlights.  Click on the links to find year-by-year details about how this spectacular 21st century waterfront city came to be.

8000 BC - 1630 AD:  Puritan history   A small hilly peninsula emerges after the last glaciers from the Great Ice Age melt. Eventually, Native Americans seasonally occupy it until an epidemic kills most of them. A few years later, one lone English settler arrives - soon followed by a fleet of English Puritans fleeing religious persecution who give the peninsula a new name: Boston.

1631 - 1680:  Puritans build Boston  After a rough beginning, the Puritans begin to take root in their new land. As they begin to create the institutions necessary for their new society - schools, parks, libraries, taverns - they make Boston history with a series of "firsts" in the New World. Then they ban Christmas celebrations and begin to persecute Quakers.

1681 - 1760:  Massachusetts Bay Colony   Restoration of the English monarchy spells trouble for the colonists as the Massachusetts Bay Colony loses its right to self-govern - dark days in Boston history! After a short respite, the throne tightens its grip on the colonies and witch trials begin in Salem. By 1750, "No Taxation without Representation" can be heard throughout Boston.

1761 - 1772:  "No taxation without representation!"  Resistance to British rulers continue as their lust for taxes and control grows. They impose the Writs of Assistance, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, and the Townshend Acts. Colonists seethe with anger as the British Occupation of Boston begins. When British troops fire into a hostile crowd and kill 5, anger explodes and revolution fills the air.

1773 - 1774:  Boston Tea Party   When the king sends ships full of English tea to Boston and blockades the harbor to force the colonists to unload the cargo and pay taxes, Patriots Samuel Adams and other Sons of Liberty decide to hold a Tea Party - in Boston Harbor. To retaliate, the Redcoats move the state capital to Salem and occupy Bostonians' houses.

1775:  American Revolution begins    On the evening of April 18, Paul Revere and William Dawes set forth on horseback to warn that British troops are coming to Concord to try to capture John Hancock and Sam Adams. On the following day in Lexington, an important day in Boston history unfolds as shots ring out and the American Revolution begins. A few months later, the Battle of Bunker Hill rages.

Patriot Profile:  A Menotomy hero   Samuel Whittemore fought three times for the British, and moved from England to the Colonies.  Now he's settled down on his farm outside of Boston. When he sees British militia moving across the countryside, he grabs some weapons. He wants his grandchildren to grow up free, and he plans to do his part. He is 81 . . . but not too old to fight!

A Rousing Poem:  "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere"    Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" almost 100 years after the fateful gallop across the countryside.  Although he left out a couple of other riders, he captures the courage of the women and older men left to defend their farms, and he leaves us the memorable line, "The British are coming!"

1775 - 1799:  The Siege of Boston     With Boston in a state of siege, General George Washington expels the British from Boston on March 17, 1776. Within a few years, Bostonians celebrate Independence, write the Massachusetts State Constitution, sign the U.S. Constitution, and join the Federal union. In a proud moment in Boston history, Massachusetts becomes the first state to abolish slavery.

1800 - 1849  A different type of revolution - the American Industrial Revolution - begins when Bostonian Robert Cabot Lowell builds the nation's first textile mill.  Boston becomes a city.  The City of Boston grows by annexation and by filling mudflats to create land as Irish and other immigrants swell the population.  Anti-slavery speeches heat up, putting Boston at the center of a growing national debate.

1850 - 1899  Annexation, land fill, and Irish immigration continue. Massachusetts fights to preserve the Union in the Civil War. Many of Boston's great cultural institutions form and flourish.  Back Bay is built, literature blooms, and in a dark moment in Boston history, three Harvard graduates found the Immigration Restriction League.  The Boston Marathon begins.

1900 - 1949  The Boston Pilgrims, soon to be known as the Boston Red Sox, win a world series but all too soon comes a dreadful moment in Boston history: Babe Ruth places the Curse of the Bambino on the city, causing generations to despair.  The Cocoanut Grove fire kills 490.  Threatening clouds gather over the city after World War II as a slow decline begins.

A Gruesome Event  The Great Molasses Flood - perhaps the ghastliest event in Boston's history - occurs when exceptionally warm January weather causes a huge, already-leaking vat of molasses to burst in the North End. The ensuing flood of what witnesses describe as "goo" kills 21 people and a number of animals.

1950 - 1999  Urban renewal fervor razes the West End and brutalist-style Government Center is built. The elevated Central Artery goes up, bisecting the city. Dirty Water, the Standells' pop song, commemorates the Charles River. John F. Kennedy is elected U.S. President, and assassinated 3 years later. Urban regeneration revives the city.

2000 - Present  The Big Dig sinks the Central Artery below ground, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway reunites the city. Health insurance becomes available to all state residents. On one of the finest days in Boston history, the Curse is reversed as the Red Sox win not just one but two World Series. Not to be left out, the Celtics win the NBA championship.