Today in History: 20 March 1760

USA: A ‘Great Fire’ of Boston

On this day in 1760, the greatest fire up to that time (in Boston) destroyed a large area of Boston in the United States. Some 349 buildings, including homes and shops were destroyed, and over 1000 people rendered homeless. Though a great tragedy for Boston, this great city suffered from many like disasters, as can be seen in the article linked to below.

For more, visit:
http://massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=86
http://www.kellscraft.com/GreatFireOfBoston/GreatFireofBostonCh02.html
http://www.archive.org/details/godshandproviden00mayh

For an account of the Great Fire of Boston in 1872 (November 9  10), visit:
http://www.archive.org/details/historyofgreatfi00conw
http://www.kellscraft.com/GreatFireOfBoston/GreatFireofBostonContentPage.html

 

Today in History: 05 March 1770

USA: War of Independence – Boston Massacre

On this day in 1770, the Boston Massacre took place and became an important incident in the lead up to the American War of Independence. The massacre was really something of a ‘beat up,’ with five men being killed when British troops fired into a crowd that was harassing them and throwing objects at them.

Also of major interest in this incident, was the court case in the trial of the British troops, as  John Adams (second president of the USA) defended the British troops in their trial.

For more, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Massacre

Also, a newspaper report:
http://www.archive.org/details/bostonmassacre00good