HUB History - Our Favorite Stories from Boston History HUB History

On the first anniversary of D-Day, Boston was feeling festive. Yes, there was a somber editorial cartoon in the Globe picturing an allied cemetery in Normandy to remind people of the sacrifices that the nation had made, but Germany had just surrendered, making the sacrifice seem worthwhile. Now, on D+1 (or was it D+366?), the city would turn out to hail a conquering hero, as General George S Patton, Junior set foot on American soil for the first time in two and a half years. His speech in Boston honored the city’s wounded veterans but managed to deeply offend gold star families whose sons, fathers, and brothers had died under Patton’s command. Was this a simple slip of the tongue or a symptom of a deeper and more concerning malady, a closely guarded and dark secret?

Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/302/

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Joseph Warren Revere was a Boston boy, but a military career kept him from spending much of his adult life here.  He was the grandson of the famous Paul Revere and named after the secular saint Joseph Warren.  As a young Navy officer on the USS Constitution, he fought slavers and pirates, discovered buried treasure, met a czar, and almost killed a king.  Falling in love with California while serving in the Mexican-American War, he made a small fortune during the Gold Rush, while getting mired in scandal.  By the time he served as a union general in the US Civil War, Revere had fought under the flag of three nations.  He had seen war on four continents, discovered a fifth, and traveled to all of them.  He had dined sumptuously with monarchs and nobles, and broken bread with native peoples around the world.  He was a skilled artist and map maker, and an aggressive combat leader.  None of those accomplishments, however, could save his career from an ignominious end amongst charges of cowardice after the battle of Chancellorsville.

Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/301/

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Did you feel an earthquake in Boston on April 5, 2024? Depending on where you were at the time, you might have felt nothing or you might have noticed a mild tremor. While we think of Boston earthquakes as a punchline and damaging quakes as a California problem, that hasn’t always been the case. Imagine an earthquake that comes on with the sound of rolling thunder, one where the ground heaved like waves on an angry sea, throwing people to the ground, opening up fissures in the earth, and triggering a tsunami that affects distant shores. This was the experience of Boston during the great Cape Ann earthquake of 1755, and the effects of a similar seismic shock in modern Boston could be simply catastrophic.

Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/300/

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During the bicentennial celebrations in 1976, Boston bustled with fireworks, concerts, and historical reenactments, while a unique spectacle quietly unfolded at the Old North Church. The iconic lanterns, forever linked to Paul Revere’s midnight ride, were illuminated not by candlelight, but by the distant light of a star some 200 light-years away. This episode explores the technological challenges involved in capturing starlight and converting it into an electrical signal that traveled thousands of miles, as well as the promotional challenges for Hawaiian officials who wanted to feel like part of the bicentennial celebration. Buckle up, as we journey from the volcanic peak of Mauna Kea to the heart of revolutionary Boston, all under the ethereal glow of a distant star.

Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/299/

Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

Eclipses happen when the moon passes between the sun and the earth during the daytime, briefly blocking the light of the sun from the face of the earth. Over the past few years, observers in the US have been treated to every flavor of solar eclipse: a partial in 2021 when part of the sun’s disc remains unobscured; a total eclipse in 2017, when viewers in the narrow path of totality experienced daytime darkness, and an annular eclipse just last fall, when a ring of fire hung in the cold, bright sky. In honor of the April 2024 total eclipse, I’m sharing a clip that cohost emerita Nikki and I recorded within the first year of this podcast about some of the earliest experiences of eclipses here in Boston, most notably in 1780 and 1806. I’ll also share a clip about an unrelated phenomenon that darkened the skies over Boston for a second time in 1780, then again in 1881, 1950, and several times in the past 5 years. This was no eclipse however, but rather a much more terrestrial effect.

Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/298/

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This week I’m pleased to be able to share a recent talk from the Shirley-Eustis House in Roxbury about recent archaeological discoveries at Shirley Place that help shed light on the lives of enslaved residents at the 18th century governor’s residence, as well as evidence of the home’s original location before it was moved into its current position in the 19th century.  The presenter is past podcast guest Joe Bagley, the archaeologist for the city of Boston, who has led a series of digs at the Shirley house and at the house’s original location across Shirley street.  This work is important because written records have only revealed the identity of one of the Africans who were enslaved at the house by Royal Governor William Shirley.  In the talk, Bagley explains how discoveries of animal bones, forgotten paving stones, and a cowrie shell connect the dots to the enslaved lives that history otherwise overlooks.  He also shares stone flakes and pottery shards that remind us that the history of Shirley Place long predates William Shirley, encompassing the Massachusett people who first called it home.

Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/297/

Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/