Massachusetts Historical Society

Massachusetts Historical Society Founded in 1791, the Massachusetts Historical Society is an independent research library and an invaluable resource for American history, life, and culture.

www.masshist.org

Did the promises of the Declaration of Independence find their way into the Constitution? Join us to learn more about h...
05/26/2026

Did the promises of the Declaration of Independence find their way into the Constitution? Join us to learn more about how America’s founding documents are related and how “we the people” imagined a new way to interpret the American experiment.

Learn more and register: https://www.masshist.org/events/drafting-independence

“Drafting Independence: Declaration to Constitution” with Emily Sneff, historian, and Mary Sarah Bilder, Boston College Law School, in conversation with Sara Georgini, MHS

Monday, June 1, 2026 | 6:00 PM–7:00 PM ET.

In person at the Massachusetts Historical Society and online.

Today, May 25, marks Memorial Day, honoring those who passed away while serving in the US Armed Forces. This picture wa...
05/25/2026

Today, May 25, marks Memorial Day, honoring those who passed away while serving in the US Armed Forces.

This picture was taken by Massachusetts-born Margaret Hall on May 30, 1919, in Châlons-en-Champagne, France. The caption reads, “American graves decorated by the French.”

Hall served as a nurse in the Red Cross during World War I. Upon her return home to Massachusetts, she compiled a personal narrative from letters and diary passages she wrote while overseas. She illustrated her story with photographs depicting life on the Western Front.

See more of the WWI photographs by Margaret Hall on the MHS website: https://www.masshist.org/photographs/hall/

05/22/2026

ROADSHOW Gets Revolutionary! ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is celebrating America’s 250th birthday by revealing the dramatic, high-stakes stories behind our earliest national treasures in a four-part weekly YouTube series.

Watch the first episode in the comments!

It wasn't only people who shaped the War of Independence—or bore its consequences. 🌳Join us as David Hsiung and Joyce Ch...
05/20/2026

It wasn't only people who shaped the War of Independence—or bore its consequences. 🌳

Join us as David Hsiung and Joyce Chaplin discuss the intricate and often surprising ways in which the natural environment and the war were interconnected, from food and fuel to deforestation and shifting animal populations.

Learn more and register: https://www.masshist.org/events/curious-and-complex-connections

“Curious & Complex Connections: Environmental History & the War of Independence” with David Hsiung, Juniata College, in conversation with Joyce Chaplin, Harvard University.

Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET.

In person at the Massachusetts Historical Society and online.

“It’s just kind of seen historically as this peaceful revolt, although it’s not as peaceful as the idea of Glorious Revo...
05/18/2026

“It’s just kind of seen historically as this peaceful revolt, although it’s not as peaceful as the idea of Glorious Revolution kind of invokes, but it’s just this kind of tumultuous period.”

—Chelsi Arellano speaks about the historical misconception around the Glorious Revolution of 1688 as a peaceful time period in British history, and the long-term effects of the period that she is investigating in her research.

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Prof. Chelsi Arellano (recipient of the Samuel Victor Constant Fellowship from the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts administered by the MHS) discusses her research on the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and its ripple effects across the British Empire, with a particular focus on the Bostonian Revolt of 1689. She explores how colonists in Massachusetts Bay, frustrated by the dissolution of their charter under James II and the creation of the Dominion of New England, were inspired by events in England to depose their own royal governor. Prof. Arellano also examines the largely overlooked role that women, people of color, and the poor played in that revolt.

Stream the latest episode of Historians & Their Histories: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-34-Arellano

Learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply: https://www.masshist.org/research/fellowships

New episode release for The Object of History, Season 5! In this episode, TOOH is joined by Luc Nicole-Labrie, the Senio...
05/15/2026

New episode release for The Object of History, Season 5!

In this episode, TOOH is joined by Luc Nicole-Labrie, the Senior History Advisor at the National Battlefields Commission in Québec to discuss the American Invasion of Canada (1775-1776). We also examine a few items from the MHS collection that shed light on the difficulties of this endeavor to make Québec the fourteenth colony in rebellion.

Listen to the latest episode of The Object of History on the MHS website:https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-5-episode-5-Invasion-Canada or find us on your favorite streaming platform.

Graphic:

Map: “Plan of the city and environs of Quebec, : with its siege and blockade by the Americans, from the 8th of December 1775 to the 13th of May 1776.” Map Engraved by W. Faden. Published in London, 12 September 1776. From the MHS collection.

Arnold Portrait: Hart, Thomas, "Colonel Arnold: who commanded the Provincial Troops sent against Quebec (...). " (1776). Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.

Swipe to see what’s coming up during Member Week at the MHS! All Member Week events are exclusively for MHS members. Wa...
05/13/2026

Swipe to see what’s coming up during Member Week at the MHS!

All Member Week events are exclusively for MHS members. Want to join in on the fun? Click here to become a Member today: https://www.masshist.org/member-week

And, if you're age 40 or younger, you can join for $40 as a Young Patron.

Introducing two dazzling treasures from the MHS collection!✨The MHS holds a set of two ornate miniature portraits from t...
05/12/2026

Introducing two dazzling treasures from the MHS collection!✨

The MHS holds a set of two ornate miniature portraits from the 18th century depicting Empress Mumtaz Mahal and Emperor Shah Jahan of India. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan as the final resting place for Mumtaz Mahal following her death in 1631.

The portraits were painted by an unknown artist with watercolor on ivory and framed in red garnets.

Take a look at these portraits in the MHS collection here: https://www.masshist.org/database/3268, https://www.masshist.org/database/3269

Have you heard the story of Robert Payne, a bomber pilot from Holyoke, Mass., and his dog, Thunderbolt, who waited for h...
05/08/2026

Have you heard the story of Robert Payne, a bomber pilot from Holyoke, Mass., and his dog, Thunderbolt, who waited for him for two years as Payne served in a German POW camp during WWII?

It’s been 81 years since V-E day, marking the end of WWII in Europe.

See objects from the Robert A. Payne papers in the Massachusetts Historical Society collection and click here to listen to The Object of History podcast episode about Payne and Thunderbolt’s remarkable bond: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-2-episode-3-thunderbolt

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