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Site Lines: The Mysterious Blue Lights
During the War of 1812, warning signals in the form of two blue lights prevented US ships from slipping past the British blockade of New London’s harbor. This left officials and the public to wonder: who was lighting these “torches of treason,” and why?
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Ernest Borgnine: Breaking the Hollywood Mold
Ernest Borgnine, a native of Hamden who served ten years in navy, became one of the world’s most recognized and revered actors.
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Connecticut Yankee and Millstone: 48 Years of Nuclear Power
In 1968 the prospect of nuclear power energized those hoping to find an alternative to coal, oil, and other fossil fuels.
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The Launch of the USS Nautilus – Today in History: January 21
On January 21, 1954, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower launched the…
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New Haven Coliseum Imploded – Today in History: January 20
On January 20, 2007, the 35-year-old New Haven Veterans Memorial…
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Anna Louise James Makes History with Medicine
Anna Louise James was born on January 19, 1886, in…
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Dr. E. Irene Boardman Never Stopped Serving the Public
Emma Irene Boardman was born January 17, 1889, in Great…
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The Joshua Hempsted Diary: A Window into Colonial Connecticut
This accomplished New London resident chronicled his daily life over a 47-year period from 1711 to 1758.
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The Fundamental Orders: Connecticut’s Role in Early Constitutional Government
Embracing the ideals supported by Hartford founder the Rev. Thomas Hooker, the Fundamental Orders represent what many consider to be the first written constitution in the Western world.
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Sam Colt’s Funeral: The Day Hartford Stopped
The funeral of America’s first great munitions maker was spectacular—certainly the most spectacular ever seen in the state’s capital city.
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“Appalling Calamity”: Loss of the Steamboat Lexington – Today in History: January 13, 1840
On January 13, 1840, over 150 people perished on Long Island Sound when the steamboat Lexington caught fire. Only four survived the “Appalling Calamity,” as newspapers across the country described it.
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James Williams, More than Trinity College’s Janitor
James Williams was an escaped slave who became a janitor at Trinity College from the institution’s founding in 1823 until his death in 1878.
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Apostle of Peace: Elihu Burritt’s Quest for Universal Brotherhood
Elihu Burritt, a blacksmith by trade, became an advocate for peace around the world throughout the 19th century.
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Connecticut and the Embargo Act of 1807
The Embargo Act of 1807 stifled Connecticut trade with Europe, but ultimately boosted local manufacturing.
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The Education of Ella Grasso
The daughter of Italian immigrants becomes Connecticut’s first woman governor.
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Connecticut and the West Indies: Sugar Spurs Trans-Atlantic Trade
This profitable exchange brought wealth and sought-after goods to the state but came at the price of supporting slavery in the bargain.
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Buckling Up For Auto Safety
Controversy over seat belt laws has long been a part of their evolutionary history.
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The Ghost Ship of New Haven Sets Sail Shrouded in Mystery
Tales of a spectral ship seen sailing in the skies above New Haven have haunted Connecticut’s imagination since the late 1640s.
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Ellis Ruley: Art that Celebrated Life
Ellis Ruley, the son of a slave who escaped to Norwich, rose to prominence as an artist, but prosperity and racial tensions created resentment among members of the local population.
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Lounsbury Elected Governor – Today in History: January 4
On January 4th 1899, George Edward Lounsbury was elected the…
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Maria Sánchez, State Representative and Community Advocate
The first Latina elected to the Connecticut General Assembly started as a grassroots activist for Hartford’s Puerto Rican community.
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Rivers of Outrage
Pollution of Connecticut’s waters by industrial waste and sewage in the decades after the Civil War was arguably the state’s first modern environmental crisis.
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Connecticut Turnpike Opens – Today in History: January 2
On January 2, 1958, Governor Abraham Ribicoff officially opened the Connecticut Turnpike—today the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike—to traffic.
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The Great Remedy: Picturing the Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, declaring more than three million African Americans in those states in rebellion against the United States to be forever free.
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A Turn-of-the-Century New Year’s Eve
Hailed as the “Century Celebration,” the evening of December 31,…
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The Complicated Realities of Connecticut and the Civil War
Citizens’ dedication on the battlefield and home front did not always signal agreement on key issues of the day.
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Portland’s Guy Hedlund: Actor and Activist
Guy Hedlund was a Connecticut native made famous through his…
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The Living Actually Haunted Many Connecticut Taverns – Who Knew?
Early Connecticut laws deemed anyone who spent excessive time in taverns as a “tavern haunter” and subjected them to fines and ridicule.
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There’s No Place Like Home for the Designer of Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers – Who Knew?
Connecticut-born Adrian, the American clothing designer who found success in Hollywood, designed Dorothy’s ruby slippers for The Wizard of Oz.
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A Godmother to Ravensbrück Survivors
Philanthropist Caroline Ferriday aided women whose internment at a German concentration camp during WWII left them scarred, physically as well as psychologically.
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Pratt & Whitney Debuts Wasp Engine – Today in History: December 24
On December 24, 1925, aviation engineer and head of the…
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The Rogerenes Leave Their Mark on Connecticut Society
A refusal to compromise became the governing principle of this religious group active in the New London area for some 200 years.
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First New-Gate Prisoner – Today in History: December 22
On December 22, 1773, John Hinson the state’s first inmate…
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Barkhamsted Reservoir Construction Washes Away a Community
The Barkhamsted Reservoir is the primary water supply for the…
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The Kewpies Buy A House in Westport
The Kewpies originally appeared as a comic strip in the Christmas issue of the 1909 Ladies Home Journal.
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Little Nutmeggers: Four Centuries of Children’s Clothes and Games
Modes of dress and means of play for youngsters reflect more than changing tastes; they reveal shifts in societal attitudes toward the pre-adult years.
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Hartford’s “Façade House”: The Unique Home of Chick Austin
A. Everett “Chick” Austin Jr. and his wife, Helen, designed one of the most unique homes of the 20th century in Hartford.
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Ruth Hovey: Heroic Battlefield Nurse
A 28-year-old nurse from Hartford, Ruth Hovey served on the battlefields of World War I.
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Monumental Bronze Company
The Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport was the only producer of a unique type of grave marker in the United States between 1874 and 1914.
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New London’s Ferries: A Transportation Tradition
For more than three centuries, ferry service has provided vital transportation to residents and businesses around New London.
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The Hartford Convention or Leap no Leap
A political cartoon lampoons radical members of New England’s Federalist party by poking fun at their motivations for gathering in Hartford to end the War of 1812.
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First Recorded Fall of Meteorites in the United States – Today in History: December 14
At the break of dawn on December 14, 1807, a…
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Ending the Danbury Shakes: A Story of Workers’ Rights and Corporate Responsibility
Despite the known dangers of prolonged exposure to mercury, the hat-making industry was slow to safeguard workers against its toxic effects.
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Leroy Anderson Composed Iconic Music in Woodbury
Leroy Anderson, a long-time resident of Woodbury, was one of…
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The Beadle Family Murders – Today in History: December 11
Following the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed a…
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Bevin Brothers Helps Transform East Hampton into Belltown, USA
The town of East Hampton is informally known as “Belltown,…
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