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“Tom Thumb” Born – Today in History: January 4
Charles Stratton, born in Bridgeport on January 4, 1838, toured the world with P. T. Barnum under the name, General Tom Thumb.
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From the State Historian: Connecticut’s Slow Steps Toward Emancipation
Slavery remained in the Land of Steady Habits until 1848, and it was not quick to advance suffrage for African Americans, either.
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Overland Travel in Connecticut, from Footpaths to Interstates
By overcoming the limitation of distance, transportation makes possible the many economic and social interactions that allow a community, a people, an entire culture, to thrive
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Elizabeth Bentley Born – Today in History: January 1
Elizabeth Terrill Bentley is best known for her role as an American spy for the Soviet Union—and for her defection to become a US informer.
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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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William Hawkins Abbott Finds the Energy to Power the Northeast
William Hawkins Abbott helped transform the market for affordable energy through his oil refining, pipeline, and distribution networks.
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Skating Through Winter
By the 1850s, better-designed skates and interest in healthful outdoor activities made ice skating an increasingly popular leisure activity.
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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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Chief G’tinemong/Ralph W. Sturges
This Mohegan Chief is remembered for successfully guiding the Tribe through the final stages of Federal Recognition, which it obtained in 1994.
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The Early Years of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company
Wasp and Hornet engines secure the reputation and success of this 1920s start-up venture.
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Waterbury Clock Company Saved by Mickey Mouse – Who Knew?
The Ingersoll Waterbury Company (now Timex) was saved from bankruptcy during the Great Depression, in part, by the introduction of the Mickey Mouse watch.
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First New-Gate Prisoner – Today in History: December 22
On December 22, 1773, John Hinson, the state’s first inmate, arrived at New-Gate Prison.
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Jim Henson, the Muppets, and Greenwich
Between 1964 and 1971, the famous puppeteer and creator of Sesame Street, Jim Henson, lived in Greenwich and created many of his most recognizable characters.
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A Most Unusual Criminal Execution in New London
On December 20, 1786, a crowd gathered behind New London’s old meeting house to witness the execution of a convicted murderer.
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Chick Austin Modernizes a Connecticut Institution
Arthur Everett “Chick” Austin Jr., director of the Wadsworth Atheneum from 1927 to 1944, put Hartford on the cultural map.
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Farmington Canal Designed to Give Connecticut Commerce a Competitive Edge
The Farmington Canal serves as an example of how developments in transportation played a pivotal role in facilitating the country’s industrial activity.
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Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia Originated in Stamford
In 1873, Charles H. Phillips patented Milk of Magnesia and his company produced the popular antacid and laxative in Stamford, Connecticut, until 1976.
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Thomas J. Dodd and the Gun Control Act of 1968
In 1963, Thomas J. Dodd crafted Senate Bill 1975, a “Bill to Regulate the Interstate Shipment of Firearms.”
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Eighty-Five Hundred Souls: the 1918-1919 Flu Epidemic in Connecticut
The state’s busy ports provided an easy point of entry for the disease that claimed millions of lives around the world.
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Thomas W. Nason, the Poet Engraver of New England
An artist best known for his wood engravings that accompany Robert Frost poems, Nason blended classic and modern styles to capture a vanishing rural landscape.
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Horace Wells Discovers Pain-free Dentistry
This Hartford dentist played key role in the development of anesthesia but competing claims to discovery obscured his accomplishment.
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An Inconvenient Season: Charlotte Cowles’s Letters from December 1839
Letters between a sister in Farmington and a brother in Hartford reveal details about daily life at a time when the distance between the two communities wasn’t so easily traveled.
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Elihu Burritt Born – Today in History: December 8
On December 8, 1810, Elihu Burritt was born in New Britain, Connecticut, to a farming family and became a leading pacifist of his time.
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Reporting News of Pearl Harbor – Today in History: December 7
On December 7, 1941, Mansfield resident and UConn history professor Andre Schenker took to the airwaves to report on the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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Beechmont Dairy: Bridgeport’s Ice Cream to Die For
Joseph Niedermeier Sr. founded the Beechmont Dairy in Bridgeport in 1906—a popular local business for over 60 years.
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Cromwell’s Iron Men Made Toys for Boys and Girls
The J & E Stevens Company eventually became the largest manufacturer of cast-iron toys in the country.
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NFL Great, Andy Robustelli of Stamford
Andy Robustelli played professional football for the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants, winning several championships and awards during his career.
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The Slow Demise of Prohibition in Wilton
It is only in recent decades that the people of Wilton moved forward, albeit divisively, with plans to allow the sale of alcohol in their town.
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The Pest House Completed – Today in History: December 4
On December 4, 1760, the town of Durham announced the completion of their hospital house, precipitated by an outbreak of smallpox the year before.
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The American Brass Company: Leading the Way in the “Brass Valley”
The American Brass Company helped make the Naugatuck Valley a center of international brass production until the late 20th century.
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The Revolution of 1817
The Connecticut gubernatorial election of 1817 transferred power from the Federalists to the Republican Party, ending the Congregational Church’s domination.
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Scrabble Copyrighted – Today in History: December 1
On December 1, 1948, James Brunot of Newtown copyrighted the famous spelling game Scrabble.
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Hidden Nearby: The Morris Academy
Rare for his time, educator James Morris accepted both boys and girls as students.
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The White Pine Acts – Who Knew?
The British government made it illegal for colonials to cut down white pine trees over 24 inches in diameter—preserving the trees for use as masts on British naval ships.
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Danbury Hangings: The Executions of Anthony and Amos
The executions of Anthony and Amos Adams in Danbury speak to the fears and racial tensions prevalent in early American culture.
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Thanksgiving and Christmas at Long Lane, 1874
“Wayward children” between the ages of 8 and 16 were sent to the Long Lane Industrial School for Girls on complaints filed in any court.
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Setting the Table in Historic Style: Connecticut Views on Staffordshire China
Engravings of Hartford, Daniel Wadsworth’s estate, the New Haven Green, and other sites around the state adorned British chinaware made for the US market.
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Boston Post Road Carved out Three Travel Routes through State
The forerunners of Connecticut’s three interstate highways began as rugged postal routes in the 1600s.
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Video: 1938 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Connecticut Governor Wilbur L. Cross reading his 1938 Thanksgiving Proclamation to his cabinet. This was the first sound film ever made featuring a Governor of Connecticut.
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The First University of Connecticut Trustees
When the University of Connecticut started life as the Storrs Agricultural School in 1881, Governor Hobart Bigelow appointed its first eight trustees—all with agricultural backgrounds.
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Emile Gauvreau and the Era of Tabloid Journalism
Emile Gauvreau, former managing editor of the Hartford Courant, became a pioneer in the rise of tabloid journalism.
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Give Thanks for American Cooking
Widely accepted as the first cookbook written by an American, Amelia Simmons’s American Cookery was published by Hudson & Goodwin of Hartford in 1796.
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Daniel Curtiss: The Life of a 19th-Century Self-Made Man
Daniel Curtiss spent most of his life in Woodbury, thriving in business, pioneering the sale and distribution of commercial goods, and serving his town by holding political office.
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Connecticut’s Oldest Fire Department
The Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department is the oldest continually operated fire department in Connecticut.
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New London’s Indian Mariners
In an era of dispossession and diminishing autonomy on land, Native American mariners learned to use Anglo-American structures and institutions to establish a degree of power and personal freedom for themselves.
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The Land of Nod Farm, East Canaan, Connecticut
The Land of Nod farm was an important agricultural and residential resource for both the people of East Canaan and the workers at the Beckley furnace.
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Seymour was Chusetown – Who Knew?
The town of Seymour was originally named Chuseville, before taking the name Humphreysville (after David Humphreys). It incorporated as Seymour in 1850.
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