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A Civil War Soldier Engineers an Iconic Career
Horatio Wright was a Connecticut native who served with distinction…
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Clare Boothe Luce Changed Perceptions about Women in Business and Politics
Clare Boothe Luce became the first woman to represent Connecticut in the US House of Representatives and later became an ambassador to Italy.
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John H. Trumbull: Connecticut’s “Flying Governor”
In 1926, at the age of 53, Connecticut governor John H. Trumbull received his pilot’s license. Piloting flights to his own appointments, he became known as “The Flying Governor.”
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The Lyman Allyn Opens – Today in History: March 2
On March 2, 1932, the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, in…
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Today in History – Fales & Gray Explosion Underscores Need for a Hartford Hospital
At 2 pm on March 2, 1854, the power of…
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Olin Library and The Debate About Open Space at Wesleyan University
The history of Wesleyan’s library system includes a debate that reveals how values associated with the environment in the early 1900s helped shape the campus’s development.
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Rex Brasher Dies – Today in History: February 29
On February 29, 1960, noted wildlife illustrator Rex Brasher died….
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Andover Lake: A Lesson in Social Change
Constructed in the early 20th century, Andover Lake is a…
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William Gillette’s Last Performance – Today in History: February 27
On February 27, 1936, William Gillette made his last appearance…
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Bridgeport: The First Borough
Bridgeport, by a special act of the General Assembly in October 1800,
became the first borough created in Connecticut
The Revolving Gun – Today in History: February 25
On February 25, 1836, Samuel Colt received a patent for…
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Abraham Ribicoff dies – Today in History: February 22
On February 22, 1998, Abraham Ribicoff died. An American Democratic…
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Fire and Ice: A Very Bad Week in 1914
Hartford’s Union Station and Allyn Hall caught fire on two different days in February. Only one still stands today.
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Actress Gwen Reed Best Remembered for Dedication to Childhood Literacy
Gwen Reed was an actress and educational advocate who grew…
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A Good Spot and a Healthy Place: A Short History of Charles Island
Before becoming a part of Silver Sands State Park, Milford’s Charles Island served as everything from a luxury resort to the home of a fertilizer factory.
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Park Central Hotel Boiler Explosion – Today in History: February 18
In the pre-dawn hours of February 18, 1889, the Park Central Hotel in Hartford was ripped apart by a steam boiler explosion.
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Baptist Missionaries at Work in 19th-Century Burma
Justus Vinton was a missionary and humanitarian dedicated to spreading…
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A Successful Lawyer and Politician Who Never Went to College
Chauncey Fitch Cleveland was a lawyer and politician who served…
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Josiah Willard Gibbs’s Impact on Modern Science
New Haven’s Josiah Willard Gibbs laid the groundwork for the development of physical chemistry as a science, to the point that Albert Einstein called him “the greatest mind in American history.”
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Meriden Town Hall Burns Down – Today in History: February 14
On February 14, 1904, Meriden’s town hall burned to the…
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The Open and Fortified Country of the Human Heart: A Victorian Lady’s View of Love
A pair of 19th-century prints provides a virtual road map to the human heart, illustrating contemporary male and female attitudes towards courtship and love.
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Charles Ethan Porter, Portrait of a 19th-Century African American Painter
Charles Ethan Porter was a prolific still life painter in…
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Constitution Plaza Then and Now
Hailed as Hartford’s first major redevelopment project, Constitution Plaza was built as part of the urban renewal initiatives that swept the nation’s cities in the 1950s and ’60s.
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The Interstate Highway System Comes to Hartford
By Richard C. Malley Beginning in the mid-1930s, state and…
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Arthur Miller dies – Today in History: February 10
On February 10, 2005, the award-winning American playwright Arthur Asher…
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Charles Stratton and Lavinia Warren Wed – Today in History: February 10
He was rich, handsome and famous, she was considered a great beauty and their wedding was front page news around the nation.
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Changing Sentiments on Slavery in Colonial Hebron
Residents of Hebron rescued local slaves Lowis and Cesar Peters, and their children, from South Carolina slave traders. After emancipation, the rescued family became farmers in town.
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North and South: The Legacy of Eli Whitney
After studying to become a lawyer, Eli Whitney actually helped further American industrial production methods through his numerous clever inventions.
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Joel T. Case and the Victorianization of Bristol’s Federal Hill
The Victorian designs of inventor and architect Joel T. Case make substantial contributions to the landscape of the Federal Hill area in Bristol.
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Colt Armory Burns – Today in History: February 4
On February 4, 1864, most of Colt’s East Armory burned…
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A 1947 Movie Details the Unsolved Murder of a Bridgeport Priest
An unusual murder of a Bridgeport, Connecticut, priest in 1924 inspired the movie, Boomerang!, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 1947.
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How Real Estate Practices Influenced the Hartford Region’s Demographic Makeup
Persistent segregation is the historic legacy of steering and blockbusting, two discriminatory tactics that played a role in shaping suburban neighborhoods.
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Six Cities Respond to 1902 Waterbury Fire – Who Knew?
…that the fire, which swept through Waterbury on a stormy…
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1850s Equal Rights Activist James Mars
James Mars was born into slavery in Connecticut in 1790….
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Hartford Times – Voices of Change
1960’s photographs from The Hartford Times offer a look back at a decade of protest that focused local and national attention on the civil rights of African Americans, the war in Vietnam, and the inequalities facing women.
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First General Copyright Law – Today in History: January 29
On January 29, 1783, Connecticut became the first state to…
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First Commercial Telephone Exchange – Today in History: January 28
On January 28, 1878, the Boardman Building in New Haven…
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John Ledyard, Connecticut’s Most Famous Traveler
This intrepid voyager, one of the most adventurous figures in Connecticut’s long history, would have made a great fictional character had he not been real.
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A Total Eclipse of the Sun – Today in History: January 24
On January 24, 1925, Connecticut residents witnessed a full solar…
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The Astronomical Event of the Century
Church bells chimed and factory whistles blew and automobiles, trains, and trolleys throughout the state came to a standstill.
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Early Church Bell Founders
Church bells served many important functions in early New England. Consequently, skilled bellfounders in Connecticut found themselves in high demand.
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John Fitch Born – Today in History: January 21
On January 21, 1743, John Fitch, an inventor and pioneer…
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Ebenezer Tracy Made Some of the Finest 18th-Century Furniture
Ebenezer Tracy was a carpenter from Lisbon, Connecticut, who specialized…
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Nancy Toney’s Lifetime in Slavery
From scant evidence, including a portrait, gravestone, census data, and will, a partial image of a Connecticut life lived in slavery emerges.
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Almost a Tragedy: The Collapse of the Hartford Civic Center
In the early morning of January 18, the roof of the sports coliseum collapsed onto 10,000 empty stadium seats.
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Boot Blacks and the Struggle to Survive in Hartford
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, young boys who shined shoes (sometimes 70 hours per week) were the primary breadwinners for many struggling families.
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The Debate Over Who Could Occupy World War II Public Housing in West Hartford
In the 1940s, African American war workers eligible for government-funded housing found access restricted to some properties despite vacancies.
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The Phoenix Building, Hartford
The Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Building, also known locally as…
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The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
The Fundamental Orders, inspired by Thomas Hooker’s sermon of May…
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