For over a hundred years, crowds of visitors have flocked to Connecticut’s Elizabeth Park in June to witness thousands of roses in bloom in the park’s historic Rose Garden. One notable example of this annual pilgrimage occurred on this day in 1933, when nearly 15,000 people — some from as far away as California…
June 17: Windsor’s “Murder Factory” True Crime Story Kills at the Box Office
On this day in Connecticut history, the Broadway comedy “Arsenic and Old Lace,” based on one of Connecticut’s most infamous true crime tales, wrapped up its wildly successful New York run after over 1,400 shows. The unlikely inspiration for “Arsenic and Old Lace,” written by Joseph Kesserling in 1939, was the story of Amy…
June 16: The Liberty Bell Comes to Connecticut
On this day in 1903, one of the most iconic symbols of American freedom — the Liberty Bell — arrived in Connecticut as part of a multi-state tour. Most Americans today think of the Liberty Bell as a stationary, permanent fixture of Philadelphia; a typical “look but don’t touch” museum piece viewed from behind…
June 15: Honoring Gladys Tantaquidgeon of the Mohegan Tribe
June 15, 1999 was officially declared “Gladys Tantaquidegon Day” by Connecticut Governor John Rowland in honor of the 100th birthday of a remarkable medicine woman who became one of the most influential cultural and spiritual leaders of the Mohegan Nation. Born on the Mohegan reservation in southeastern Connecticut in 1899, Gladys Iola Tantaquidegon was…
June 14: President Truman Dedicates the World’s First Nuclear Submarine
On this date in 1952, President Harry S. Truman journeyed to Groton, Connecticut to dedicate the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus. The keel-laying ceremony took place at the Electric Boat shipyard on the banks of the Thames River and was hailed in local newspapers as “The Birth of the Atomic Era…
June 13: Senator Thomas Dodd Censured
Today in 1967, the U.S. Senate took up a motion to censure Connecticut Senator Thomas J. Dodd, stemming from accusations of using funds from his reelection campaign for personal use. Dodd was only one of six people formally censured by the Senate in the 20th century, and the first since Joseph McCarthy in 1954….
June 12: Celebrating Meriden’s Centennial
On this day in 1906, three parades commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Meriden, Connecticut took place throughout the city. A parade of automobiles, with prizes to be awarded for “the handsomest decorated autos of any class,” filled the center of town, followed by patriotic ceremonies, horse races, and athletic competitions at…
June 11: The Nation’s First Hospice Facility
This day in Connecticut history marks an American medical history milestone: the greenlighting of the first hospice care facility in the United States and the realization of nurse Florence Wald’s lifelong dream of providing comprehensive, compassionate care for patients with terminal illnesses. Having spent significant time in hospitals herself as a child due…
June 10: Author Robert Ludlum’s Connecticut Connection
Today in 1951, Robert Ludlum, one of the bestselling authors of all time, graduated from Wesleyan College in Middletown, Connecticut with a B.A. in Drama and high hopes of becoming a world-famous actor. Born in New York City in 1927, Ludlum developed a love for the theater while attending private school in Cheshire, Connecticut,…
June 9: William Howard Taft Dedicates a Connecticut Landmark
June 9, 1915 marked the start of a new lease on life for the Thomas Lee House in East Lyme, which stands today as the oldest wood-framed building in Connecticut. Amid a flurry of pomp and circumstance and community celebration, former President William Howard Taft helped dedicate the reopening of the newly-restored…
June 8: John Adams Writes of Connecticut’s Natural Beauty
On this day in 1771, thirty-five-year-old lawyer — and future President of the United States — John Adams traveled by horse southward along the Connecticut River, from Windsor through Hartford and Wethersfield to Middletown, as part of a Connecticut sojourn intended to improve his health. Adams, a prolific writer, kept a detailed diary…
June 7: Establishing A Constitutional Right to Privacy
Today in 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court established a constitutional “right to privacy” for Americans by overturning a 92-year-old Connecticut law that outlawed the use of birth control. Back in 1873, during the apex of the Victorian era in the United States, Congress passed the Comstock Law, which outlawed “the circulation of obscene…