Today in 1914, the first “International Style” Figure Skating Championship competition in the United States was held in New Haven, Connecticut. While amateur ice skating had been a popular American pastime since the colonial days, modern figure skating — an artistic blend of dance moves and other technical feats performed on ice — was…
March 19: A Fallen Star Rises Again
When 32-year-old Joseph Ganim became mayor of Bridgeport in 1991, he had the distinction of being the youngest mayor in the city’s history. At the time, there were few politicians who even wanted the job, as Connecticut’s largest city had just filed for bankruptcy and was the only municipality in the state to have…
March 18: A Rising Star Falls Twice
The day after St. Patrick’s Day was anything but a lucky one for John G. Rowland, who found himself on the wrong end of the law on March 18, 2005, and then again ten years later on March 18, 2015. Once considered one of Connecticut’s best and brightest politicians, Rowland first won elected office…
March 17: Connecticut Statesman and Civil War Hero Joseph Hawley Dies
Perhaps best known as a Civil War general who served in the First Battle of Bull Run, the Siege of Petersburg, and other notable engagements, Connecticut’s Joseph R. Hawley proved to be an equally accomplished leader off the battlefield, as one of Connecticut’s foremost statesmen of the late 19th century. A graduate of Hamilton…
March 16: Connecticut Chooses An Official State Song
In late 1977, temporarily setting aside the politics of a struggling national economy and election-year posturing, the Connecticut General Assembly took up the task of selecting an official state song for the state of Connecticut. The request for a state song first came from then-governor Ella Grasso’s predecessor, Thomas Meskill, who was reportedly sick…
March 15: Who Owns the Connecticut River?
In the late 19th century, the city of Boston, like most of New England’s other cities, experienced a period of incredible growth thanks to increasing industrialization and a rising tide of European immigration. By the early 20th century, Boston city officials realized they were only a few decades away from a full-blown crisis if…
March 14: Eli Whitney Patents the Cotton Gin
Today in 1794, Eli Whitney, one of Connecticut’s most influential inventors, received a patent for the Cotton Gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by optimizing the time-intensive task of cleaning seeds from raw cotton bolls. Born in Massachusetts in 1765, Eli exhibited both interest in talent in manufacturing at an early…
March 13: The New Haven Black Panther Trials
On this day in 1970, the stage was set for one of the most polarizing trials of the modern Civil Rights era as Bobby Seale, national chairman of the militant black power group Black Panthers, arrived in Connecticut to stand trial for ordering the murder of a New Haven man who had been killed…
March 12: The Great White Hurricane of 1888
When snow started falling across the state in the early hours of March 12, 1888, Connecticut residents thought nothing of it. It wasn’t unusual to have light to moderate snowfall in early March, and the forecast for that day had called for “fair weather, followed by rain.” Later that morning, amid moderate snowfall, most…
March 11: Beatrice Fox Auerbach, Innovative Businesswoman and Philanthropist
When Beatrice Fox Auerbach became president of Hartford’s G. Fox & Company in 1938, in an era where there were scarcely any female retail executives to be found in the United States, neither she nor any of the popular department store’s board members expected her to remain in the position for very long. But…
March 10: Clare Boothe Luce, Connecticut’s Extraordinary First Congresswoman
Connecticut’s first congresswoman, Clare Boothe Luce, was one of the most professionally-accomplished women of her time. Born Ann Clare Boothe on March 10, 1903, her parents instilled in her a love of music and the performing arts. After acting in a few minor theater roles as a young adult, she married New York City…
March 9: War of 1812 Hero Isaac Hull Joins the Navy
Today in 1798, 25-year-old Isaac Hull, who was destined to become one of the United States’ most famous heroes of the War of 1812, began his distinguished career in the Navy after accepting a commission as a 4th Lieutenant aboard the U.S. Frigate Constitution. Born in 1773 in Derby, Connecticut, young Isaac was raised…