Born to Italian immigrants living in Meriden, Connecticut in 1897, Rosa Ponselle (born Rosa Ponzillo) displayed a natural talent for both singing and instrumental music at an early age. Ponselle, who was destined to become a musical celebrity and one of the most famous opera singers in American history, began her musical career as…
November 14: Paul Sperry (and His Dog) Invent the Boat Shoe
Today in 1939, New Haven-born sailor-turned-shoemaker Paul Sperry received a patent for one of the most famous and enduring pieces of American footwear: the Sperry Top-Sider, or “boat shoe.” Born in 1895, Sperry’s life revolved around the sea; growing up along the Connecticut coast, he developed a lifelong love for sailing at an early…
November 13: One of the 20th Century’s Greatest Speeches – “Freedom or Death”
Invited by celebrated architect and socialite Theodate Pope, and introduced by the equally well-placed and notably outspoken Katherine Houghton Hepburn, a militant English suffragist took the stage at Hartford’s Parson Theatre today in 1913, and delivered what is now regarded as one of the greatest speeches of the twentieth-century. Emmeline Pankhurst, whose unwavering advocacy…
November 12: A Two-President Celebration Draws a Huge Crowd in Middletown
November 12, 1909 was a momentous day for the city of Middletown, as thousands of cheering, flag-waving residents lined the streets to enjoy a day full of pomp and circumstance and an evening full of dancing and fireworks. The Hartford Courant covered every detail of the day’s festivities in a breathless, three-page spread under…
November 11: Member of the Famed Yankee Division the Last Connectican to Die in World War I
In many countries around the world, November 11 is Armistice Day, named in honor of the truce, enacted on November 11, 1918, that marked the end of hostilities on the Western Front between German and Allied forces. While a lasting peace was not formally established until the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919,…
November 10: The Tong Wars Come to Connecticut
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, as Chinese immigrants flocked to American shores in increasing numbers, insular Chinese-American communities known as “Chinatowns” sprang up in large coastal cities like San Francisco and New York. Here, recent immigrants could more freely speak their native language and observe Chinese customs while adapting to…
November 9: The Nation’s First Planned Burying Ground Receives Its First Resident – During an Epidemic
In the 1790s, a deadly epidemic of yellow fever swept throughout the eastern United States, hitting densely populated urban centers like New Haven especially hard. As fever-related fatalities multiplied, the burying grounds located behind the churches on the New Haven green — operation for nearly 150 years — quickly exceeded capacity. City leaders responded…
November 8: The Last Surviving Wooden Whale Ship Permanently Anchors at Mystic .
Today in 1941, the last remaining wooden whale ship in the world made her permanent home in Mystic, Connecticut. The Charles W. Morgan was a massive vessel with a deck measuring over 110 feet in length and a main mast rising 110 feet into the air. It once numbered among a combined fleet of…
November 7: Washington Slept Here — Not His Favorite Place
Throughout the eastern United States, claims that “George Washington slept here” at some local home or landmark are so exceedingly plentiful — and not infrequently fabricated to boost business — that the term has almost become a tourism cliché. Connecticut, however, can point to many locations where George Washington did pass by or spend…
November 6: The Greatest Night of John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Campaign
“On Tuesday night, the first State of the Union to vote and have its results is the State of Connecticut. (Applause) It will be about 3 or 4:30 in California when the results of Connecticut are announced. This State is important. What you do is important. You can have an effect here and across…
November 5: Ella Grasso, America’s First Female Governor Elected In Her Own Right
Born to Italian immigrants in 1919, Ella Rosa Giovanna Oliva Tambussi grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood of first- and second-generation Americans in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Her parents, determined to invest in a better future for their daughter, saved up enough money to send Ella to the prestigious Chaffee School in Windsor. Afterward, she…
November 4: Connecticut Founder, Alchemist, and Witch Protector John Winthrop Jr. Arrives in America
Today in 1631, John Winthrop, Jr., one of the most important figures in Connecticut history, first set foot in the New World, having arrived in Boston where his father, John Winthrop Sr., was governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A Renaissance man of many talents, the younger Winthrop was well-versed in alchemy, natural magic,…