The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

“The Poor Wretched People Are Much Difficulted”

Series: From Our Collections
By Susan Martin, Collections Services
I’d like to take this opportunity to write about the topic that’s been dominating U.S. headlines and occupies countless hours of on-air and on-line punditry: the annual migration of the monarch butterfly. Just kidding. Yes, I mean the U.S. presidential election. [...] read more

comments: 1 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 31 August, 2016, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
There are no public programs or events scheduled this week. Keep an eye on our Online Calendar of Events to see what is coming in the fall and for library/building closures.  Please note that the library is CLOSED on Saturday, September 3, but the galleries remain [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 28 August, 2016, 12:00 AM

Reference Collection Development: Watch This Space for New Titles!

Series: From the Reference Librarian 
By Anna Clutterbuck-Cook, Reader Services
During the past fiscal year, the MHS used income from hosting the GLCA Boston Summer Seminar to increase our reference collection development efforts. As a research library, it is crucial for the MHS to have up-to-date scholarly and reference works that support in-depth [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 26 August, 2016, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
It's another quiet week at the MHS as far as programs go. Here is what lies ahead: - Wednesday, 24 August, 12:00PM : Join us for a Brown Bag lunch talk with Kenyon Gradert of Washington University in St. Louis as he presents "The Puritan Imagination in Antislavery New England." [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 21 August, 2016, 12:00 AM

Death of a Party

Series: From Our Collections
By Dan Hinchen, Reader Services
"At seven minutes to three o'clock on the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 20, 1902, the National Club of Massachusetts committed suicide by voting itself out of existence. The scene of the tragedy was Room 12, Young's Hotel, Boston. Twenty-one members, four less than a quorum, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Saturday, 20 August, 2016, 12:39 PM

“Have you look’d at this Universe, through the Telescopes of Herschell?”

Series: From Our Collections
By Rhonda Barlow, Adams Papers
The Juno space probe began orbiting Jupiter on July 4, 2016, and already has transmitted images of the planet’s moons and famous Great Red Spot. The study of the planets is not new, however, and when he was in England, John Adams had the opportunity to meet one of [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 17 August, 2016, 10:43 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
As August begins its slow descent into September it is pretty quiet at the Society. This week we have only a Brown Bag lunch and a tour: - Wednesday, 17 August, 12:00PM : This week's Brown Bag talk is given by Jonathan Lande of Brown University. "Disciplining Freedom: Union [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 14 August, 2016, 12:00 AM

“Just Mede of Praise”: George N. Briggs’ Heroic Act

By Susan Martin, Collection Services
In the mid-1830s, George Nixon Briggs (later Gov. Briggs) was serving in the 23rd U.S. Congress as a representative from Massachusetts. He was still a fairly junior Congressman, working alongside such notables as Edward Everett and John Quincy Adams. But one remarkable [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Thursday, 11 August, 2016, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
It is a quiet week ahead here at the Society, as far as programs are concerned: - Tuesday, 9 August - Thursday, 11 August : SOLD OUT "The Maritime History of Massachusetts' North Shore" explores Massachusetts' connections to the sea through documents, artifacts, landscapes, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 7 August, 2016, 12:00 AM

Anarchists and Assassinations in the Early 20th-Century United States

By Brendan Kiernan, Reader Services
The Walter Channing Papers, 1810-1921 contain various materials relating to anarchism and perceptions of anarchists in the early 20th-century United States. I decided to explore this collection after locating a record in our catalog, ABIGAIL, for an 18 October 1902 letter [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 5 August, 2016, 8:00 AM

Margaret Russell’s Diary, August 1916

Series: From Our Collections
By by Anna J. Clutterbuck Cook, Reader Service
Today, we return to the line-a-day diary of Margaret Russell. You can read previous installments here: January | February | March | April | May | June | July During August, the Russell family continued daily life on the North Shore with numerous outings by train, motor, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 3 August, 2016, 12:00 AM