Join Reference Librarian Lauren Gray for a gallery talk on the exhibition "1775: Rebels, Rights & Revolution," which charts major Massachusetts events in the first year of the American Revolution. Lauren will delve into the impact of the Battles of Lexington and Concord using related exhibition items. Visitors are invited to explore the rest of the exhibition and ask questions.

Join Reference Librarian Lauren Gray for a gallery talk on the exhibition "1775: Rebels, Rights & Revolution," which charts major Massachusetts events in the first year of the American Revolution. Lauren will delve into the impact of the Battles of Lexington and Concord using related exhibition items. Visitors are invited to explore the rest of the exhibition and ask questions.

John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) went everywhere, and he left an incredible paper trail to show for it. Go around the world with the Adams Papers editors in one history-filled night at the MHS. Visit the moments and manuscripts that cemented JQA as a statesman, a president, an anti-slavery crusader, and a public servant in the family tradition. Join us for JQA’s guide to a world gone by.

Join Chief Historian, Peter Drummey, for a gallery talk on the exhibition, 1775: Rebels, Rights & Revolution, which charts major Massachusetts events in the first year of the American Revolution. Peter will discuss the impact of the Battle of Bunker Hill using related exhibition items. Visitors are invited to explore the rest of the exhibition and ask questions. 

Join Chief Historian, Peter Drummey, for a gallery talk on the exhibition, 1775: Rebels, Rights & Revolution, which charts major Massachusetts events in the first year of the American Revolution. Peter will discuss the impact of the Battle of Bunker Hill using related exhibition items. Visitors are invited to explore the rest of the exhibition and ask questions. 

Be among the first to explore this exhibition, which charts major Massachusetts events in the first year of the American Revolution. The stories behind Paul Revere’s ride, the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and more are illustrated through rare letters, diary accounts, and artifacts from the MHS collection. Plus, enjoy hors d’oeuvres, libations, and Revolution-themed performances.

Nathaniel Philbrick is a New York Times bestselling author of American history. He won the National Book Award for In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. His books on the Revolutionary War have received national recognition. These titles include Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution; Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution; and In the Hurricane’s Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown. His writing on the American Revolution presents fresh perspectives and fascinating character studies that shed light on key figures and moments, allowing us to consider anew this critical juncture in our nation’s past.

Join us at the Charles River Museum for the awarding of the 2024 Peter J. Gomes Memorial Book Prize to Bruce Dorsey for his monograph, Murder in a Mill Town: Sex, Faith, and the Crime That Captivated a Nation, published in 2023 by Oxford University Press. The Peter J. Gomes Memorial Book Prize is given to the best nonfiction work on the history of Massachusetts published during the preceding year. The ceremony at the Charles River Museum will feature Bruce Dorsey in conversation with Jen Manion, Professor of History at Amherst College.

Join us to explore the history of China-U.S. trade through a local lens, starting with the Early U.S. Republic and running through the Opium Wars. We will tour the Forbes House Museum and model their place-based school programming for grade 5-12 students. We will explore primary source sets with documents, artifacts, and illustrations that explore multiple Chinese and U.S. perspectives on the benefits of trade and its ramifications. Finally, we will discuss the impact and legacy of the opium trade: for Chinese society, for China-US relations, and for the Boston merchants who profited from it.

This is an invitation-only event. If you did not receive an invitation, or are not a Member or an Honorary Fellow, you can become a Member here to attend. 

How and why did Boston’s parks come to be? What did they mean to those who created them? How have they changed over time? In this public presentation, Professor Andrew Robichaud and students from Boston University will present rare archival items from the Massachusetts Historical Society related to these questions, shedding new light on the Boston Common, Louisburg Square, Commonwealth Avenue, Franklin Park, the Victory Gardens, and more. Light refreshments will be served after the presentations.