Crime historian Karen Elizabeth Chaney examines the case of Lizzie Bordan, accused of killing her father and stepmother with an ax in Fall River, MA, on August 4, 1892. Chaney focuses on the journalistic coverage of the case and the gender issues and sensationalism it dealt in.
Audio and video options are available.
As a part of a bicentennial series celebrating Boston Athenaeum writers, J. Frederick Marchant presents Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882); Jill McDonough presents Amy Lowell (1874-1925); and Rosanna Warren presents Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882).
Professor Alan Rogers describes the historical context of the 13 killings by the Boston Strangler from June 14, 1962 to Jan. 4, 1964 and details the crimes; the investigation; and the arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Albert DeSalvo.
Scholar Nancy Seasholes looks at the history of land creation in Boston over its 375-year history. She focuses on the Central Waterfront area. Her presentation includes slides.
An mp3 of the lecture audio can be downloaded.
Historian Russell Bourne looks at the role of waterfront "mobs" in the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and other pre-Revolutionary events. He focuses on events of radical mass violence as precursors of the Revolutionary War.
Audio and video options are available.
Ray Raphael discusses whether or not Samuel Adams really gave a "signal" for the Boston Tea Party, the real story of Paul Revere's ride, and the role of the average person in the events leading up to the American Revolution. Raphael focuses on the overlap of history and storytelling, and the creation of history-based mythology.
Audio and video options are available.
Professor Brendan McConville describes the systematic use of violence and intimidation by revolutionary committees and congresses leading up to the Revolutionary War. He focuses on the British view of these events as attacks and atrocities and on the degree to which the revolutionaries' methods contradicted today's idealistic view of Patriot colonists.
Professor Robert J. Allison reviews the history of Boston, focusing on major events and historical figures in the city's past.
Audio and video options are available.
A panel discusses the history of Chinese immigration and Chinese Americans and their experiences in Boston from the 1800s onwards.
Author Hiller Zobel explores the death of Christopher Seider, an 11-year-old shot and killed during a riot on Feb. 22, 1770, and the trial of Boston loyalist Ebenezer Richardson for his murder. Zobel casts this as an event leading up to the Boston Massacre.