130 Fun Facts About Boston

Boston was named after a market town in which English county?

Puritan settlers founded it on a near-empty peninsula in 1630.

In what year was Boston founded?

Settlers led by John Winthrop crossed over from the failing colony at Charlestown.

Boston Common, dating from 1634, holds what national distinction?

The city also claims the first public school (1635) and the first subway (1897).

Founded in 1635, which institution is the oldest public high school in the United States?

Benjamin Franklin attended it but never graduated.

The oldest subway tunnel in North America, opened in Boston in 1897, runs beneath which thoroughfare?

Only London's 1890 tube and Budapest's 1896 line are older among electric subways still in use.

What did settler William Blaxton call the peninsula on which Boston stands?

The Puritans he invited over from Charlestown called it Tremontaine, after its three hills.

Boston's Back Bay neighbourhood was created in the 19th century by doing what?

Nearly 600 acres of Charles River marsh were filled with gravel brought by rail from Needham.

On which date did the Boston Tea Party take place?

Sons of Liberty disguised as Native Americans dumped about 342 chests of East India Company tea.

Roughly how many chests of tea were thrown into Boston Harbor at the Tea Party?

The Tea Act had authorised 5,000 chests, about 250 tons, for the American colonies.

How many colonists were killed in the Boston Massacre of March 1770?

Crispus Attucks, a mixed-race former slave, was among the first to die.

Which future U.S. president defended the British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre?

His cousin Samuel was one of the leading agitators on the other side.

The June 1775 battle everyone calls Bunker was mostly fought on which rise in Charlestown?

The British took the ground on June 17, 1775, but at a cost so heavy it was a pyrrhic victory.

The granite obelisk in Charlestown commemorating the June 1775 battle stands how tall?

Dedicated in 1843, it was then the largest obelisk in the United States.

Two lanterns in which Boston landmark's steeple signalled the British advance in 1775?

Built in 1723, it is the oldest standing church in the city.

What was Paul Revere's trade?

In 1800 he became the first American to roll copper into sheets, later used to sheathe naval hulls.

Which Founding Father was born on Boston's Milk Street in 1706?

He was his father's fifteenth child and was baptised at the Old South Meeting House.

The USS Constitution, berthed in Charlestown, earned what nickname after defeating HMS Guerriere in 1812?

Launched in 1797, she is the oldest naval vessel in the world still afloat.

Faneuil Hall, nicknamed the Cradle of Liberty, is topped by a weathervane in the shape of what?

The building opened in 1742 as a marketplace and meeting hall.

The Freedom Trail through Boston is marked on the pavement by what?

The 2.5-mile route was conceived by journalist William Schofield in 1951 and links 16 sites.

How long is the Freedom Trail?

Most sites are free, though the Old State House and Paul Revere House charge admission.

Who designed the Massachusetts State House, completed in 1798 on Beacon Hill?

Paul Revere's company sheathed its leaking wooden dome in copper in 1802; the gold leaf came in 1874.

The State House dome was first gilded with gold leaf in which year?

It had earlier been painted grey and then light yellow; the 1997 regilding used 23-karat gold.

A wave of what substance killed 21 people in Boston's North End on January 15, 1919?

The 2.3-million-gallon tank burst and the wave moved at an estimated 35 mph; locals swore the smell lingered for decades.

First run in 1897, what record does the Boston Marathon hold?

It was inspired by the marathon at the first modern Olympics in Athens the previous year.

The Boston Marathon starts in which town?

It finishes on Boylston Street near Copley Square, and is run on Patriots' Day.

The Boston Marathon is traditionally run on which holiday?

That is the third Monday of April, when the Red Sox also play a morning home game.

In what year did women officially become eligible to enter the Boston Marathon?

Organisers now recognise 1966, when Bobbi Gibb ran unofficially, as the first women's finish.

Fenway Park opened in 1912; what news story overshadowed coverage of its first game?

The Titanic had gone down five days earlier, on April 15.

How tall is Fenway Park's Green Monster wall in left field?

It replaced Duffy's Cliff and the original 25-foot wall during the 1934 rebuild.

The illuminated Citgo sign that looms over Fenway Park overlooks which part of the city?

Installed in 1940, it got Citgo's current logo in 1965 and became famous on Red Sox broadcasts.

The Red Sox's 86-year title drought, ended in 2004, was blamed on a curse named after which player?

His contract was sold to the Yankees in 1920, after he had helped Boston win three World Series.

How many NBA championships had the Boston Celtics won as of their 2024 title?

Eight of them came in a row from 1959 to 1966 under Red Auerbach and Bill Russell.

The Boston Bruins, founded in 1924, hold what distinction in the NHL?

They won the first NHL game ever played on U.S. soil, beating the Montreal Maroons 2-1.

Which two Boston teams share TD Garden?

The arena sits above North Station on the site of the demolished Boston Garden.

In 1837 Horace Gray petitioned to create what, America's first, on filled Back Bay mudflats?

Its Swan Boats have been paddling the lagoon since 1877.

The Swan Boats on the lagoon beside the Common have operated since which year?

They are one of the city's oldest continuous tourist attractions.

Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings follows a mallard family settling in which Boston park?

It won the 1942 Caldecott Medal and is the official children's book of Massachusetts.

Boston's Emerald Necklace chain of parks was designed by which landscape architect?

The 1,100-acre chain runs about seven miles from Boston Common to Franklin Park.

Thirteen artworks, including a Vermeer, were stolen from which Boston institution in March 1990?

Empty frames still hang in place, and a $10 million reward remains unclaimed.

How did the Gardner Museum thieves get inside?

They tied up the guards and spent about an hour looting the galleries.

The Big Dig rerouted which highway into a tunnel beneath downtown Boston?

It ran from 1991 to 2007 and was the most expensive highway project in U.S. history.

The Big Dig's cable-stayed bridge over the Charles is named after Leonard Zakim and which battle?

The project also created the Rose Kennedy Greenway where the elevated highway once stood.

The Charles River separates most of Boston from which neighbouring city?

It flows 80 miles from Hopkinton, doubling back on itself, though its source is only 26 miles from its mouth.

MIT was long known as "Boston Tech" before it moved across the river in which year?

Harvard, MIT and Tufts sit just outside the city in what is called the Brainpower Triangle.

The Pops was founded in 1885 as a lighter offshoot of which ensemble?

Arthur Fiedler took over in 1930 and led it for fifty years; John Williams and Keith Lockhart followed.

Where does the Boston Pops play its famous Fourth of July concert?

Fireworks over the Charles River follow the music.

The exterior of which Beacon Street pub was used as the bar in the sitcom Cheers?

The show ran for 275 episodes from 1982 to 1993 and its finale was the most-watched TV episode of the 1990s.

Cheers bar owner Sam Malone was a former relief pitcher for which team?

The series was nearly cancelled after ranking 74th of 77 shows in its first season.

In Good Will Hunting, Will works as a janitor at which institution?

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon won the Oscar for the screenplay, set among their native South Boston.

Boston cream pie is said to have been created in 1856 at which hotel?

Despite the name it is a custard-filled cake, from an era when cakes and pies shared the same pans.

Boston baked beans are sweetened with which ingredient, a legacy of the Caribbean trade?

The same trade made Boston a rum exporter and gave the city its "Beantown" nickname.

Dunkin' was founded in 1950 in which town just south of Boston?

Bill Rosenberg's shop had opened two years earlier as the Open Kettle.

The Boston Terrier has been the official state dog of Massachusetts since which year?

The AKC accepted the breed in 1893, tracing nearly all of them to a dog called Hooper's Judge.

Which Boston mayor served twenty years, the longest tenure in the city's history?

Michelle Wu became mayor in 2021 after Marty Walsh left to be U.S. Secretary of Labor.

Which two Back Bay towers are the tallest buildings in New England?

The old Hancock building's beacon still forecasts the weather by its colour.

Boston's Logan International Airport opened in which year?

The airport also marks the city's official elevation: 19 feet above sea level.

Which patron saint gives Boston, Lincolnshire, and hence Boston, Massachusetts, its name?

'St. Botolph's town' was shortened to Boston.

Who named the new settlement Boston in September 1630, in one of his last acts?

His wife was the namesake of the ship Arbella.

Which Indigenous people lived in the Boston region before European colonisation?

They kept small seasonal communities on the peninsula.

What did the Puritan settlers call the peninsula before it was renamed Boston?

William Blaxton called it Shawmut.

Which 1629 pact, signed by John Winthrop, created the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

John Winthrop, the colony's first governor, signed it.

Which three neighbouring communities rejected annexation by Boston?

Charlestown and Brighton joined in 1874.

In which year did Boston's conflict over school desegregation busing begin?

Unrest continued around public schools through the mid-1970s.

What is the highest point in Boston, at 330 feet?

The lowest point is sea level.

Which US agency gives Boston more funding than any other city?

Greater Boston has seven R1 research universities.

Roughly where on the Boston Marathon course does Heartbreak Hill come?

Heartbreak Hill sits near Boston College.

Which 1896 event inspired the first Boston Marathon in 1897?

The B.A.A. has organised it every year since.

Which woman ran the 1967 Boston Marathon with an official number, entered by initial?

About 43 percent of 2022 entrants were women.

Which impostor crossed the 1980 women's finish line first before being disqualified?

Canadian Jacqueline Gareau was declared the winner eight days later.

Where does the Boston Marathon finish, near Copley Square?

It starts in Hopkinton in Middlesex County.

Which two brothers carried out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing?

Two pressure-cooker bombs went off 12 seconds and 210 yards apart.

Which Boston mayor threw out the first ball at Fenway Park's opening game in 1912?

'Honey Fitz' was John F. Kennedy's maternal grandfather.

Which Fenway Park feature is named after a light-hitting Red Sox infielder?

Fenway is the oldest active ballpark in MLB.

Whom did the Red Sox beat in the first World Series in 1903?

They won four more titles by 1918.

How many World Series titles had the Red Sox won by the end of the 2025 season?

They had played in thirteen, the last win coming in 2018.

Which coach led the Celtics to their 17th title over the Lakers in 2008?

They lost the 2010 Finals to the same opponent.

Besides playing, what second job did Bill Russell hold with the Celtics from 1966 to 1969?

He coached the final three seasons of his career, 1966–69.

How many Stanley Cups have the Bruins won?

They tie the Blackhawks for fourth-most.

For how many seasons did the Bruins play at the old Boston Garden?

They moved to TD Garden in 1995.

Bobby Orr won a record how many consecutive Norris Trophies as best defenceman?

He remains the only defenceman to win two league scoring titles.

Ted Williams's .406 average in which year remains the last .400 season in MLB?

He lost seasons to service in World War II and Korea.

Which boxing promoter designed the original Boston Garden, opened in 1928?

It opened as Boston Madison Square Garden and was demolished in 1998.

Which Puritan clergyman was the 1639 namesake of America's oldest university?

Founded in 1636, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the US.

Who founded MIT in 1861 to advance 'useful knowledge'?

It adopted a German polytechnic model of lab instruction.

Boston University's original 1839 campus was in which Vermont town?

Boston Methodists founded it; it was chartered in Boston in 1869.

Which organisation founded Northeastern University in 1898?

It is now the largest university in Massachusetts by enrollment.

Boston College moved most of its campus in 1907 from the South End to where?

It was founded by the Jesuits in 1863.

Founded in 1848, the Boston Public Library ranks where among US public libraries by size?

Only the Library of Congress and New York Public Library are larger.

In which year did the Museum of Fine Arts move from Copley Square to the Fenway?

It was founded in 1870 and holds over 450,000 works.

Who founded the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881?

He also founded the Pops in 1885 and commissioned Symphony Hall.

Which two other halls share Symphony Hall's top-three acoustic ranking?

It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1999.

Massachusetts General Hospital is located in which Boston neighbourhood?

It houses the world's largest hospital-based research programme.

Which colour lines make up the MBTA's three heavy-rail metro lines?

Green and Mattapan are light rail; the Silver Line is bus rapid transit.

Where in Boston Harbor were some of the area's earliest human remains found?

They date to more than 4,000 years ago.

Beacon Hill is used locally as a metonym for what?

It works like Capitol Hill does in Washington.

Which two New England cities lost their historic Chinatowns after the 1950s?

It is one of Boston's most densely populated areas.

Which artist designed Faneuil Hall, opened in 1742?

Its Great Hall hosted many famous speeches and debates.

Which Boston mayor gave his name to the 1826 market complex beside Faneuil Hall?

Alexander Parris designed the three buildings.

Completed in 1713, which is Boston's oldest surviving public building?

At 65 feet it was the city's tallest building until 1745.

Which architect designed the John Hancock Tower, completed in 1976?

Its 500-pound blue window panes notoriously fell out.

What did the John Hancock Tower become known as after its naming lease expired in 2015?

Locals still call it the Hancock.

How tall is the Prudential Tower, completed in 1964?

Charles Luckman and Associates designed it with 52 floors.

Which four streets bound the Boston Public Garden?

It was the first public botanical garden in America.

Who became music director of the Boston Pops in 1995?

Symphony Hall's floor is switched to cafe seating for Pops concerts.

Roughly how many athletes row in the Head of the Charles Regatta?

It is the world's largest three-day regatta.

Which British captain led the soldiers who fired in the Boston Massacre?

The soldiers fired without his order after being pelted with clubs and snowballs.

Whom did Washington send to bring the Ticonderoga cannons to Boston in 1775?

The guns fortified Dorchester Heights and forced the British out on March 17, 1776.

Which ship did the Sons of Liberty board first on the night of the Boston Tea Party?

Parliament answered with the Intolerable Acts of 1774.

Which 1773 act let the East India Company sell tea nearly tax-free in the colonies?

Sons of Liberty saw it as taxation without representation.

USS Constitution was one of how many frigates authorised by the Naval Act of 1794?

She was launched in 1797 and is the oldest naval vessel still afloat.

How many steps spiral up the Bunker Hill Monument?

Solomon Willard designed the obelisk, dedicated in 1843.

Isabella Stewart Gardner's 1903 museum was modelled on the palaces of which city?

It was known as Fenway Court.

What is the estimated value of the art stolen from the Gardner Museum in 1990?

The crime remains unsolved.

Which distiller owned the tank that burst in the 1919 Great Molasses Flood?

The 2.3-million-gallon wave moved at about 35 mph.

Roughly how many buildings did the Great Boston Fire of 1872 destroy?

It began in a Summer Street warehouse basement.

Which police commissioner refused to rehire strikers after the 1919 Boston Police Strike?

The strike began on September 9, 1919.

Which rule was enacted after the Cocoanut Grove fire?

Flammable decorations were also banned.

How many women were murdered by the Boston Strangler in the early 1960s?

Albert DeSalvo confessed and DNA later linked him to the last victim.

Whitey Bulger led which Irish mob group based in Somerville?

His FBI handler tipped him off in 1994 and he vanished for 16 years.

Which Boston mayor was elected alderman in 1904 while in prison for fraud?

He served four terms as mayor between 1914 and 1950.

Boston Dynamics was founded in 1992 as a spin-off from which institution?

Hyundai Motor Group has owned it since 2020.

Who founded the Boston Consulting Group in 1963?

It began as part of the Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company.

William J. Riley founded which sneaker giant in Boston in 1906 as an arch-support firm?

Irish immigrant William J. Riley founded it.

In the Boston accent, cot and caught sound alike because short o merges with which sound?

Broad a stays distinct, as in father and spa.

Boston Light, the first lighthouse built in what is now the US, stands where in outer Boston Harbor?

First lit in 1716, it was blown up by withdrawing British forces in 1776 and rebuilt in 1783.

The 'smoot', a joke unit used to mark the Harvard Bridge, came from a 1958 pledge stunt at which school?

Oliver Smoot lay down repeatedly for his Lambda Chi Alpha brothers; the bridge measured 364.4 smoots 'plus or minus one ear'.

Which medical first happened in a Massachusetts General Hospital amphitheatre on October 16, 1846?

Dentist William Morton anesthetised a patient in the amphitheatre, which served as the operating room until 1867; the date is known as Ether Day.

Where in Boston is the Granary Burying Ground, resting place of Paul Revere and Samuel Adams?

Founded in 1660, it also holds the five Boston Massacre victims and signers John Hancock and Robert Treat Paine.

Berklee College of Music began in 1945 under what name, after Lawrence Berk left Raytheon?

The Newbury Street school taught the Schillinger System; Berklee went on to become the world's largest independent college of contemporary music.

Since 2012, Berklee College of Music has run a second campus in which Spanish city?

Berklee also merged with the Boston Conservatory in a deal agreed in December 2015.