John Lowell Jr. – The eldest child of Francis Cabot Lowell, John Lowell Jr. moved to Lowell in 1825 where he became one of the principal shareholders of the Hamilton Manufacturing Company and led the effort to annex the Tewksbury neighborhood of Belvidere to Lowell. Tragedy struck in 1830 John…
The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against GOP legislators in North Carolina, who had claimed that they should have unreviewable powers to set the rules for their state’s federal elections. The six-to-three decision (with Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and…
Once Upon a Time There Was a Golden Age of Scandinavian Cinema – or Was There? By Malcolm Sharps Malcolm Sharps recalls the films that first drew him to cinema and had an impact on him that no later films could ever have. The importance you allot to those things…
The entry below is being corss posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. Picnics, parades, fireworks, and concerts – all wonderfully traditional ways to celebrate the birth of our country and the values embraced in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. In an article published in today’s highly respected Commonwealth…
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought from July 1-3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The United States Army was commanded by Major General George G. Meade. The Confederate Army was commanded by General Robert E. Lee. Before the battle, Lee tried to capitalize on the momentum…
This weekend, 160 years ago, America was in the midst of its Civil War. On July 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln received word of two great victories by the United States Army. The first was the better-known battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The other the more obscure, but perhaps more strategically…
Kirk Boott Born in Boston but sent to England to attend Rugby School, Kirk Boott (1791-1837) saw action in the Peninsular Wars against Napoleon as a British Army officer. He returned to Boston in 1817, befriended Patrick Tracy Jackson and was appointed agent to the Boston Manufacturing Company. He moved…
The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. How can someone be an ostrich, a worm, a sheep, a jackal and a dodo all at the same time? It’s no zoological mystery. Trump supporters in Congress – the House particularly – do it every day,…
The following is one of an occasional series of posts I’m doing in recognition of Lowell’s upcoming bicentennial in 2026. These and future profiles were first featured in my 2012 book, Legendary Locals of Lowell. Francis Cabot Lowell Francis Cabot Lowell (1775-1817) graduated from Harvard College then set up as a…
The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. As my followers can tell, I do love reading, which served me well during my recovery. But this finishes my current reviews. Happily, I have returned to normal life, seeing friends, going to restaurants, trying to outwit…