| 1704/00/00 |
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The Mico mansion (razed) is built for Boston merchant John Mico. |
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| 1718/00/00 |
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The Mico mansion (razed) is bequeathed to Mico's friend Jacob Wendell (the great-grandfather of Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr). |
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| 1748/00/00 |
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Boston Latin School operates out of a brick building (lost) on south side of School Street, 1748-1812. |
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History of the Boston Latin School |
| 1760/00/00 |
James Lovell |
Work |
John Lovell's son James is appointed usher at the Boston Latin School (lost). John, Loyal to King George, and James, a patriot, teach from desks at opposite ends of the schoolroom, expounding opposite convictions. |
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History of the Boston Latin School |
| 1775/04/19 |
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John Lovell angrily announces, "War's begun and school's done. Deponite libros (Put away books)." The Boston Latin School will be closed until General Washington forces the British out of Boston. |
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History of the Boston Latin School |
| 1790/00/00 |
Samuel Clarke |
Education |
Like many Clarkes before, Samuel Clarke attends Boston Latin School (lost). |
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| 1812/00/00 |
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Boston Latin School occupies a larger brick school building (lost) on south side of School Street, 1812-1844. |
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History of the Boston Latin School |
| 1829/00/00 |
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Nicholas Boylston, a cousin of John Adams, takes ownership of the Mico mansion (razed) and converts it into the Boylston Hotel. |
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| 1845/00/00 |
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Massachusetts Horticultural Society builds a hall on the corner of Chapman Pl and School St. The site of the former Boston Latin School from 1748-1844, the Horticultural Hall incorporates the walls of the school. |
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| 1854/04/22 |
Harvey D Parker |
Work |
Harvey Parker buys the former Mico Mansion on School Street and demolishes the decrepit boarding house. |
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| 1855/10/08 |
Harvey D Parker |
Owner |
Harvey Parker opens the first hotel in America to offer the European plan, where guests can pay for their room separately from meals. American hotels usually include meals in the room charge, serving uninspired meals during rigid dining schedules. |
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| 1855/11/00 |
Saturday Club (Boston) |
Gathering |
Saturday Club, a group of poets, philosophers and scientists, begin meeting at the Parker House when it opened in 1855. |
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| 1856/00/00 |
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Boston cream pie is invented by Chef M Sanzian at Boston's Parker House Hotel |
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Boston Cream Pie |
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| 1857/06/24 |
Col Benjamin W Crowninshield |
Guest |
Went in town to a supper at Parkers given in honor of WHF Lee, BDM Jones, FL Lowndes all of whom are going to leave the class. The eatables were excellent, I took too much of the drinkables and consequently I was too sick to get up till 2 o'clk. - BC |
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| 1860/00/00 |
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Parker razes the Horticultural Hall building next door and constructs a six-story annex. |
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| 1862/11/00 |
Mary Todd Lincoln |
Guest |
Mary Todd Lincoln stays at the Parker House while visiting her son Robert, a student at Harvard. |
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| 1863/00/00 |
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On the corner of Chapman Pl and Bosworth St, Parker builds a 10-story addition to the Parker House behind the annex building. This wing, the oldest part of the current hotel, is still in use. |
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| 1864/07/00 |
John Wilkes Booth |
Assassin |
John W Booth and several well-known Confederate sympathizers meet at The Parker House to plan the kidnapping of President Lincoln. |
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Assassination of Abraham Lincoln |
| 1865/04/05 |
John Wilkes Booth |
Guest |
John Wilkes Booth registers at the Parker House. |
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| 1865/04/06 |
John Wilkes Booth |
Assassin |
John W Booth practices firing a pistol in various difficult ways such as between his legs, over his shoulder and under his arms at Edward's Shooting range off School Street near the Parker House in Boston. |
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Assassination of Abraham Lincoln |
| 1867/11/20 |
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
Dinner Guest |
Henry W Longfellow visits Charles Dickens at the Parker House. "Perfectly white in hair and beard, but a remarkably handsome and notable-looking man." - CD |
Dickens' Door and Mirror at the Parker House |
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Charles Dickens' 1867 Tour of America |
| 1867/11/21 |
George Stillman Hillard |
Visitor |
George Hillard, United States Attorney for Massachusetts (which is a very good office - Dickens), visits Charles Dickens at the Parker House. Hillard sends his love to the Dickens family in England. |
Dickens' Door and Mirror at the Parker House |
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Charles Dickens' 1867 Tour of America |
| 1867/12/00 |
Saturday Club (Boston) |
Gathering |
Dickens gives a special reading of "A Christmas Carol" at the Parker House to the Saturday Club. Parker House has the door to Dickens' room and the mirror used by him for rehearsals. |
A Christmas Carol (book) |
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Charles Dickens' 1867 Tour of America |
| 1867/12/00 |
Charles Dickens |
Performer |
Dickens gives a special reading of "A Christmas Carol" at the Parker House to the Saturday Club. Parker House has the door to Dickens' room and the mirror used by him for rehearsals. |
A Christmas Carol (book) |
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Charles Dickens' 1867 Tour of America |
| 1875/00/00 |
Harvey D Parker |
Owner |
In the early 1870s, Parker House Rolls are invented at the Parker House Hotel by Harvey Parker's wife, Julia Brown Parker. Or, possibly by a German baker, Herr Ward. |
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Parker House Roll |
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| 1876/00/00 |
Jacques Offenbach |
Guest |
Jacques Offenbach stays at the Parker House. At his first dinner, he is so delighted with the rolls, that he sings "Parker rolls, Parker rolls, how I love you" to the amusement of the other diners. The song was later used in Les Contes d'Hoffmann. |
The Tales of Hoffmann |
Parker House Roll |
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| 1912/12/15 |
Ho Chi Minh |
Work |
In a letter from Boston to Phan Chu Trinh in France, Ho Chi Minh writes that he has been working as a cook's helper at the Parker House. The marble table that Minh worked on is in the pastry kitchen. |
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| 1923/00/00 |
John F Fitzgerald |
Guest of Honor |
Jack Kennedy makes his first public speech during a party in honor of his grandfather, John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald. The young Kennedy reportedly called his grandfather the best grandfather a child ever had. |
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| 1923/00/00 |
John F Kennedy |
Speaker |
Jack Kennedy makes his first public speech during a party in honor of his grandfather, John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald. The young Kennedy reportedly called his grandfather the best grandfather a child ever had. |
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| 1925/11/23 |
George A Fuller Co |
General Contractor |
Whipple Co buys the Parker House and closes much of the hotel to raze it. The 10-story annex on the corner of Chapman Pl and Bosworth St, remains open to guests, allowing the hotel to be called the oldest "continuously operating hotel" in the US. |
Dickens' Door and Mirror at the Parker House |
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| 1927/05/12 |
Desmond and Lord |
Architect |
The new Parker House opens, embellished with polished black Quincy granite and limestone and buff-colored brick. The 14-story building features oak paneling, plastered ceilings, crystal chandeliers and bronze-detailed doors. |
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| 1933/00/00 |
Franklin D Roosevelt |
Life |
The Parker House keeps the exact ingredients to make Parker House Rolls a secret until Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt request that the recipe to be sent to them in Washington. |
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Parker House Roll |
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| 1933/00/00 |
Eleanor Roosevelt |
Life |
The Parker House keeps the exact ingredients to make Parker House Rolls a secret until Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt request that the recipe to be sent to them in Washington. |
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Parker House Roll |
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| 1941/00/00 |
Malcolm X |
Work |
Malcolm Little works at the Parker House Hotel as a busboy. |
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| 1946/04/22 |
John F Kennedy |
Candidate |
Jack Kennedy announces his bid for Congress at The Parker House. |
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John F Kennedy bids for the United States Congress |
| 1953/00/00 |
John F Kennedy |
Groom |
Kennedy reaches into his pocket to reveal a small, velvet box. Nestled inside the box is a glittering emerald and diamond ring, Jack Kennedy (possibly) proposes to Jackie Bouvier at Table 40 in Parker's Restaurant. |
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Marriage of Jacqueline Bouvier and John F Kennedy |
| 1953/00/00 |
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis |
Bride |
Kennedy reaches into his pocket to reveal a small, velvet box. Nestled inside the box is a glittering emerald and diamond ring, Jack Kennedy (possibly) proposes to Jackie Bouvier at Table 40 in Parker's Restaurant. |
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Marriage of Jacqueline Bouvier and John F Kennedy |
| 1953/09/03 |
John F Kennedy |
Groom |
John F Kennedy's bachelor party is held in The Press Room of The Parker House. Groomsman, George Smathers, reportedly broke his leg falling out the second-floor window during the bachelor party. |
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Marriage of Jacqueline Bouvier and John F Kennedy |