The Boston Massacre was a confrontation on King Street in Boston, in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists and killed five people. British troops had been stationed in the city since 1768 to enforce the Townshend duties, and their presence created constant friction with the townspeople. A crowd that began by taunting a sentry grew larger, and the soldiers fired after being pelted with objects, though who gave the order remains unclear. Crispus Attucks, a man of African and Native American descent, was among the dead. The soldiers were defended at trial by John Adams, and most were acquitted, while two were convicted of manslaughter. Paul Revere's engraving of the scene made it a powerful symbol in the run-up to the American Revolution.
Before and after
- 1 May 1769Birth of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
- 15 August 1769Birth of Napoleon
- 14 September 1769Birth of Alexander von Humboldt
- 13 December 1769Founding of Dartmouth College
- 5 March 1770Boston Massacre
- 7 April 1770Birth of William Wordsworth
- 27 August 1770Birth of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- 16 December 1770Birth of Ludwig van Beethoven
- 1771Construction of Vatican Museums
More in Society, economy & sport
- 25 March 1807Britain abolishes the slave trade
- from 10 June 1815 to 24 August 1866Founding of German Confederation
- from 19 July 1848 to 20 July 1848The Seneca Falls Convention
- 14 September 1867Karl Marx publishes Das Kapital
- 1874Founding of Universal Postal Union
- 29 November 1899Founding of FC Barcelona
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.