As America celebrates its 250th birthday, Irish Institute Director Professor Mary C. Murphy pens an essay about the current and future relationship between the U.S. and Ireland. https://on.bc.edu/AmericaIreland250_MM

July is Cape Verdean Heritage Month! These photos of Cape Verdean laborers working in the Agawam cranberry bogs document some of the earliest Cape Verdean immigrants to Massachusetts. 🧵 @universalhub.com

This spring, students from Professor Jean Franzino’s First Year Writing class explored our collections. We’re excited to share an essay by student, Gibson Hurley about Countess Constance Markievicz. Read here https://johnjburnslibrary.wordpress.com/2026/06/01/glimpses-into-the-life-of-a-great-woman/

In 1871, Fisk University organized a student acapella group to tour the US and fundraise. They took the name the Jubilee Singers, a reference to the Jewish year of Jubilee in which the enslaved were set free. This 1898 book includes the group’s history as well as some of the music they performed.

Today is the 251st anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. Samuel Leighton of Kittery Maine enlisted in the 30th Regiment of Foot on May 3, 1775 and fought at Bunker Hill a little over a month later. His papers, including this muster roll, live with us. For more: findingaids.bc.edu/repositories...

#otd in 1912, Bostonian Sally Fairchild photographed a civic celebration in Kyoto, Japan, capturing school children waving Japanese flags. On the second year of a four year journey through Asia, Sally had arrived in Japan after previously spending time in Manila. 🧵

On this day in 1906, Harvard performed Aeschylus’ Agamemnon in the original Greek. The June 14 performance was an open rehearsal and took place in Harvard’s Stadium in Brighton. Its documented in a photo album living in our collections. View the album: library.bc.edu/iiif/view/BC...

In 1946, Paul Wilkas, a #BostonCollege graduate, #Dorchester native, and son of a Lithuanian immigrant, traveled to Spain for the Pax Romana Conference. In the wake of World War II and the Spanish Civil War, the conference controversially gathered Catholic students in Franco’s Spain. 🧵

Check out our new blog post “Riding the Emerald Necklace: Bicycle Ads and the New Woman," written by BC First Year Writing student Katie DiCesare after a visit to Burns Library. https://johnjburnslibrary.wordpress.com/2026/05/18/riding-the-emerald-necklace-bicycle-ads-and-the-new-woman/

Kicking off Pride with this 1987 advertisement for a Boston City Hall dance party! Who wants to let loose to Dean and the Weenies?  Bromfield Street Educational Foundation. Gay Community News. GCN, 1987  @boston.gov

#otd in 1779, Irish poet, lyricist, and political writer Thomas Moore was born in Dublin. Moore is perhaps best known for his poetry and lyrics, including “Irish Melodies” a series of lyrics for popular Irish tunes. We hold both archives and published works related to Moore. Contac us for more!

Sir Walter Raleigh gripped the English imagination both before and after his death, becoming a mythic figure in the English consciousness. Read more in our new blog post “The Ghost of Walter Raleigh." https://johnjburnslibrary.wordpress.com/2026/05/01/the-ghost-of-walter-raleigh/

Barney Frank was known for his advocacy for workers, his advancement of civil rights, his sweeping financial reforms - and his humor. In 1984, he posed for a photo with fellow MA Congressman Tip O’Neill and sent him a copy with a note. https://findingaids.bc.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/78998

rip anne boleyn you were a real one Benger, E. Memoirs of the Life of Anne Boleyn, Queen of Henry VIII. 2d. ed., Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1821.

We're wishing all our students the best of luck on #finalexams and final papers!

We're celebrating #NationalNursesDay with photos frm Boston College Nursing Professor Mary Rita Petkauskas, showing nurses teaching Boston Red Cross Parents classes in the 1950s and 1960s. They come from her work in the Nursing School’s Maternal and Child Health Program. @bostoncollege.bsky.social

#otd in 1899, the Marlborough Shoe Strike ended. 7 months earlier, factory owners locked out workers + demanded contracts be negotiated only by individuals. By May, they had forced strikers to capitulate. Read more in a report partly penned by Emily Greene Balch: hdl.handle.net/2027/bc.ark:...

What was the Southeast Asian Student Association at BC like in the ‘90s?  Southeast Asian Student Association (SEASA): Asian Pacific Islander Community Awareness Retreat (APICAR), 1996Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center records #AAPI #AAPIMonth

We have recently processed and made available the papers of BC math professor, pedagogue, gardener, and Basset hound lover Stanley Bezuszka ("Father B"). His collection includes drafts and work on "new math" textbook, essays about making math interesting and relevant to elementary school kids...1/2

English Professor Lori Harrison-Kahan demonstrates that California-based, female writers played formative roles in Jewish American literary history in her new book, "West of the Ghetto: Jewish Women, Old San Francisco, and American Literary Culture." https://on.bc.edu/Harrison-Kahan_BCB

Happy Shakespeare Day! Since BC’s beginnings, its students have engaged with Shakespeare as both performers and spectators. In 1886, BC alum James Alyward directed this Thanksgiving performance of Hamlet. Request to see the scrapbook: https://findingaids.bc.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/56398

In 1930, Walton Advertising and Printing Co published this booklet, documenting Paul Revere’s ride and the Battle of Lexington and Concord. They advertised the booklet’s retelling of Paul Revere's ride and “other stirring incidents.” Digitized version: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102203704

Shirley Temple on a Swan Boat in 1938. www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commo...

Mayor Wu will take the first Swan Boat ride of the season today, marking 149 years of Swan Boats at the Public Garden. dyk that the boats are still powered by a foot propelled paddle wheel. This image from the late 1800s/early 1900s lives in our collections. More: library.bc.edu/iiif/view/BC...

Whether or not you filed your taxes yesterday, enjoy this postcard from playwright and activist (George) Bernard Shaw. Shaw sent this pre-printed postcards to people who reached out seeking charitable donations. Contact us to see more. Finding aid here: findingaids.bc.edu/repositories...

otd in 1939, poet, playwright, & translator Seamus Heaney was born in Northern Ireland. Heaney once compared his pen to his father’s spade, a tool he used to unearth truths large and small. We hold a collection of Heaney’s original correspondence and manuscripts. findingaids.bc.edu/repositories...

This March, we welcomed the Texts & Textiles of Robert & Catharine Morris miniconference! The conference presented new grad student research into Robert & Catharine, two of Boston College’s early and essential supporters. Presentations explored the Morris family books, textiles, and legacy at BC.

Ray Cashman delivered a fantastic Burns Scholar Lecture on how Irish deathcare workers believe, disbelieve, or hedge their bets on the existence of spirits. Cashman's focuses on stories of spirits of the dead making themselves known, a term folklorists call "memorates." @burnslibrary.bsky.social

For the first time since 1972, NASA has sent humans on a lunar mission. We’re stepping back to into time to the era of the Apollo missions, when Massachusetts Congressman Edward Boland took an active role in funding the Apollo program and NASA through his role on the Appropriations Committee.

Join us on Wed, April 8, for Ray Cashman's Burns Scholar lecture, Exploring Belief in Spirits of the Dead Among Contemporary Irish Death Care Workers." Complimentary reception at 5 pm, lecture at 6 pm. All are welcome!

The papers of 20th century journalist and urban planning activist Leticia Kent are now available! Kent’s papers document her career at the Village Voice, her urban planning activism, and her relationship with friend and mentor Jane Jacobs. 🔗 https://findingaids.bc.edu/repositories/2/resources/993

Suffragette and Irish Nationalist Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington co-founded the Irish Women’s Franchise League in 1908. By 1912, it was Ireland’s largest suffrage organization. This photo postcard shows members of the organization at a suffrage rally. For more: findingaids.bc.edu/repositories...

#otd in 1737, a group of largely protestant, Irish immigrants in Boston founded the Charitable Irish Society. Over two centuries later, JFK (not a Protestant!) joined, showing the org's evolution. His membership card lives in the society's records at Burns. findingaids.bc.edu/repositories...

The BC Chronicle interviewed Burns Scholar Ray Cashman before his lecture on Wednesday, April 8! issuu.com/bcchronicle/...

Happy Birthday to Leonard Nimoy, born on this day in 1931! Raised in Boston’s West End, Nimoy supported the arts and arts education at many Boston educational and cultural institutions, including Boston College. Here he is on campus in 1974. library.bc.edu/iiif/view/BC...

Kierkegaard's in this? I'm sold

We're celebrating Women’s History Month with these recently digitized photographs of Cuala Press workers. Established in Ireland in 1908, by Elizabeth Corbet Yeats and Lily Yeats, Cuala Industries promoted Irish crafts and employed Irish women. 🧵

The Commonwealth of Ladies denounces women who drink, gamble, and generally do as they please, but it also reveals the surprisingly feminine social fabric of 1600s England. Read our blog post for more! https://bit.ly/commonwealthofladies

Otd in 1770, British soldiers in Boston fired on a crowd, killing 5 civilians. Surprisingly, when the soldiers went on trial, future US President John Adams defended them We recently digitized a trial transcript, Read it for yourself here: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/103271253

Visiting post-doc Zoë Van Cauwengerg aided students from Prof. Jim Smith's class in a visit to the Burns Library, where they examined early 19th-century Irish books (by Edgeworth, Owenson, Young, Brooke, etc.) as part of a class discussion on Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent. @burnslibrary.bsky.social

We're wrapping up #BlackHistoryMonth with art by Bostonian Allan Rohan Crite. Crite lived in the South End and graduated from English High and the School of the MFA. He worked as a draughtsman and artist for the Charlestown Navy Yard and the Boston Naval Shipyard, while also creating his own art.

On this day in 1822, Boston incorporated as a city. A century later, State St Trust Co published this commemorative booklet documenting the changes in the city's landscape and built environment over its first 100 years. @universalhub.com @hubhistory.com bc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01...

We just processed a family photo collection that is full of images of pre-1930 cars! The Lyons family collected cars, donating two of them to the Smithsonian. Their photo collection contains nineteen images of cars owned by the family. Visit us to see more. findingaids.bc.edu/repositories...

🥇 Megan Keller BC ‘19 scored the game-winning OT goal to help lift Team USA over Canada. Here she is on the ice during her senior year playing for @bostoncollege.bsky.social

Giddy up, its the year of the horse. Fair Day at Castlewellan, farmers "hit hands" to complete a horse sale, County Down, 1980s, Bobbie Hanvey photographic archives, MS-2001-039. findingaids.bc.edu/repositories... Accessed February 13, 2026.

Did you know that you can read Wuthering Heights in Irish? Visit us to check out our 1933 edition, translated by Seán Ó Cíosáin. bc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01...

In 1968, author Robert Short published “The Parables of Peanuts.” Despite its heavy use of Peanuts comic strips as illustrations, Short’s book delved into weighty theological topics and explored the work of Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Soren Kierkegaard, and Martin Luther!

On Nov 23, 1967, civil rights activist and SNCC member James Forman spoke at the Western Regional Black Youth Conference in LA. A longtime member of SNCC, Forman hoped to encourage greater alliances between Black and white radicals and was working to negotiate a merger with the Black Panthers.

Step back in time to the 1920s when BC held a Winter Sports Carnival! The carnival drew attendees from off campus and included skiing, skating, and a toboggan slide. The carnival is documented in this scrapbook, findingaids.bc.edu/repositories...

Happy Birthday to suffragist and Irish revolutionary Constance Markievicz, depicted on this postcard as Joan of Arc. Did you know we have two collections with records documenting Markievicz?'s life? See more here: findingaids.bc.edu/agents/peopl... @bc-irish-studies.bsky.social