1. In 1637, the first military engagement of the Pequot War took place near Block Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. This war was fought between the English colonists of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and the Pequot tribe that lived in southern New England.

2. On August 18, 1765, a group of colonists in Boston burned an effigy of British stamp distributor Andrew Oliver in protest against the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was a tax imposed by the British Parliament on printed materials in the American colonies.

3. In 1787, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia to draft the United States Constitution. One of the delegates was Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, who later became the fifth vice president of the United States.

4. On August 18, 1894, the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, hosted the first-ever basketball game. The game was played between the members of the Springfield College faculty and the staff of the local YMCA.

5. Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy died on August 25, 2009, after battling brain cancer for more than a year. Kennedy served as a senator for Massachusetts for almost 47 years and was known for his work in health care reform, civil rights, and education.