1. In 1639, the first printing press arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was brought over by Reverend Jose Glover and would be used to print religious materials, broadsides, and newspapers for years to come.

2. On November 22, 1858, Emily Dickinson wrote a letter to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, the literary critic who would ultimately become her mentor. The letter marked the beginning of a long and productive correspondence between the two, through which Higginson helped Dickinson develop her distinctive voice as a poet.

3. In 1909, the Massachusetts State House was completed after eight years of construction. The building's iconic dome, which is made of copper and topped with a gilded pinecone, is the third-largest dome in the world and can be seen from miles away.

4. On November 22, 1922, the Boston Opera House opened its doors for the first time. The Opera House was one of the premier performance venues in the city until it was converted into a movie theater in the 1950s.

5. On November 22, 1986, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education voted to merge Boston State College, the University of Lowell, and Southeastern Massachusetts University into a single institution: the University of Massachusetts. Today, the University of Massachusetts is known for its strong research programs and top-ranked schools of business, engineering, and law.