On August 6, 1945, the US detonated an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, killing thousands. Eight Jesuit priests in the rectory and church near the center of the blast amazingly suffered only minor injuries. Four years later, in 1949, Japanese Catholics observed mass at the church ruins

Today, BC celebrates the feast day of St. Ignatius and also marks the close of William P. Leahy, S.J.'s transformative thirty year presidency. This photo shows Fr. Leahy celebrating mass in Gasson Hall in the late 1990s.  https://findingaids.bc.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/14038

In the summer of 1914, a visitor to Cape Cod pasted this image in a photo album and captioned it “Among the desolate waste of sand dunes on Cape Cod, Mass.” For more images of Cape Cod sand dunes, check out the entire album: https://library.bc.edu/iiif/view/BC2023-014-168625

Did you know that the Red Sox used to play in a stadium off Huntington Avenue? From 1901-1911, the Red Sox (named the Boston Americans until 1908) played in the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds, a stadium located on the present-day Northeastern University campus.

Digitization alert! We recently digitized new portions of our Boston College alumni papers, including scrapbooks, diplomas, essays, & sermons. We like this photo of the class of 1910, from alum John Kirby. See more digitized materials: https://findingaids.bc.edu/repositories/2/resources/13/digitized

We just finished processing a collection from our neighbor, the Parish of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The records include announcements, histories, photos, & programs. We especially like this 1952 card with instructions for the eucharistic fast. https://findingaids.bc.edu/repositories/2/resources/1022

Disability Pride Month marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and marks the ongoing work to make civil rights real in daily life. These guides document work on accessibility at BC after the ADA. For more, see the finding aid: findingaids.bc.edu/repositories...

#otd in 1817, Thoreau was born in Concord, Mass. This 1977 biography originally belonged to writer and BC alum George Ryan. Ryan researched Thoreau and his connection to Ellen Sewall Osgood, an amateur geologist. For more of George Ryan’s research materials, contact us!

The sun is out, the sky is blue, and we’re ready to spend some time on the beach! In 1887, the creator of this album spent time in North Scituate, snapping photos of Minot Beach and other coastal areas. To see more, contact us.  https://findingaids.bc.edu/repositories/2/resources/1017

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