The Boston Massacre

March 5, 1770. It started small: a teenage wigmaker's apprentice, Edward Garrick, taunted a British officer over an unpaid wig bill; a sentry struck him; and the gathering crowd — hurling snowballs, ice, and oyster shells while daring the soldiers to fire — spiraled into soldiers actually firing outside the Old State House. Five died, including Crispus Attucks.

Paul Revere's engraving spread the story through the colonies. In a decision that still stands out, John Adams defended the accused soldiers in court, winning acquittals for most. The circular cobblestone marker in the sidewalk radiates outward from a star, evoking the crowd. The victims lie at Granary Burying Ground.