History of Boston Common

1634: The Puritans bought much of the 48 acres of the Boston Common from William Blackstone, a clergyman from England who was the city's first settler.

1756: The first bodies were laid to rest in the Central Burial Ground, which became a part of the Common in 1839. Composer William Billings and artist Gilbert Stuart were buried there.

1775: After residents protested the Stamp Act and the infamous taxes on tea, the British set up a garrison on the Common with 1,750 men, who burned the fencing around the Common for firewood.

1776: General George Washington reviewed his victorious troops on the Common.

1780: John Hancock planted a row of elms on Beacon Street opposite his home, the last of which survived until 1975.

1822: The city banned any sale of the Common's land for private development.

1830: A city order banned cows from grazing on the Common.

1836: The city built an iron fence around much of the Common.

1860s: The Common was the site of antislavery protests and rallies to recruit troops to fight in the Civil War.

1868: Paul Lienard completed work on the Brewer Fountain, which hasn't spouted water in recent years.

1877: Martin Milmore completed the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Flagstaff Hill, the site of a British redoubt during the Revolutionary War.

1897:The entrance to the Park Street station opened, marking the nation's first subway system.

1912: The city completed the Parkman Bandstand to commemorate George F. Parkman, who bequeathed $5 million in 1908 to maintain the Common.

1924 and 1925: The city erected monuments to Lafayette and the Declaration of Independence.

1960s: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke on the Common, and tens of thousands of people protested the Vietnam War.

1979: Pope John Paul II spoke on the Common.

Oct. 21, 2006: A new world record was set on the Common when residents lit 30,128 jack-o'-lanterns simultaneously around the park.

SOURCE: The Boston Parks and Recreation Department and The Boston Globe