Upcoming anniversaries computed live from the graph — every dated entity is a recurring civic moment
The timeline 6 dated entities, 1630–1861
🏙️ Cambridge
Founded as Newtowne in 1630 and renamed Cambridge in 1638, the city grew around Harvard, industry, and later research institutions.
📜 Founding of Newtowne (1630)
The site for Newtowne was selected on December 21, 1630, and the settlement was named on December 28; its grid was laid out the following spring.
📜 Newtowne Becomes Cambridge (1638)
On May 2, 1638, the settlement founded as Newtowne in 1630 was formally renamed Cambridge, establishing the name the city still uses today.
📍 Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters
Built in 1759, the house served as George Washington's headquarters from July 1775 to April 1776 and later as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's home.
📜 Washington Takes Command (1775)
George Washington arrived in Cambridge on July 2, 1775 and took command from Artemas Ward that evening, beginning the work of organizing the Continental Army during the siege of Boston.
🎓 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was incorporated in Boston in 1861 and moved across the Charles River to Cambridge in 1916. Its campus now occupies 168 acres along the Cambridge side of the Charles River Basin.