Boston State Hospital (first) opens.

(Dec.) Originally the Boston Lunatic Asylum, it is located near today’s 600 East First Street. The first public psychiatric hospital in the U.S., its creation was approved by the legislature on April 8, 1839. Its mission is to serve the poor and those assigned by the probate judge of Suffolk County. Part of the institution moves to the former Austin Farm near Forest Hills in 1881. The remainder moves to the nearby Pierce Farm and the institution is renamed the Boston Insane Hospital in 1898. It is taken over by the state and renamed Boston State Hospital in 1908. The institution closes in 1979.