Boston Light Tragedy occurs.

November 3, 1718

Keeper George Worthylake, his wife, daughter, and two others drown returning to Boston Light. The bodies of the Worthylake family are buried at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. Twelve-year-old (13) Benjamin Franklin later immortalizes the incident in a poem, “The Light-house Tragedy.” Worthylake’s successor drowns less than two weeks later.

Sources
  • Boston Globe
  • New Yorker
  • Doolin, Joseph