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The Beginning

1836 It started with a bequest. John Lowell Jr. creates free public lectures for the benefit of the citizens of Boston. Later, the Lowell Institute forms a cooperative venture with universities to broadcast its lecture series.

Black and white painting of John Lowell

January 1836

It begins with a bequest

Textile merchant John Lowell Jr. leaves a bequest creating free "public lectures for the benefit of the citizens of Boston." The lectures prove so popular that crowds crush the windows of the Old Corner Bookstore where tickets are distributed, and sessions are repeated by popular demand.
lowell_institute_council.png

September 1946

Broadcasting the lectures

The Lowell Institute forms a cooperative venture with Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, and Tufts to broadcast its lecture series. The lectures begin the following February on local commercial radio stations, which donate the airtime.