PATH I: Investigating the Boston Massacre

Boston Massacre > Massachusetts Historical Society > Gutman Library > Mass. State Archives > Judge Hiller Zobel

Judge Hiller Zobel spoke to PATH students in his chambers.

The jewel of the crown for our research into the history of Crispus Attucks and the Boston Massacre was the on-site visit with Judge Hiller Zobel in his chambers at Boston Superior court. In addition to his duties as a Massachusetts Superior Court Judge, Zobel spent over an hour with students discussing the various research tools he employed in writing his book. Zobel also emphasized the extent to which historical investigation has provided such enjoyment and meaning throughout his life.

Did he know exactly what happened on the night of March 5, 1770?  No.  Perhaps no one will ever know, exactly.  Judge Zobel talked about the nature of memory, and how minutes after an event even the most reliable witnesses will get the facts wrong.  Perhaps, he said, that's what makes researching and writing history so challenging.