1. The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 11, 1773, when colonists disguised as Native Americans dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor as a protest against British taxation without representation.

2. On December 11, 1917, French artist and poet Marcel Duchamp secretly installed his infamous artwork "Fountain" (a porcelain urinal) at an exhibition in Boston, challenging conventional ideas of art and artistic value.

3. On December 11, 1936, the prestigious Boston Symphony Orchestra premiered "Three Places in New England" by composer Charles Ives, which incorporates elements of traditional folk music and modernist dissonance.

4. In 1965, the first "Grateful Dead" concert was held at the Matrix in San Francisco, California. One of the founding members of the band, Bill Kreutzmann, was born in Massachusetts on December 11, 1946.

5. On December 11, 2009, the Massachusetts Senate voted to change state law in order to fill a vacant US Senate seat following the death of Senator Ted Kennedy earlier that year. This controversial move allowed then-Governor Deval Patrick to appoint a temporary replacement until a special election could be held.