A brazen theft of the sacred cod in 1933 by Harvard students sent the Commonwealth reeling for a few wild days. State police were called in to find the fish, a manhunt spread to New Jersey, the Charles River was dredged and the Massachusetts Legislature almost came to a halt. The story was national news.

Police detective with the recovered sacred cod. Photo courtesy Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.
The sacred cod had hung above the Massachusetts General Assembly since the early 18th century. It was a symbol of the cod fisheries that fueled the commonwealth’s prosperity. Its disappearance was devastating.
Read what happened here.
1 comment
It sometimes goes missing … Harvard fraternity prank.
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