1. On December 11, 1816, the Connecticut legislature authorized the establishment of a State Penitentiary in Wethersfield. The prison became known as the Connecticut State Prison, and was used until 1963 when a new prison was built in Somers.

2. In 1843, the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company was founded in Hartford. It was the first mutual life insurance company in the United States, meaning that policyholders share in the company's profits and losses.

3. On December 11, 1868, the first Yale-Harvard football game was played in Hamilton Park in New Haven. The game ended in a scoreless tie, and this began a long-standing rivalry between the two teams.

4. On December 11, 1941, just four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Connecticut State Guard was formed. The State Guard was made up of volunteers who were too old or too young to serve in the military.

5. In 1972, on December 11, a fire broke out in the Hartford Civic Center during an ice hockey game between the Hartford Whalers and the Soviet National Team. The fire caused significant damage to the arena, but no one was injured. The Hartford Civic Center was later rebuilt and renamed the XL Center.