1. In 1773, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a resolution denouncing the British East India Company's tea and vowed to abstain from consuming it in solidarity with other colonies protesting the tea tax. This event was a precursor to the Boston Tea Party and other acts of rebellion against British rule.

2. On February 9, 1791, the town of Pawtucket became the first in the United States to establish a cotton mill. The Slater Mill, named after founder Samuel Slater, used water power to spin cotton yarn and is considered the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.

3. In 1912, the USS Jupiter, a collier ship built at the Newport News shipyard in Virginia, arrived in Providence to be converted into the country's first aircraft carrier. The ship was renamed the USS Langley and served as a training vessel for naval aviators until it was sunk by Japanese bombers during World War II.

4. February 9, 1942 marked the beginning of a three-day blizzard that dumped over two feet of snow on Rhode Island. The storm caused power outages, transportation disruptions, and left several residents stranded in their homes. It remains one of the most severe winter storms to hit the state.

5. On February 9, 2015, Governor Gina Raimondo signed an executive order creating a task force to study the economic benefits and risks of legalizing recreational marijuana in Rhode Island. The group eventually recommended legalizing the drug and the state became the 11th in the country to do so in 2021.