1. In 1776, the Rhode Island General Assembly declared independence from Great Britain on January 6, becoming the first colony to do so.

2. On January 6, 1839, the Dorr Rebellion began in Rhode Island. It was an attempt to expand suffrage and political rights to non-landowners and immigrants, and it led to a new state constitution being adopted in 1842.

3. On January 6, 1900, the first wireless message transmitted over a long distance was sent by Guglielmo Marconi from England to St. John's, Newfoundland, with a relay station in South Wellfleet, Massachusetts, just across the Rhode Island state line.

4. In 1959, the Rhode Island State House, one of the largest self-supported marble domes in the world, was completed on January 6 after 12 years of construction.

5. On January 6, 2013, a car crash in Barrington, Rhode Island, killed Eastern Mountain Sports CEO Will Manzer and his wife, Donna. Manzer was a well-known businessman and outdoor enthusiast who was credited with expanding the company's nationwide presence.