1. In 1789, the first election took place under the newly adopted state constitution. Connecticut's first governor, Samuel Huntington, was elected.
2. On January 7, 1832, the Hartford Female Seminary was established by Catharine Beecher, sister of famous author Harriet Beecher Stowe. The school provided high-quality education for women and was a predecessor to modern women's colleges.
3. The Hartford Courant, the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States, first hit the presses on January 7, 1764. The paper has been covering news in Connecticut for over 250 years and is still in circulation today.
4. On this day in 1989, Connecticut Governor William A. O'Neill announced that the state would begin to phase out tolls on major highways. Tolls had been a contentious issue in the state for years, but the move was seen as a victory for commuters and travelers alike.
5. In 1961, the University of Connecticut men's basketball team played their first game in their newly-built on-campus arena, Gampel Pavilion. The team beat Yale 77-63 in front of a sellout crowd. Gampel Pavilion has since become one of the most iconic college basketball venues in the country.