1. In 1777, British forces raided Bristol, Rhode Island, burning several ships in the harbor and taking prisoner a number of American soldiers and citizens. This raid was one of many during the Revolutionary War that took place along the coasts of New England.

2. In 1862, the USS Rhode Island was launched from the yards of the New York Navy Yard. The ship was a wooden-hulled steam-powered sloop-of-war that served during the Civil War and the early years of peacetime.

3. In 1920, the National Football League was founded in Canton, Ohio. The league eventually grew to include the Providence Steam Roller, which played in Rhode Island from 1925 to 1933, winning the league championship in 1928.

4. In 1974, the first Save The Bay Swim was held in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, with more than 50 swimmers participating. Today, the annual event is one of the largest open-water swims in the world, drawing thousands of participants from around the globe.

5. In 2012, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit brought by same-sex couples seeking the right to marry could move forward. The court eventually ruled in favor of marriage equality in 2013, making Rhode Island the 10th state in the nation to allow same-sex couples to marry.