1. In 1713, the first Anglican church in Connecticut was consecrated in Stratford, where it still stands today as the Christ Episcopal Church.

2. On April 16, 1917, Governor Marcus H. Holcomb signed a bill establishing the Connecticut State Police, making Connecticut the first state to have a statewide police force.

3. The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 hit Connecticut on September 21, but it was on April 16, 1939 that the Connecticut River finally receded to its pre-hurricane levels, allowing the city of Hartford to fully assess the damage and begin reconstruction efforts.

4. On April 16, 1984, Danbury-born Major League Baseball player Roger Clemens made his debut with the Boston Red Sox, pitching five innings and earning his first career win over the Cleveland Indians.

5. In 2012, Connecticut became the 17th state to abolish the death penalty when Governor Dannel Malloy signed a bill into law on April 25. The bill was a response to the highly publicized Cheshire home invasion and murders of 2007, which led to a renewed debate over capital punishment in the state.