1. In 1780, Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson authorized the formation of the Virginia State Navy in order to protect Virginia’s coast from British naval attacks during the American Revolutionary War.

2. On December 30, 1813, the British ship HMS Narcissus captured the American ship The Patriot off the coast of Virginia. The Patriot was carrying important government dispatches at the time of its capture.

3. December 30, 1862 was the day that William “Extra Billy” Smith was inaugurated as the governor of Virginia for the second time. He remains the oldest person to have ever held the position, having been 73 years old at the time.

4. In 1936, the Virginia State Capitol was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The building, which was designed by Thomas Jefferson, is one of the most iconic structures in the state.

5. On December 30, 1976, Virginia Governor Mills E. Godwin Jr. issued a pardon to the “Martinsville Seven,” a group of black men who had been convicted of rape in 1951. The case was seen as a gross miscarriage of justice and the pardon was seen as an important step in addressing racial inequalities in the state.