1. Samuel Slater's birthday – December 9, 1768 – marks the birth of the Industrial Revolution in Rhode Island. Slater, known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution," established the first successful textile mill in the United States in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1790.

2. On December 9, 1776, the British captured the town of Newport, Rhode Island during the American Revolutionary War. The British held control over Newport for the next three years, until the end of the war.

3. The USS Rhode Island, a United States Navy ship, was commissioned on December 9, 1861 during the American Civil War. The ship played a significant role in various battles and campaigns throughout the war, including engagements in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast.

4. On December 9, 1842, the city of Providence, Rhode Island experienced a major fire that destroyed several buildings in the downtown area. The fire was caused by a pot of hot ashes that had been left in a store, and eventually spread to neighboring structures.

5. Rhode Island became the 13th state to ratify the Constitution of the United States on May 29, 1790. However, it wasn't until December 9 of that same year that Rhode Island officially entered the Union and became the 13th state to do so.