1. In 1772, a group of Rhode Island colonists known as the Gaspee Raiders set fire to the British HMS Gaspee, which had run aground in Narragansett Bay. This event is considered a precursor to the American Revolution.

2. In 1845, the Great Fire of Providence destroyed a large part of downtown Providence, including the State House and many businesses and homes. It was one of the most destructive fires in American history at the time.

3. In 1887, the first game of American football ever played under floodlights took place in Providence, where the Brown University football team defeated the team from Harvard University 6-0.

4. In 2011, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee announced that the official state name would be changed from "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" to simply "State of Rhode Island". The change was made due to concerns about the word "plantations" being associated with slavery.

5. In 2018, former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed an executive order banning the sale, possession, and use of bump stocks, which are devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire more rapidly. Rhode Island was one of the first states in the country to enact such a ban after a mass shooting in Las Vegas.