1. On October 15, 1662, the Charter of Connecticut was signed in England by King Charles II, granting Connecticut colonial self-government and allowing it to elect its own officials.

2. In 1845, the Hartford Courant, the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States, became the first American newspaper to use a steam-driven printing press.

3. In 1901, Yale University admitted its first female students, as seven women enrolled in the university's graduate and professional schools.

4. On October 15, 1974, the Grateful Dead played a concert at the Hartford Civic Center, which was later released as a live album titled "Dick's Picks Volume 31."

5. In 1998, Connecticut became the first state in the United States to pass a law allowing civil unions between same-sex couples, granting them many of the same legal rights as married couples.