Today in RI History
Explore significant events from Rhode Island's rich history.
December
December 1
Future NHL player Noel Acciari born in Johnston
Noel Acciari, born in Johnston on December 1, 1991, captained Providence College's men's hockey team to its first NCAA National Championship in 2015 and went on to a decade-long NHL career.
December 2
Touro Synagogue dedicated in Newport, nation's oldest
Touro Synagogue was dedicated in Newport; it remains the oldest standing synagogue building in the United States.
December 3
Gilbert Stuart born in Rhode Island, future master portraitist
Gilbert Stuart, Rhode Island-born painter of George Washington, was born in Saunderstown.
December 4
Block Island runaway ads document colonial Rhode Island slavery
Block Island runaway-ad records documented slavery and unfree labor in colonial Rhode Island.
December 5
State officials detect RIBridges cyberattack exposing benefits data
State officials detected the RIBridges cyberattack, which later exposed sensitive data tied to public-benefits systems.
December 6
Newport socialite Sunny von Bülow dies after coma
Sunny von Bülow, whose 1980 collapse at her Newport mansion sparked the sensational attempted-murder trial of her husband Claus von Bülow, died on December 6, 2008, after nearly 28 years in a vegetative state.
December 7
Folk hitmaker Bob Burnett dies in Riverside
Bob Burnett, a founding member of 1960s folk group The Highwaymen whose "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" hit No. 1 on Billboard in 1961, died at his Riverside home after a battle with brain cancer. He was born in Providence on February 7, 1940.
December 8
Rhode Island's last old-school mob boss dies at 97
Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio, who led the New England Patriarca crime family from 1996 to 2009 operating from a Federal Hill laundromat headquarters, died at the RI Veterans Home in Bristol. His death was widely covered as marking the symbolic end of Providence's organized-crime era.
December 9
Elizabeth Buffum Chace born Rhode Island reformer
Elizabeth Buffum Chace, Rhode Island abolitionist, suffragist, and reformer, was born.
December 10
Providence-born physicist Walter Guyton Cady is born
Walter Guyton Cady was born in Providence and later invented the quartz crystal oscillator in 1921—technology underlying virtually every quartz watch, clock, radio, and computer timing circuit in use today.
December 11
Washington Bridge closes after critical structural failure
The westbound Washington Bridge was abruptly closed after critical structural failure was found
Former Gov DiPrete pleads guilty to corruption charges
Former Gov. Edward DiPrete pleaded guilty to bribery, extortion, and racketeering charges.
December 12
Newport-born film star Van Johnson dies
Van Johnson, born in Newport, was a major MGM Golden Age leading man of the 1940s-50s, appearing in films like In the Good Old Summertime and Battleground. He died on December 12, 2008.
Abolitionist Elizabeth Buffum Chace dies at ninety-six
Elizabeth Buffum Chace died.
December 13
Mass shooting at Brown University kills two students
A mass shooting at Brown University killed two students and injured others
Rhode Island discloses RIBridges cyberattack, shuts portal down
Rhode Island disclosed the RIBridges cyberattack and took down the benefits portal used for SNAP, Medicaid, and other programs.
December 14
McKee updates public on RIBridges breach affecting thousands
Gov. McKee issued an update on the RIBridges breach, which the state later said affected roughly 650,000 people.
December 15
Reuters reports hackers demand ransom in RIBridges breach
Reuters reported hackers had demanded ransom in the RIBridges breach.
Emergency Washington Bridge bypass opens after closure
Rhode Island opened an emergency Washington Bridge bypass after the westbound closure
December 16
Future five-division boxing champion Vinny Paz is born
Vinny Paz (Vincenzo Edward Pazienza) was born in Cranston and went on to become a five-division world boxing champion. His comeback from a near-fatal car accident and broken neck was dramatized in the 2016 film Bleed for This.
December 17
Providence missionaries sail to Liberia from Rhode Island
Missionaries sailed from Providence to Liberia, reflecting Rhode Island's complicated abolition, colonization, and Black Atlantic history.
December 18
Brown University shooting suspect dies, officials confirm
The suspect in the Brown University mass shooting died, according to Rhode Island officials.
December 19
John Pastore becomes first Italian American U.S. Senator
John Pastore took his oath as the first Italian American elected to the U.S. Senate.
Great Swamp Fight devastates Narragansett people in Rhode Island
The Great Swamp Fight/Massacre took place in South Kingstown, devastating the Narragansett people
December 20
Slater's water-powered mill launches American industrial revolution
Samuel Slater's water-powered cotton machinery began operating in Pawtucket, a foundational moment in the American Industrial Revolution.
December 21
Benedict Arnold born, later governs Rhode Island
Benedict Arnold, first governor under Rhode Island's 1663 Royal Charter, was born.
December 22
Esek Hopkins takes command of Continental Navy
Rhode Islander Esek Hopkins was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy.
December 23
British forces occupy Newport during Revolutionary War
Occupied Newport became a British base in the Revolutionary War.
December 24
Rhode Island abolitionists aid Civil War relief efforts
Rhode Island's abolitionist and Civil War-era networks remained active in wartime relief and antislavery work.
December 25
Washington crosses Delaware while Rhode Island remains occupied
Rhode Island patriots watched the Revolution unfold from an occupied-state context as Washington crossed the Delaware.
December 26
Hessian soldier freezes to death in Newport blizzard
During the British occupation of Aquidneck Island, a ferocious snowstorm buried Newport under drifts reported as high as 15-20 feet. A Hessian sergeant became lost near Quaker Hill in the whiteout and froze to death overnight.
December 27
Thomas Wilson Dorr dies in Providence
Thomas Wilson Dorr, leader of the Dorr Rebellion, died in Providence
December 28
Newport preservationist Rev. Roderick Terry dies
Rev. Roderick Terry, a Newport clergyman known for helping preserve Revolutionary War sites including Butts Hill Fort and Fort Barton, died.
British occupation transforms Newport and Rhode Island life
Newport's British occupation reshaped Rhode Island civilian and military life.
December 30
Future TV host Meredith Vieira born in Providence
Meredith Vieira was born in Providence.
December 31
RISDIC board seeks conservatorship ahead of banking crisis
RISDIC's board sought conservatorship, setting up the New Year's Day 1991 banking shutdown that froze depositor accounts across Rhode Island.