Today in RI History
Explore significant events from Rhode Island's rich history.
March
March 1
Rhode Island Gradual Emancipation Law takes effect today
Rhode Island's gradual-emancipation law took effect for children born enslaved after this date.
March 2
Providence residents protest tea in Colonial Resistance Act
Providence residents protested tea in a local episode of colonial resistance before the Revolution.
March 3
Ida B. Wells speaks in Rhode Island for civil rights
Ida B. Wells spoke in Rhode Island during her national anti-lynching and civil-rights work.
March 4
Henry B. Anthony begins Senate career from Rhode Island
Henry B. Anthony began 25 years of U.S. Senate service from Rhode Island.
March 5
Runaway notice documents slavery in post-emancipation Rhode Island
A runaway notice from East Greenwich documented Rhode Island's slavery and coerced-labor history after gradual emancipation began.
March 6
George Washington arrives in Newport to meet Rochambeau
George Washington arrived in Newport to confer with French commander Rochambeau.
March 7
Stephen Hopkins born, future Declaration signer, Rhode Island governor
Stephen Hopkins, Rhode Island governor and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born.
March 8
Newport reporting documents Ku Klux Klan activity in Rhode Island
Newport-area reporting documented Ku Klux Klan activity in Rhode Island during the Klan's 1920s resurgence.
March 9
Grammy-nominated singer Jeffrey Osborne born in Providence
Osborne, from a legendary RI musical family, fronted the R&B band L.T.D. before launching a hit solo career with songs like "On the Wings of Love."
March 10
Claiborne Pell sponsors Arts and Humanities Foundation Act
Claiborne Pell sponsored legislation that became the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act.
March 11
Rhode Island designates violet as state flower
Rhode Island designated the violet as the state flower.
March 12
Caleb Gibbs commands George Washington's guard unit
Newport's Caleb Gibbs was appointed commander of George Washington's Commander-in-Chief's Guard.
March 13
Roger Williams unites Rhode Island colonial towns
Roger Williams's parliamentary patent helped unite Providence, Portsmouth, and Newport under a single colonial framework.
March 14
Washington Bridge faces demolition and historic replacement
Rhode Island officials announced that the westbound Washington Bridge could not be repaired and would have to be demolished and replaced, turning a sudden closure into a historic infrastructure crisis.
March 15
Horror writer H. P. Lovecraft dies in Providence
H. P. Lovecraft died in Providence.
March 16
R&B singer Blu Cantrell born in Providence
Cantrell rose to prominence in the early 2000s with hits including "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" and "Breathe."
March 17
Harry Truman campaigns in Providence before national rise
Harry Truman appeared in Providence before becoming vice president and president.
March 18
David Melville patents early coal-gas lighting device
Newport inventor David Melville patented an early coal-gas lighting apparatus.
March 19
Hopkinton becomes incorporated Rhode Island town
Hopkinton was incorporated as a Rhode Island town.
March 20
Severe rains begin Rhode Island's record March floods
Severe rains began the sequence that culminated in Rhode Island's record March floods.
March 21
Trinity Repertory Company incorporated in Providence
The Tony Award-winning regional theater became home to the last longstanding resident acting company in the U.S.
March 22
Martha McSally born in Warwick
McSally became the first American female fighter pilot to fly in combat and the first woman to command a fighter squadron. She later served as U.S. Senator from Arizona.
March 23
Musician David Olney born in Providence
The Americana and Nashville singer-songwriter wrote songs for Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Del McCoury.
March 24
Rhode Island towns debate Constitution ratification fiercely
Rhode Island's freemen met in town assemblies during the state's bitter fight over whether to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
March 25
Rhode Island civil rights activists protest during Selma era
Civil-rights activism in Rhode Island took place in the same period as national protests after Selma.
March 26
Lincoln Chafee born in Providence
Chafee served as Warwick mayor, U.S. Senator, and Rhode Island Governor, and ran as a presidential candidate in 2016.
March 27
Tech journalist Walt Mossberg born in Warwick
Mossberg became the Wall Street Journal's pioneering personal-tech columnist and one of America's most influential tech journalists, co-founding AllThingsD, Recode, and the D Conference.
March 28
Shanna Moakler born in Providence
Moakler was crowned Miss USA 1995, became a Playboy Playmate, and went on to MTV and reality-television stardom.
March 29
Former Gov. DiPrete faces corruption indictment
Former Gov. Edward DiPrete was indicted on corruption charges
Native forces burn much of Providence
Native forces burned much of Providence during King Philip's War.
March 30
Historic flooding inundates Warwick Mall area
Historic flooding inundated the Warwick Mall area and disrupted major Rhode Island transportation corridors.
March 31
Pawtuxet River crests at record height
The Pawtuxet River crested at a record 20.79 feet at Cranston, a defining moment in Rhode Island's 2010 floods.