Today in RI History
Explore significant events from Rhode Island's rich history.
July
July 1
Providence Schools return to local control
Providence Public Schools returned to local control after the 2019 state takeover
Rhode Island soldiers fight first day at Gettysburg
Rhode Island soldiers fought on the first day of Gettysburg.
July 2
Rhode Island units continue fighting at Gettysburg
Rhode Island units continued fighting at Gettysburg.
July 3
George M. Cohan born in Providence
George M. Cohan, Providence-born entertainer and Broadway legend, was born.
July 4
Rhode Island delegates sign Declaration of Independence
Rhode Island delegates Stephen Hopkins and William Ellery were part of the Declaration of Independence moment in Philadelphia.
July 5
DJ Pauly D born in Providence
DJ Pauly D was born in Providence, later becoming one of Rhode Island's most recognizable pop-culture figures.
July 6
William Bradford elected Senate President Pro Tempore
Rhode Island's William Bradford was elected president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate.
July 7
Duke Ellington's legendary Newport Jazz performance relaunches career
Duke Ellington's performance at the Newport Jazz Festival featured saxophonist Paul Gonsalves's 27-chorus solo on 'Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue,' sending the crowd at Freebody Park into a dancing frenzy and becoming one of the most famous nights in jazz history.
July 8
Former Governor Edward DiPrete dies at 91
Edward D. DiPrete, the former Rhode Island governor whose bribery conviction made him the state's most notorious modern political-corruption case, died on his 91st birthday.
Royal charter grants Rhode Island religious liberty and self-government
Rhode Island's Royal Charter was granted, guaranteeing extraordinary religious liberty and self-government.
July 9
Portrait master Gilbert Stuart dies in Rhode Island
Gilbert Stuart died.
July 10
French forces near Newport as alliance centralizes in Rhode Island
French forces neared Newport as Rhode Island became central to the Franco-American alliance.
July 11
First Newport Folk Festival launches at Freebody Park
George Wein, Albert Grossman, Pete Seeger, and others launched the inaugural Newport Folk Festival at Freebody Park, featuring Joan Baez and the Kingston Trio before approximately 13,000 attendees.
July 12
French troops settle Newport and Aquidneck Island positions
French troops began settling into Newport and Aquidneck Island.
July 13
Declaration signer Stephen Hopkins dies in Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins, Rhode Island signer of the Declaration of Independence, died.
July 14
Newport's French occupation transforms Rhode Island civic life
Newport's French occupation began transforming Rhode Island military and civic life.
July 15
Rhode Island coastal defenses alert during preparedness era
Rhode Island's coastal defenses were on alert during the World War I preparedness era.
July 16
Portsmouth receives deed for Butts Hill Fort preservation
Portsmouth received a deed tied to preservation of Butts Hill Fort, a key Battle of Rhode Island site.
July 17
First Newport Jazz Festival draws 13,000 fans
Billed as the 'First Annual American Jazz Festival,' the inaugural Newport Jazz Festival at the Newport Casino drew 13,000 fans to hear Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and other performers, inventing the modern jazz-festival format.
July 18
Rhode Island units continue fighting after Gettysburg
Rhode Island Civil War units remained active in the aftermath of Gettysburg.
July 19
Rhode Island declares independence from Britain two weeks early
Rhode Island's General Assembly gave final assent to the Declaration of Independence on July 19, 1776—two weeks before July 4. Recently rediscovered manuscript evidence shows the House of Magistrates reconvened to complete the declaration.
July 20
Cormac McCarthy born in Providence today
Cormac McCarthy was born in Providence.
July 21
Rhode Island intensifies battle campaign preparations
Preparations for the Battle of Rhode Island campaign intensified.
July 22
Rhode Island ties second-hottest temperature ever recorded
Tiverton, Rhode Island reached 103°F on July 22, 2011, tying the state's second-hottest temperature on record, just shy of the all-time record of 104°F set on August 2, 1975.
July 23
Rhode Island takes over Providence public schools
Rhode Island authorized the state takeover of Providence Public Schools after a damning Johns Hopkins report.
July 24
Agrippa Hull receives discharge certificate from service
Agrippa Hull's Rhode Island Regiment discharge certificate was dated, preserving the record of a major Black Revolutionary War veteran.
July 25
Bob Dylan goes electric at Newport Folk Festival
Bob Dylan "went electric" at the Newport Folk Festival, one of the most famous moments in American music history.
July 26
French troops strengthen alliance at Newport
French troops in Newport strengthened the alliance that would culminate at Yorktown.
July 27
Butts Hill Fort land offered for sale
Providence newspaper advertisements offered historic Butts Hill Fort land for sale, foreshadowing later preservation fights.
July 28
Saunderstown swimmer Elizabeth Beisel wins Olympic silver medal
Elizabeth Beisel of Saunderstown won silver in the 400m individual medley at the 2012 London Olympics, a signature medal in her three-Olympics swimming career.
July 29
French Admiral d'Estaing arrives off Rhode Island
French Admiral d'Estaing arrived off Rhode Island during the Newport campaign.
July 30
Brown University reaches federal research funding resolution
Brown University reached a federal resolution agreement restoring research funding and ending compliance reviews, a major campus-federal government confrontation.
July 31
Lafayette departs Newport as coordination continues
Lafayette's Newport stay ended as French-American coordination continued.
