#OTD May 20, 1772, following seizure of a 'quantity of rum' by the HMS Gaspee, Rhode Island Governor Joseph Wanton (pictured) wrote to British Secretary of State Wills Hill that 'all forfeitures of this kind shall be tried in that colony where the offence was committed.'

Thanks to the Morrill Act, the US govt was able to sell stolen Native lands & use the funds to purchase land grant universities like URI. URI’s campus was purchased w $50k in sales, a majority from Chippewa Nation— abt $1.7m today. See more 👉🏻 landgrabu.org

#OTD May 19, 1892, following the passage of the Second Morrill Act, the Rhode Island State Agricultural School changed its name to the Rhode Island College of Agricultural & Mechanical Arts & began offering 4-year programs. In 1951, its name was changed again, to URI.

#OTD May 19, 1780, a 'Dark Day' occurred throughout New England. In RI, the Providence Gazette reported that by noon 'there was nearly the same Degree and Appearance of Light as about Half an Hour after Sunset.' It was later determined to be caused by a massive forest fire.

#OTD May 19, 1647, RI passed a law prohibiting sodomy-- 'a vile affection, whereby men given up thereto, leave the natural use of woman, & burne in their lusts, one toward another; & so men with men worke that which is unseemly.' Punishment was death. It was repealed in 1998.

#OTD May 19. 1643, the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut joined forces in an alliance know as the New England Confederation, formed against both the Dutch in New York and the Narragansett Nation in Rhode Island. The colonies in Rhode Island were excluded from the treaty.

#OTD May 18, 1790, because it had yet ratified the Constitution, the United States Senate passed a bill to restrict trade with the State of Rhode Island. Rhode Island then ratified the Constitution on May 29, becoming the 13th state to do so. #OnThisDay #RhodeIsland #History

#OTD May 18, 1652, the Colonies of Providence Plantations and Warwick passed a law that prevented slaveholders from keeping enslaved people 'forever'. This was the 1st such slavery ban of its kind in what would become the United States. #OnThisDay #RhodeIsland #History

#OTD May 17, 1842, Thomas Wilson Dorr, 'the People's Governor' attempted to take over the state arsenal. After a procession with 1,300 people (260 of them armed, 72 on horseback) & 6 cannons through Olneyville-- Dorr pointed the cannons at the building, they failed to fire.

#OTD May 17, 1920, the League of Women Voters held their first convention in Providence. Following a procession through downtown, the women took the records of the RI Equal Suffrage Association & deposited them at the State Library. #OnThisDay #RhodeIsland #History

#OTD May 16, 1969, NBC 10 WJAR news crews captured some surfers at an unknown beach in Rhode Island--some without wetsuits. Do you know where? Below is the entire clip from Rhode Island Historical Society film archives. #OnThisDay #RhodeIsland #History

#OTD May 16, 1639, it was agreed an ordered that 'the Plantation now begun at the southwest end of the Island shall be called Newport.' It was also ordered that the town be 'built upon both the sides of the spring.' That spring is the namesake of Spring Street in Newport.

Missed this one! #OTD May 14 1924– 100 years ago the Knight Memorial Library was founded.

#OTD May 15, 1900, Providence Journal reported that a 'rain of fish occurred at Olneyville' and that 'if any one doubts it, he may see one of the fish in the window of the Journal office.' Reportedly, 'hundreds of pout, from 2 inches to 4½ inches in length' fell on ¼ acre off of Harris Ave.

#OTD May 15, 1978, Providence police raided an art exhibition 'Private Parts' put on by @RISD students known as the Electron Movers, confiscating 40 pieces. Here is a clip of a video of the raid, collected by Laurie MacDonald. Watch the full video here 👉 lauriemcdonald.net/private-parts.…

#OTD May 15, 1978, an exhibition entitled 'Private Parts' organized by @RISD students known as the Electron Movers opened in Providence, & police immediately confiscated 40 pieces under state obscenity laws. According to Brown Daily Herald, no one was convicted. #OnThisDay #RhodeIsland

#OTD May 15, 1969, Providence Journal reported that 200 Black students at Hope High School in Providence demanded 'dismissal, transfer, or suspension of teachers they believe are guilty of racism.' A student, Wayne Hall, was chosen as their spokesperson. #OnThisDay #RhodeIsland #History

“Quaker Tom” Robinson originally began his career as a slave trader, though he eventually gave up the trade and became an advocate for abolition— encouraging enslaved people to escape enslavement. In 1788, he recorded narratives of fours free Black people sold into enslavement.

William Vernon (active 1737-1807) was RI’s most prolific 18th c. slave trader of the 18th century, enslaving over 6k. He would serve as the US’s 1st Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, as a founding member of the Redwood Library, the Newport Artillery Company, & Newport Bank, now owned by Citizens.

#OTD May 14, 1792, Benjamin Peckham ran a runaway ad in the Newport Mercury 'a Negro Woman, Named Kate Grealy ... aged 12 Years, with a young Child 3 Weeks old, both of the Mulatto Kind.' Peckham supposed that Quaker abolitionist Tom Robinson advised her to desert his service.