Since 1901, Nobel Prizes have honored the world’s best and brightest and showcased the work of brilliant and creative minds, thanks to Swedish businessman Alfred Nobel, who made his fortune with the invention of dynamite. The Prize in Physiology or Medicine often honors those whose discoveries led to medical breakthroughs, new drug treatments, or a […]
History
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On This Day in Newport History – October 6, 1884: Naval War College Established in Newport
On October 6, 1884, Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler signed General Order 325, which began by simply stating: “A college is hereby established for an advanced course of professional study for naval officers, to be known as the Naval War College.” Its first president, Commodore Stephen B. Luce, was given the old building […]
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First U.S. Open Golf Tournament Was Held on October 4, 1895 at Newport Country Club
On October 4, 1895, the first U.S. Open Championship was hosted by the United States Golf Association on the nine-hole course of Newport Country Club. The first U.S. Open was considered something of a sideshow to the first U.S. Amateur, which was played on the same course and during the same week. Both championships had been […]
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33 groundbreaking NASA missions in photographs
The universe is nearly 14 billion years old. Human existence makes up a tiny fraction of that time. If the history of Earth was made up of 24 hours, humans came into the picture just before 11:59 p.m.—and we’ve spent much of that time fascinated with space. For so long, we have posited theories and done our […]
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Timeline of Jewish history in the US
One of the most compelling reasons for early settlers to immigrate to the Americas was to exercise their right to religious freedom. As a result, members of several minority religions, including Judaism, were some of the first to brave the journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The Jewish Virtual Library has records of the Jewish population […]
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This Day in RI History: September 12, 1830 – William Sprague IV is born in Cranston
William Sprague IV, former Governor and U.S. Senator from Rhode Island was born on September 12, 1830 in Cranston. Sprague was Governor from 1860-1863 and served in the U.S. Senate from 1863-1875. Sprague was born in the Governor William Sprague Mansion in Cranston, the youngest son of Amasa and Fanny Morgan Sprague. His Uncle, William […]
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Newport Socialite Alice Roosevelt: America’s first celebrity daughter?
“Princess” Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, is sometimes regarded as the first American celebrity. Known for her staunch independence, escapades, wit, and nonconformity, Alice cemented a place for herself in history beyond that of a president’s daughter. In her lifetime, Alice attended thousands of dinners, balls, […]
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Samuel Slater Experience announces Fall programs
[Webster, MA] – Just six months after opening its doors to the public and a spring season that brought visitors from all over New England to Webster, Mass., Samuel Slater Experience is expanding its program offerings this fall with concerts and conversations that pay homage to the history of the region. Described as “Disney-like,” the museum employs state-of-the-art 4-D […]
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Counties with the oldest homes in Rhode Island
There’s an undeniable charm that comes with pre-World War II American architecture, characterized by high ceilings, crown molding, hardwood floors, and ornate details. In fact, 12.8% of all housing units in America were built in 1939 or before, showing the popularity of the preservation of these units. Owning a piece of history can sometimes come […]
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Touro Synagogue to host 75th Annual George Washington Letter Reading on August 21
Every summer, Touro Synagogue Foundation partners with Congregation Jeshuat Israel to host The George Washington Letter Reading, an event honoring our nation’s heritage of religious freedom. George Washington’s 1790 letter to “To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport” was written during his first trip to Rhode Island as President and affirmed the new national government’s absolute […]
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This Day in RI History: August 9, 1918 – Director Robert Aldrich born in Cranston
Award-winning Director, Producer, and Screenwriter Robert Aldrich was born on August 9, 1918 in Cranston, RI. Aldrich is best known for his films including Vera Cruz, The Dirty Dozen and The Longest Yard. Aldrich grew up in Cranston and attended the Moses Brown School and later the University of Virginia. Coming from a wealthy family […]
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The 3,000-year history of toll roads
Bettmann // Getty Images The 3,000-year history of toll roads Paying for passage along one’s journey was a common practice even for the gods. Humans have written the ritual into ancient treatises and mythologies. Whether it involves the transportation of souls, livestock, or a road-tripping family of four, the fundamental truth of the road is […]
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Military medals and what they mean
In 1787, Col. David Humphreys wrote: “Few inventions could be more happily calculated to diffuse the knowledge and preserve the memory of illustrious characters and splendid events, than medals.” The Revolutionary War colonel and aide-de-camp to Gen. George Washington made that statement more than a decade after the Continental Congress first instituted the tradition of issuing […]
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Most common jobs 150 years ago in Rhode Island
With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to impact the global economy, the current job market is a hot topic in the news cycle. But while the pandemic itself is, historically, something of an economic aberration, the U.S. economy that we know today has a long and storied history of expansions, recessions, and evolution. At the time […]
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Let’s spare a few words for ‘Silent Cal’ Coolidge on July 4, his 150th birthday
Chris Lamb, IUPUI A woman sitting next to President Calvin Coolidge at a dinner party once told him she had made a bet that she could get him to say more than two words. “You lose,” replied Coolidge, who served as president from 1923 until 1929. During a White House recital, a nervous opera singer […]
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The Declaration of Independence wasn’t really complaining about King George, and 5 other surprising facts for July Fourth
Woody Holton, University of South Carolina Editor’s note: Americans may think they know a lot about the Declaration of Independence, but many of those ideas are elitist and wrong, as historian Woody Holton explains. His 2021 book “Liberty is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution” shows how independence and the Revolutionary War were […]
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Counties in Rhode Island with the most pre-war homes
Pre-war homes—those built before 1939—are architectural gems. They are sturdy, charming, and often what people are referring to when they look at the prevalent colorless, linear designs of today and lament “they just don’t make them like they used to.” In some ways, that’s a good thing. Pre-war homes often contained materials we know to […]
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The history and significance of Juneteenth
Juneteenth—also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, or the country’s second Independence Day—stands as an enduring symbol of Black American freedom. When Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and fellow federal soldiers arrived in Galveston, a coastal town on Texas’ Galveston Island, on June 19, 1865, it was to issue orders for the emancipation of enslaved people […]
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The forgotten history of Memorial Day
Richard Gardiner, Columbus State University In the years following the bitter Civil War, a former Union general took a holiday originated by former Confederates and helped spread it across the entire country. The holiday was Memorial Day, an annual commemoration was born in the former Confederate States in 1866 and adopted by the United States […]
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Explore historic sites commemorating Black history in Rhode Island
The legacies of influential Black Americans have not always been acknowledged, so it’s not uncommon that modern-day residents may overlook the historic sites of their own cities. While some historical Black figures in the U.S. are more well-known than others, there are in fact thousands of people dating back generations to 17th-century slavery who left […]
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Biggest cities in Rhode Island 150 years ago
After the completion of the 1860 census and the election of President Abraham Lincoln, America imploded. Eleven southern states seceded from the Union in 1861, instigating four bloody years of the Civil War and fundamentally altering the social history of the U.S. The estimates of deaths caused by the Civil War begin around 600,000, but […]
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This Day in RI History: May 2, 2013 – Same-Sex marriage legalized in Rhode Island
On May 2, 2013, Governor Lincoln Chafee signed two bills legalizing same-sex marriage in Rhode Island. The signing came after months of debate in the Rhode Island legislature, and a final vote of 56-15 supporting the bills in the RI House of Representatives. With public opinion at the time favoring same-sex marriage by a 2-1 […]
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Most popular girl names in the 70s in Rhode Island
While many women throughout history have achieved amazing things, most little girls’ names are popularized by the stars of the entertainment industry: a child actress who was a beacon of hope during the Great Depression; the title of a popular song; or the name fictional characters gave their baby in a sitcom. Stacker compiled a […]
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Notable events in the history of Earth Day
The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, came on the heels of events in the ’60s. Some point to the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969; others say the first Earth Day was inspired by the publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” in 1962, which shed light on the destruction of pesticides like DDT. […]
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Every Supreme Court justice of the past 50 years
More than two-and-a-quarter centuries since the first assembly of the Supreme Court in 1790, neither of the other two branches of government bears as close a resemblance to its original form as the highest American court. Even as its number of justices and gender and racial makeup evolved over generations, the Supreme Court’s core responsibility […]