Rhode Island (RI).

• Region: New England
• Population: 1,093,734 (ranked 44th) (2022 estimate)
• Capital: Providence (pop. 189,563) (2022 estimate)
• Largest city: Providence (pop. 189,563) (2022 estimate)
• Number of counties: 5
• State nickname: Ocean State
• State motto: Hope
• State flag: White field with state coat of arms

One of the original thirteen colonies, Rhode Island is situated among the New England states, bordered by Massachusetts on the north and east, and Connecticut on the west. It is not strictly an island, as its name suggests, but there are many small islands just south of the mainland, in Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay. Although Rhode Island is the smallest state, and half the size of the second-smallest, Delaware, according to 2020 census data it is more densely populated than any other state except New Jersey. Because Rhode Island lacks valuable mineral deposits and fertile farmland, it was the first state to become industrialized, and remains an important industrial center. Rhode Island was admitted to the Union as the thirteenth state on May 29, 1790.

State Name: There is some debate regarding the true origin of the state's name. According to some historians, Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano compared Block Island to the Greek island of Rhodes when he first visited the North American coast in 1524. Other experts believe that the state's name is derived from Roodt Eylandt ("Red Island"), the phrase used by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block to describe the cliffs of nearby Aquidneck Island in 1614. The official name, "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations," referred to the early settlements on Aquidneck Island and the Proprieters' Company for Providence Plantations on the mainland. In 2020, amid concerns that the state's full name included connotations of slavery, an executive order was passed to begin using just "Rhode Island" on government communication, and by November of that year a ballot measure to constitutionally change the name was approved upon voting. Rhode Island is nicknamed the "Ocean State," although in the past it has been referred to as "Little Rhody," due to its size.

Capital:Providence has been the capital of Rhode Island since 1900. Between 1663 and 1854, the state had five different capitals, and Newport and Providence were co-capitals between 1854 and 1900. Providence was the first permanent European settlement in Rhode Island, and was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a religious exile from Massachusetts. Predominantly a seaport town for many years, Providence became a business and manufacturing center as well as home to most of Rhode Island's libraries, museums, and institutes of higher learning.

Flag: The state flag features a circle of thirteen gold stars, representing the original thirteen colonies, on a white field, which symbolizes the Rhode Island soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. A gold ship's anchor appears within the circle of stars, above a blue ribbon upon which the state's motto, "Hope," is written. The flag was adopted on May 19, 1897, and features much of the same symbolism found on the state seal, adopted the previous year.

Official Symbols

• Flower: Violet
• Bird: Rhode Island Red chicken
• Tree: Red maple
• Fish: Striped bass
• Song: "Rhode Island's It for Me" by Charlie Hall and Maria Day

State and National Historic Sites

• Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor (Blackstone Valley)
• Roger Williams National Memorial (Providence)
• Slater Mill Historic Site (Pawtucket)
• Touro Synagogue National Historic Site (Newport)

State-Specific Holidays

• Victory Day, Second Monday in August

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Population: 1,093,734 (ranked 44th; 2022 estimate)
• Population density: 1,061.4/sq mi (2020 estimate)
• Urban population: 91.1% (2020 estimate)
• Rural population: 8.9% (2020 estimate)
• Population under 18: 18.6% (2022 estimate)
• Population over 65: 18.9% (2022 estimate)
• White alone: 82.8% (2022 estimate)
• Black or African American alone: 9.1% (2022 estimate)
• Hispanic or Latino: 17.6% (2022 estimate)
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 1.2% (2022 estimate)
• Asian alone: 3.7% (2022 estimate)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.2% (2022 estimate)
• Two or More Races: 3.1% (2022 estimate)
• Per capita income: $39,603 (ranked 12th; 2021 estimate)
• Unemployment: 3.2% (2022 estimate)

American Indians: In the early seventeenth century, Rhode Island's American Indian population stood in excess of ten thousand. Most belonged to the Narragansett tribe, but the other Algonquian tribes (Niantic, Nipmuck, Pequot and Wampanoag) were also represented. The American Indian population was ravaged by disease and otherwise disrupted and displaced by White settlement. As of 2023, the Narragansett Indian Tribe was the only federally recognized tribe in the state.

ENVIRONMENT AND GEOGRAPHY

• Total area: 1,545 sq mi (ranked 50th)
• Land area: 1,034 sq mi (66.9% of total area)
• Water area: 511 sq mi (33.1% of total area)
• Shoreline: 384 miles
• National parks: 2
• Highest point: Jerimoth Hill (812 feet)
• Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean (sea level)
• Highest temperature: 104° F (Providence, August 2, 1975)
• Lowest temperature: -28° F (Wood River Junction, January 11, 1942)

Topography: Narragansett Bay, which reaches twenty-eight miles inland from the southern part of the state, divides Rhode Island into two main land regions: the coastal lowlands, and the Eastern New England Upland. The lowlands are characterized by sandy beaches and plains, and the shore is dotted with cliffs, lagoons, and salt ponds. West of the bay, the land becomes more rugged, and slopes leading down to the water are forested. The northwestern portion of the state is an extension of the Eastern New England Upland, which extends throughout the northeastern United States. The elevation of the rocky uplands varies from two hundred to eight hundred feet above sea level, and features many lakes, ponds, and hills, but no mountains.

In addition to the mainland, Rhode Island has thirty-six islands in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. The largest of these is the forty-five-square-mile Aquidneck Island (officially "Rhode Island"). The islands are connected to the mainland by bridges and regular ferry service.

Major Lakes

• Lake Washington
• Lapham Pond
• Pascoag Reservoir
• Scituate Reservoir
• Spring Lake
• Sucker Pond
• Watchaug Pond
• Worden Pond

Major Rivers

• Chepachet River
• Moshassuck River
• Pawcatuck River
• Pawtuxet River
• Pettaquamscutt River
• Potowomut River
• Providence River
• Sakonnet River
• Seekonk River
• Wood River
• Woonasquatucket River

State and National Parks: There are more than fifty state parks, beaches, and recreation areas in Rhode Island, including Beavertail State Park (Jamestown), Brenton Point State Park (Newport), Burlingame State Park (Charlestown), Colt State Park (Bristol), Fort Wetherill State Park (Jamestown), Goddard Memorial State Park (Warwick), Haines Memorial State Park (East Providence), Lincoln Woods State Park (Lincoln), and Snake Den State Park (Johnston). There are also a few sites under the control of the National Park Service, including the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park and the Roger Williams National Memorial.

Natural Resources: Taking into account the state's rocky soil and extremely limited mineral deposits, Narragansett Bay is Rhode Island's most important natural resource. Not only is the most fertile soil found along the water, but the bay itself is teeming with hundreds of species of commercially valuable fish and shellfish. Valuable mineral resources are limited to deposits of stone, sand, and gravel, and small amounts of limestone, graphite, quartz, and iron are also mined. An extensive environmental restoration and protection program has been in place since the 1970s, in an effort to repair the damage done to Rhode Island's rivers, lakes, and fields by industrialization and overfishing.

Plants and Animals: By the late eighteenth century, the majority of Rhode Island had been deforested, but thanks to conservation efforts, over 50 percent of the state's area was devoted to woodland by 2021. Common trees include oak, beech, birch, cedar, hemlock, maple, pine, and flowering dogwoods. Thanks to its variable climate, Rhode Island is home to more than two thousand different species of plant life. Wild carrots, red deer grass, and white daisies are commonly found in meadows, while violets, lilies, wild roses, buttercups, azaleas, and other flowering plants and shrubs are abundant in wooded areas. The waters of Rhode Island feature several different kinds of fresh- and saltwater seaweed.

Wild animals who make their home in the woods of Rhode Island include white-tailed deer, foxes, hare, minks, muskrats, and other smaller species. Also, reforestation resulted in the return of beavers, which had not been seen in the state since the eighteenth century. Common woodland birds include blue jays, robins, ruffed grouse, and both barred and screech owls, while shore birds such as gulls, terns, and loons populate coastal areas. Native game birds include pheasants, quail, partridges, woodcocks, and wild ducks and turkeys. The official state bird, the Rhode Island Red chicken, was developed in 1854 and became famous for its tasty, high quality meat and eggs, sparking the growth of the poultry industry in the United States.

Freshwater fish include bass, trout, pickerel, and perch, and the most abundant types of saltwater fish are tuna, marlin, and swordfish. Whales, porpoises, and harbor seals are also found in the state's coastal waters, as well as the quahog, the local variety of clam.

Climate: Rhode Island's variable climate is the result of the interaction between ocean breezes and overland weather influences. The state's weather is warm in summer, cold in winter, and mild in spring and autumn. The average temperature in January is about 29 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average July temperature is approximately 73 degrees. Average annual snowfall is 31 inches, and combined average annual precipitation is 46 inches. The record high temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in Providence on August 2, 1975, while the record low temperature, –28 degrees, was recorded in Wood River Junction on January 11, 1942. Rhode Island, like other states, has experienced climate change, however. It has grown warmer, there is more rain and snow, and storms have become stronger.

Rhode Island's extensive shoreline and coastal location make it especially prone to hurricanes and other coastal storms during late summer and early fall. Historically, these storms combined with tidal waves have caused significant damage to the state.

EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Major Colleges and Universities

• Brown University (Providence)
• Bryant University (Smithfield)
• Johnson and Wales University (Providence)
• Naval War College (Newport)
• Providence College (Providence)
• Rhode Island College (Providence)
• Rhode Island School of Design (Providence)
• Roger Williams University (Bristol)
• Salve Regina University (Newport)
• University of Rhode Island (Kingston)

Major Museums

• Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology (Providence)
• Roger Williams Park Museum of Natural History and Planetarium (Providence)
• Museum of Newport History (Newport)
• Newport Art Museum (Newport)
• Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art (Providence)
• US Naval War College Museum (Newport)
• Varnum House Museum (East Greenwich)
• Warwick Center for the Arts (Warwick)

Major Libraries

• John Hay Library, Brown University (Providence)
• Newport Historical Society Library (Newport)
• Providence Athenaeum (Providence)
• Providence Public Library (Providence)
• Redwood Library (Newport)
• Rhode Island Historical Society Library (Providence)
• Rhode Island State Library (Providence)

Media

Rhode Island's first newspaper, the Rhode Island Gazette, began publication in Newport in 1732, under the direction of Benjamin Franklin's brother James. The state's largest daily newspapers are the Providence Journal, Woonsocket's The Call, and Pawtucket's The Times. Many Boston-based newspapers are also circulated in Rhode Island.

The state's first radio station, WJAR, began broadcasting out of Providence in 1922, and an affiliated television station was founded in 1949. There are several radio and television stations operating in Rhode Island, which is also served by most Boston-area stations.

ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• Gross domestic product (in millions $USD): 71,402.2 (ranked 45th) (2022 estimate)
• GDP percent change: 1.5%

Major Industries: Rhode Island's finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing industry has remained one of the largest contributors of the gross state product. Concentrated in the Providence metropolitan area, the health-care and social services industry is one of the state's largest employers, in addition to the retail trade industry. Other important service industry employers include manufacturing and the accommodation and food services.

One of the state's manufacturing activities has remained the production of jewelry and silverware, a business that flourished in Providence beginning in the early 1800s. Rhode Island is home to many jewelry manufacturers, which produce both precious metal and costume jewelry. While the industry began declining in the late twentieth century, the state was long referred to as the Jewelry Capital of the World. Additionally, the state's manufacturing industry has branched out into areas of automotive, chemical, and medical production.

Rhode Island's commercial fishing industry concentrates on shellfish, especially lobster and the native clam, the quahog. Other valuable catches include cod, flounder, whiting, and squid. However, there are strict limitations on some of the most desirable fish, due to the depletion of the marine population caused by overfishing during the 1970s and '80s.

Tourism: The tourist industry contributes billions of dollars to Rhode Island's economy each year. Historic Providence and Newport, a popular oceanfront resort since the eighteenth century, are the state's most popular tourist destinations. After a section of Newport's famed Cliff Walk attraction collapsed into the ocean in 2022, the state began restoration efforts. The America's Cup yacht race was held off the coast of Newport from 1930 to 1983, and the sport is still popular in the city, which is often referred to as the Yachting Capital of the World. Newport is also renowned for its annual schedule of music festivals.

Energy Production: Although the majority of Rhode Island's fuel and electricity is imported, the state does operate natural gas-fired power plants. It also generates electricity from renewable sources, most notably wind power. The first operational offshore wind farm in the United States came online off Block Island in 2017, and connected that island to the mainland electrical grid for the first time. In 2021, renewable energy sources supplied around 13 percent of the state's electricity; wind power provided 2 percent alone.

Agriculture: Greenhouse and nursery products, such as shrubs, turf, and ornamental trees, account for a significant portion of Rhode Island's agricultural income. Milk and other dairy products, the second most important agricultural activity, are produced throughout the state. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, in 2022 farm operations consisted of sixty thousand acres. Valuable crops include hay and corn.

Airports: The state's largest international air terminal is the T. F. (Theodore Francis) Green Airport, in Warwick. While the overall number of passengers declined in the first months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 due to lockdowns and travel restrictions, Rhode Island Airport Corporation's data showed that there were more than 305,432 passengers at the airport in May 2023. Several commuter airlines provide frequent service throughout New England and the northeast.

Seaports: The Rhode Island Port Authority operates deepwater shipping ports in Providence, Quonset, and Newport. The port at Providence features a forty-foot channel, a marine terminal, and access to all major Atlantic shipping lanes. The Quonset Davisville Port and Commerce Park, one of the piers of which had undergone a modernization project by 2021 to allow for participation in offshore projects, is one of the few US ports that acts as a hub for four different modes of transportation, and it is closer to Europe than any port south of New York.

GOVERNMENT

• Governor: Dan McKee (Democrat)
• Present constitution date: June 8, 1905
• Electoral votes: 4
• Number of counties: 5
• Violent crime rate: 230.8 (per 100,000 residents) (2020 estimate)
• Death penalty: No (abolished in 1984)

Constitution: Rhode Island's state constitution was adopted in 1843, and although it has been amended at least forty times since its adoption, it is still in use today. Prior to 1843, the state was governed by the Great Charter of 1663. The state constitution may be amended by a majority vote of the legislature, followed by a majority vote in a popular election. Similarly, a majority vote of both the legislature and the voters is required to call a constitutional convention.

Branches of Government

Executive: The executive branch of the Rhode Island government consists of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer. All of these general officers are elected by popular ballot to four-year terms, and none may serve for more than two consecutive terms. Department heads and other officials are appointed by the governor with the approval of the senate.

Legislative: The bicameral state legislature, also known as the general assembly, is comprised of thirty-eight senators and seventy-five representatives, all elected to two-year terms. In addition to its lawmaking powers, the legislature has the ability to override the governor's veto with a three-fifths majority vote. The assembly also names justices to the state supreme court and establishes all lower courts.

Judicial: The state's supreme court consists of one chief justice and four associate justices, all of whom are elected by the legislature and serve for life. The judicial level below the supreme court consists of the superior and family courts. The lowest level of the system is occupied by the district courts, which handle civil complaints, small-claims procedure, and felony and misdemeanor cases. The judges of these lower courts are appointed by the governor, with the approval of the senate.

HISTORY

8000 BCE The first American Indians settle in the area that is present-day Rhode Island.

1511 Portuguese navigator Miguel de Cortereal sails along the Rhode Island coast.

1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano visits Narragansett Bay.

1614 Adriaen Block, a Dutch explorer, lands on the island later named for him (Block Island).

c.1630 White settlers first encounter the Rhode Island area's American Indian population, which includes Narragansett, Wampanoag, Pequot, Niantic, and Nipmuck tribes.

1636 Providence is founded by Roger Williams, a religious dissident who was banished from the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1638 The settlement of Portsmouth is founded on Aquidneck Island.

1639 The country's first Baptist church, the Baptist Society of America, is founded by Ezekiel Holliman and Roger Williams in Providence.

1644 Roger Williams travels to England, where he is granted a parliamentary patent for the Rhode Island colony, uniting the separate towns and confirming the settlers' claims to the land.

1663 King Charles II grants the "Charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations," reinforcing the territorial claims of the colonists and guaranteeing religious freedom. Among the most liberal colonial charters granted by England, it allows the colony to operate with minimal interference from the British until the mid-eighteenth century.

1675–76 Rhode Island's American Indian population, lead by Wampanoag chief Metacomet (King Philip), goes to war against the White settlers in what is referred to as King Philip's War. The area's American Indian population is decimated as a result of the climactic Great Swamp Fight.

1696 Newport settlers begin investing in the African slave trade.

1732 The colony's first newspaper, the "Rhode Island Gazette," begins publication in Newport.

1763 The Touro Synagogue, the oldest surviving synagogue in North America, is built in Newport.

1764 Rhode Island College, later renamed Brown University, is founded in Providence.

1772 Rhode Islanders burn the British revenue schooner Gaspee in protest of the Navigation Acts.

1774 Rhode Island prohibits the importation of enslaved people.

1776 The state's General Assembly renounces allegiance to England's King George III, the first colony to do so. The British occupy Newport later the same year.

1778 The Battle of Rhode Island is fought in Portsmouth, as American and French forces attack British troops attempting to retreat from Newport.

1784 The state legislature passes a law providing for the eventual abolition of slavery in Rhode Island. Three years later, another law is passed prohibiting Rhode Islanders from participating in the trading of enslaved people.

1790 Rhode Island ratifies the US Constitution, the last of the original thirteen colonies to do so, and becomes the thirteenth state on May 29.

1793Slater Mill, the first water-powered cotton mill in the US, begins operation in Pawtucket.

1794 Brothers Nehemiah and Seril Dodge develop a process for plating base metals with precious metals, and Rhode Island soon becomes the center of the American jewelry industry.

1820s Fleeing famine conditions in their native country, large numbers of Irish immigrants arrive in Rhode Island, permanently diversifying the state's ethnic and religious makeup.

1842 Providence lawyer Thomas W. Dorr leads the "Dorr Rebellion," an uprising against the state government, which was perceived as being undemocratic. The incident marks the beginning of a political conflict between the state's Protestant Republicans and Irish Catholic Democrats that lasts the better part of a century.

1900 Providence is established as the sole capital of Rhode Island.

1907 The steamship Larchmont sinks in Block Island Sound on February 11, killing 111 passengers.

1917 Rhode Island contributes nearly twenty-nine thousand troops to the Allied cause during the First World War

1918 The Spanish influenza virus, introduced in the United States by troops returning home from Europe, kills 941 people in Providence.

1922 The state's first radio station, WEAN, begins broadcasting from Providence.

1926 Construction on the Scituate Reservoir and water treatment facility is completed, modernizing the state's water supply system.

1931 Hillsgrove State Airport, the first state-run airport in the country, opens in Providence. It is renamed in honor of Governor Theodore Francis Greene in 1938.

1935 State government is reorganized in the "Bloodless Revolution," led by Governor Theodore Francis Green and Democratic leaders Robert Emmet Quinn and Thomas P. McCoy.

1938 The combination of tidal waves and 120-mile-per-hour hurricane winds from the Great New England Hurricane kills more than 250 people and causes $100 million in damage to the state.

1941 Quonset Point Naval Air Station is established by the US Navy, and eventually becomes one of Rhode Island's largest employers.

1941–45 During World War II, Providence shipyards build a number of cargo and combat vessels for the US Navy. More men and women from Rhode Island fight and die in this war than in any other.

1955 Hurricane Diane causes the worst flooding in the state's history, prompting voters to approve the construction of a hurricane dam across the Providence River.

1969 In a busy year for the state's transportation infrastructure, the Newport Bridge, connecting Newport and Jamestown across Narragansett Bay, is completed, and construction on Rhode Island's portion of Interstate 95 is finished.

1971 The Rhode Island legislature approves the first personal income tax in the state's history.

1978 After the Blizzard of '78 on February 6–7, federal troops as well as the National Guard are called in to help dig the state out from under an estimated sixteen to fifty-five inches of snow. Traffic is not allowed back into Providence until one week after the storm, which kills twenty-one people and results in more than $100,000,000 in lost productivity and wages.

1987 As part of an ongoing effort to improve public access to official state records, all sessions of the state House and Senate are broadcast on cable television.

1991 The failure of the Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity Corporation (RISDIC), the organization that insured all state-chartered credit union, triggers a financial crisis and prompts Governor Bruce Sundlun to close half the state's banks on January 1. As more officials are implicated in the RISDIC collapse, the legislature creates the Depositors Economic Protection Corporation to assume the assets of the failed institutions and repair the economic damage caused by the crisis.

1996 The worst oil spill in Rhode Island history occurs when the barge North Cape runs aground off Point Judith and dumps eight hundred thousand gallons of oil into Block Island Sound.

1999 FBI agents raid Providence City Hall, seizing documents and arresting several public officials, in an investigation into corruption in city government dubbed Operation Plunder Dome.

2002 Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr., mayor of Providence since 1974, is tried on corruption charges. He is found guilty of racketeering conspiracy and sentenced to sixty-four months in federal prison, and ordered to pay a fine of $100,000.

2003 A fire at The Station, a nightclub in West Warwick, kills one hundred people and injures more than two hundred others on February 20. The fire was started when pyrotechnics used by the band Great White ignited the club's soundproofing foam. A criminal investigation was launched, concentrating on safety code violations by the club's owners.

2006 Great White tour manager Daniel Michael Biechele is sentenced to fifteen years in prison for his role in the Station nightclub fire. Eleven years of the sentence is suspended jail time. Club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian reach a plea bargain with prosecutors. Michael Derderian is sentenced to four years in prison and Jeffrey Derderian is given a suspended sentence and 500 hours of community service.

2010 President Barack Obama declares Rhode Island a federal disaster area after the state is hit with severe rain and flooding.

2011 Rhode Island becomes the third state to pass legislation allowing the use of medical marijuana. The state also passes civil unions for same-sex couples; the state also recognizes same-sex marriage.

2013 Rhode Island becomes the tenth state to legalize marriage between same-sex couples.

2019 Governor of Rhode Island signs a bill protecting abortion rights by prohibiting state restrictions on an individual's ability to terminate a pregnancy in the period before fetal viability or after that period if the woman's life is in danger.

2020 Rhode Islanders are officially able to choose a non-binary gender identification option on their driver's licenses.

2021 Rhode Island passes the Act on Climate bill, more comprehensive legislation that joins the state with a small number of others setting a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

2023 An EF-2 tornado hits Rhode Island, the worst tornado to hit the state since the late 1980s.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Nelson Aldrich, 1841–1915 (Foster), US Representative and Senator.

Harry Anderson, 1952–2018 (Newport), Television actor.

Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, 1914–75 (Porter Hill), Marathoner and Olympic athlete.

Moses Brown, 1738–1836 (Providence), Philanthropist; cotton manufacturer.

Elizabeth Buffum Chace, 1806–99 (Providence), Activist.

Christiana Carteaux Bannister, ca. 1820–1902 (North Kingstown) , Abolitionist, entrepreneur, philanthropist.

Damien Chazelle, 1985– (Providence, RI): Director; screenwriter, La La Land.

George M. Cohan, 1878–1942 (Providence), Composer; playwright; theatrical director.

Sarah Elizabeth Doyle, 1830–1922 (Providence), Feminist; cofounder of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Nelson Eddy, 1901–67 (Providence), Baritone singer.

Spalding Gray, 1941–2005 (Barrington), Monologist; actor.

Theodore Green, 1867–1966 (Providence), US senator.

Bobby Hackett, 1915–76 (Providence), Jazz trumpeter.

Galway Kinnell, 1927–2014 (Providence), Poet.

H. P. (Howard Philips) Lovecraft, 1890–1937 (Providence), Horror and fantasy writer.

Seth Luther, 1797–1848 (Providence), Labor reformer.

Massasoit (Ousamequin), c.1580–1661 (Pawkunnakut), Wampanoag chief.

James Howard McGrath, 1903–66 (Woonsocket), Politician; US senator; US attorney general.

Metacomet (King Philip), c.1639–76 (Pawkunnakut), Leader of the Wampanoags.

Matthew C. Perry, 1794–1858 (South Kingston), US naval officer.

George S. Schuyler, 1895–1977 (Providence), Author, social commentator.

Gilbert Stuart, 1755–1828 (North Kingstown), Portrait painter.

Thomas Alexander Tefft, 1826–59 (Richmond), Architect.

Robert Henry Thurston, 1839–1903 (Providence), Engineer; educator.

Jemima Wilkinson, 1752–1819 (Cumberland), Protestant religious leader.

Leonard Woodcock, 1911–2001 (Providence), Labor leader; US diplomat.

TRIVIA

• Rhode Island's state capitol building, in Providence, was capped with the world's fourth-largest unsupported marble dome as of 2023.
• The Touro Synagogue in Newport, built in 1763, is the oldest Jewish synagogue still in use in the United States.
• In 2000, Rhode Island adopted Mr. Potato Head, the popular toy created in 1952 by Pawtucket-based Hasbro, as its official mascot in an effort to promote family tourism.
• The first circus in the country was held in Newport in 1774.
• The first open golf tournament and the first automobile race in the US were both held in Rhode Island in 1895.
• The first US polo game was played in Newport in 1876.
• The first national lawn tennis championships took place in Rhode Island in 1899.
• The first US Navy torpedo boat, named Stiletto, was built by Bristol's Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in 1887.
• In 1803, Newport's Pelham Street became the first in the country to use gas-burning streetlights.
• The country's oldest carousel has been operating in the resort town of Watch Hill since 1888.
• A protest estimated to have involved at least ten thousand people and considered the largest in the city's recent history was held in Providence in 2020 following the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis, Minnesota, police.
• Famous musician Jimmy Buffett gave his last performance in Rhode Island before his death in 2023.

Bibliography

Conley, Patrick T. Rhode Island’s Founders: From Settlement to Statehood. History P, 2010.

"Economic Profile for Rhode Island." Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce, 31 Mar. 2023, apps.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.

Grandchamp, Robert. Rhode Island and the Civil War: Voices from the Ocean State. History P, 2012.

Moakley, Maureen, and Elmer Cornwell. Rhode Island Politics and Government. U of Nebraska P, 2001.

"Rhode Island." Quick Facts, US Census Bureau, 1 July 2022, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/RI/PST045222. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.

"Rhode Island: 2020 Census." US Census Bureau, 25 Aug. 2021, www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/rhode-island-population-change-between-census-decade.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2021.

"Rhode Island State Profile and Energy Estimates." US Energy Information Administration, 20 Oct. 2022, www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=RI. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.

"2022 State Agriculture Overview: Rhode Island." US Department of Agriculture, www.nass.usda.gov/Quick‗Stats/Ag‗Overview/stateOverview.php?state=rhode%20island. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.

James Ryan