1635    Founder of Rhode Island Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a religious dissident after he speaks out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away Native American land.

1636    City of Providence, Rhode Island forms.

1652    Rhode Island passes the first law in North America making slavery illegal.

1663    Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.

1772    The British schooner ''Gaspée'' is burned off the coast of Rhode Island.

1774    Rhode Island becomes the first of Britain's North American colonies to ban the importation of slaves.

1790    Rhode Island becomes the last of the original United States' colonies to ratify the Constitution and is admitted as the 13th U.S. state.

1981    The longest professional baseball game is begun in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The game was suspended at 4:00 the next morning and finally completed on June 23.

2003    During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the club ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.