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This project is for those who were born, lived, and died in the State of Rhode Island.
Rhode Island officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is the smallest in area, the eighth least populous, and the second most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound.
On May 4, 1776, the Colony of Rhode Island became the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown, and it was the fourth among the newly independent states to ratify the Articles of Confederation on February 9, 1778. The state boycotted the 1787 convention which drew up the United States Constitution and initially refused to ratify it; it was the last of the original states to do so, on May 29, 1790.
Despite its name, most of Rhode Island is located on the mainland of the United States. Its official name is State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which is derived from the merger of four Colonial settlements.
- The settlements of Newport and Portsmouth were situated on what is commonly called Aquidneck Island today, but it was called Rhode Island in Colonial times.
- Providence Plantation was the name of the colony founded by Roger Williams in the area now known as the city of Providence. This was adjoined by the settlement of Warwick; hence the plural Providence Plantations.
- It is unclear how Aquidneck Island came to be known as Rhode Island, but two historical events may have influenced the name.
- Explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano noted the presence of an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay in 1524 which he likened to the island of Rhodes (part of modern Greece). Subsequent European explorers were unable to precisely identify the island that Verrazzano had named, but the Pilgrims who later colonized the area assumed that it was Aquidneck.
- Adriaen Block passed by Aquidneck during his expeditions in the 1610s, and he described it in a 1625 account of his travels as "an island of reddish appearance," which was "een rodlich Eylande" in 17th-century Dutch, and one popular notion is that this Dutch phrase might have influenced the name Rhode Island. (Historians have theorized that this "reddish appearance" resulted from either red autumn foliage or red clay on portions of the shore.)
The earliest documented use of the name "Rhode Island" for Aquidneck was in 1637 by Roger Williams. The name was officially applied to the island in 1644 with these words: "Aquethneck shall be henceforth called the Isle of Rodes or Rhode-Island." The name "Isle of Rodes" is used in a legal document as late as 1646. Dutch maps as early as 1659 call the island "Red Island" (Roodt Eylant).
There are 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island. Major population centers today result from historical factors; development took place predominantly along the Blackstone, Seekonk, and Providence Rivers with the advent of the water-powered mill. Providence is the base of a large metropolitan area.
The state's 15 largest municipalities ranked by population are:
- 1. Providence (178,042)
- 2. Warwick (82,672)
- 3. Cranston (80,387)
- 4. Pawtucket (71,148)
- 5. East Providence (47,034)
- 6. Woonsocket (40,186)
- 7. Coventry (36,014)
- 8. Cumberland (32,506)
- 9. North Providence (32,078)
- 10. South Kingstown (30,639)
- 11. West Warwick (29,191)
- 12. Johnston (28,768)
- 13. North Kingstown (26,486)
- 14. Newport (24,672)
- 15. Bristol (22,954)
Some of Rhode Island's cities and towns are further partitioned into villages, in common with many other New England states. Notable villages include Kingston in the town of South Kingstown, which houses the University of Rhode Island; Wickford in the town of North Kingstown, the site of an annual international art festival; and Wakefield where the Town Hall is located for the Town of South Kingstown.
People from Rhode Island:
- Wikipedia - List of early settlers of Rhode Island
- People are listed in the following areas: 1. Aboriginal tribes & leaders; 2. First European settlers; 3. First settlers of Providence; 4. Original proprietors of Providence; 5. Providence civil compact, 1637; 6. Pawtuxet settlers; 7. Signers of Providence agreement for a government, 1640; 8. Settlers of Cocumscussoc (Wickford area); 9. Founders of Portsmouth; 10. Inhabitants of Aquidneck Island (1638); 11. Residents of Portsmouth after split with Newport; 12. Founders of Newport; 13. Founders of Warwick; 14. Pettaquamscutt purchasers;** 15. Early inhabitants of New Shoreham (Block Island); 16. Those named in the Royal Charter of 1663; 17. Early inhabitants of Westerly; 18. Colonial leaders during King Philip's War; 19. Original proprietors of East Greenwich; 20. Early Settlers of Bristol (1680); 21. Settlers of Frenchtown; and 22. Other prominent early settlers (pre-1700)
- Wikipedia - List of people from Rhode Island
- People are listed in the following categories: Academia; Activism, civil rights, and philanthropy; Art, literature, and design; Athletics; Business; Crime; Film and television; Journalism; Military; Music; Politics and government; Religion; and Science