XUglow
01-12-2009, 08:41 PM
I am concentrating on state and not the college. I guess it is confusing with both having the same name. Maybe like St. Louis is Saint Louis at the university, maybe Rhode Island should be called Rhoooooode Island.
With no further ado, your fun facts...
*The composer George M. Cohan was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1878. He wrote "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
*The origin of Rhode Island's name is not certain. Dutch explorer Adriaen Block might have called it Roodt Eylandt, meaning red island for the state's reddish soil.
*Rhode Island was the first colony to declare its independence from the British Crown in 1776. They celebrate their own independence day on May 4th!
*This state is the smallest in the Union. Alaska is almost 425 times bigger than Rhode Island.
*With 1,003 people per square mile, Rhode Island is the second most densely populated state in the nation. New Jersey ranks first.
*Portsmouth became the first town to be established by a woman, Anne Hutchinson, in 1638.
*The oldest synagogue in the United States, Touro Synagogue in Newport, was founded in 1762.
*Rhode Island became the last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the U.S. constitution on May 29, 1790. Rhode Islanders wanted to make sure individual rights were protected and signed on only after a Bill of Rights was passed.
* Popular underwear manufacturer Fruit of the Loom can trace its roots back to 1851 and a Rhode Island textile mill owned by Robert Wright.
* Future President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier married at Newport's St. Mary's Church, the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Rhode Island, on September 12, 1953.
With no further ado, your fun facts...
*The composer George M. Cohan was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1878. He wrote "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
*The origin of Rhode Island's name is not certain. Dutch explorer Adriaen Block might have called it Roodt Eylandt, meaning red island for the state's reddish soil.
*Rhode Island was the first colony to declare its independence from the British Crown in 1776. They celebrate their own independence day on May 4th!
*This state is the smallest in the Union. Alaska is almost 425 times bigger than Rhode Island.
*With 1,003 people per square mile, Rhode Island is the second most densely populated state in the nation. New Jersey ranks first.
*Portsmouth became the first town to be established by a woman, Anne Hutchinson, in 1638.
*The oldest synagogue in the United States, Touro Synagogue in Newport, was founded in 1762.
*Rhode Island became the last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the U.S. constitution on May 29, 1790. Rhode Islanders wanted to make sure individual rights were protected and signed on only after a Bill of Rights was passed.
* Popular underwear manufacturer Fruit of the Loom can trace its roots back to 1851 and a Rhode Island textile mill owned by Robert Wright.
* Future President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier married at Newport's St. Mary's Church, the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Rhode Island, on September 12, 1953.