1524 Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano is the first European to visit Rhode Island.
1614 Dutch navigator Adriaen Block arrives and maps the coastline.
1636 The first permanent settlement, Providence, is established by Roger Williams.
1638 Ann Hutchinson also seeking freedom moved to Aquidneck Island.
1644 Aquidneck was changed to Rhode Island and received a royal charter.
1644 The colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation is established.
1663 Its charter insured religious freedom.
1676 King Philip's war between the colonists and the Indians comes to an end.
1723 Twenty-six pirates were executed at Newport.
1772 The British revenue cutter Gaspee was burned by American colonists.
1776 Rhode Island announced its independence from Britain.
1778 The British seized Newport.
1784 Brown University is founded by John Brown.
1790 Rhode Island is the last state of the original 13 to ratify the constitution.
1835 The first train traveled between Boston and Providence.
1841 Thomas Dorr leads a rebellion demanding the right to vote.
1938 A powerful hurricane hits the coastline and destroys many homes.