Connecticut Events

1775 Aug 30 Shelling of Stonington
August 30, 1775 at Stonington, Connecticut - On August 30, the British Navy began a bombardment of Stonington. There were 2 people killed in town and a number of houses were destroyed by ...
1777 Apr 27 Battle of Ridgefield
1781 Sep 6 Battle of Fort Griswold
One of the last battles fought during the American Revolutionary War was fought near New London, Connecticut at a small fort called Fort Griswold which was an outpost held by around 164 C...
1788 Jan 9 Connecticut Ratifies the US Constitution and is the 5th State Admitted to the Union
In the Name of the People of the State of Connecticut. We the Delegates of the People of sd State in general Convention assembled, pursuant to an Act of the Legislature in October last...
1810 Jul 5 P. T. Barnum Is Born
Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut, the son of inn keeper, tailor and store-keeper Philo Barnum (1778-1826) and second wife Irene Taylor, who had ten children. He was the third great ...
1853 May 6 Norwalk Rail Accident
At 08:00 that morning the Boston express left New York with 200 passengers under the charge of a substitute driver for whom this was the third trip on the route. The train comprised two b...
1865 P. T. Barnum Elected To Connecticut Legislature
Though a Democrat for years, Barnum eventually broke from his party -- and declined its invitation to run for the state's governor -- because of the party's pro-slavery stance. He eventua...
1891 Apr 7 P. T. Barnum Dies
One of the requests made by Mr. Barnum was that, when all hope was gone, sedatives which would make his passage to the next world more peaceful be administered. About 4 o'clock this morni...
1935 Mar 12 Edward R. Murrow Marries Janet Huntington Brewster
Janet Huntington Brewster graduated from Middletown High School in Middleton, Connecticut in 1929. While attending high school, she was an outstanding student, head of the debating societ...
1944 Jul 6 Hartford Circus Fire
The worst tragedy in the annals of circus history occurred during the afternoon show of the Ringling Brothers Circus on July 6, 1944, at Hartford, Connecticut. With nearly 7,000 people en...
1995 Jul 1
to 1995 Jul 9
 1995 Special Olympics World Summer Games
The Ninth Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in New Haven, Connecticut, USA on July 1-9, 1995. More than 7,000 athletes from 143 countries gathered for competition in 21 sports...