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Today in History - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project

Connecticut Issues Same-Sex Marriage Licenses for the First Time – Today In History: November 12

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The 29th First to Enter Confederate Capital When It Surrenders – Today in History: April 3

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Fuller Brush Tower Collapses – Today in History: March 31

Bursting of the Staffordville Reservoir – Today in History: March 27

St. Patrick’s Day – Today in History: March 17

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The Lyman Allyn Opens – Today in History: March 2

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William Gillette’s Last Performance – Today in History: February 27

Blizzard Halts Mail Delivery – Today in History: February 7

Oldest College Daily – Today in History: January 28

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A Total Eclipse of the Sun – Today in History: January 24

Civic Center Roof Collapses – Today in History: January 18

“Appalling Calamity”: Loss of the Steamboat Lexington – Today in History: January 13, 1840

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Timothy Dwight Dies – Today in History: January 11

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Connecticut Ratifies US Constitution – Today in History: January 9

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Samuel Huntington, the first President of the United States, dies – Today in History: January 5

Connecticut Turnpike Opens – Today in History: January 2

The Hartford Convention – Today in History: December 15

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The Day Four Trains Collided in East Thompson

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Nathaniel Palmer discovers Antarctica – Today in History: November 18

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The Kennedys in Connecticut – Today in History: November 6

The Oldest Continuously Published Newspaper – Today in History: October 29

Goodspeed Opera House Opens – Today in History: October 24

Hartford’s Industrial Day – Today in History: October 7

Roger Sherman Dies – Today in History: July 23

Up from the Ashes: Fire at the Meriden Britannia Company – Today in History: July 16

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Hartford Circus Fire: “The Tent’s on Fire!” – Who Knew?

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Griswold v. Connecticut – Today in History: June 7

A Night to Remember: When the Steamboat Took on the Railroad—and Lost

Roger Griswold Starts a Brawl in Congress – Today in History: February 15

Four Saints in Three Acts Debuts – Today in History: February 7

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Frozen Reservoir Destroys Danbury – Today in History: January 31

Town Patents the Lattice Truss Bridge – Today in History: January 28

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Ethan Allen Born – Today in History: January 10

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The Smith Sisters and Their Cows Strike a Blow for Equal Rights – Today in History: January 8

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The First US Can Opener – Today in History: January 5

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“Tom Thumb” Born – Today in History: January 4

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Elizabeth Bentley Born – Today in History: January 1

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First New-Gate Prisoner – Today in History: December 22

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Elihu Burritt Born – Today in History: December 8

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The Pest House Completed – Today in History: December 4

Scrabble Copyrighted – Today in History: December 1

Foot Ball Match: Harvard vs. Yale – Today in History: November 13

Alfred Howe Terry Born in Hartford – Today in History: November 10

Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut – Today in History: November 1

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Yale University Art Gallery – Today in History: October 25

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Byram River Flood – Today in History: October 15

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New Haven Gives the Lollipop its Name – Today in History: October 13

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Calder’s Stegosaurus Dedicated – Today in History: October 10

Unveiling of the Grant Memorial Tablet – Today in History: October 4

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American Architect Ithiel Town Born – Today in History: October 3

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Nathan Hale Hanged in New York – Today in History: September 22

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Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch – Today in History: September 17

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World’s First Helicopter – Today in History: September 14

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Parachutist Snagged in Midair – Today in History: September 13

Dinosaur Tracks Found – Today in History: August 23

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Roosevelt Rides in an Electric Car – Today in History: August 22

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The Charter Oak Fell – Today in History: August 21

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Governor Jonathan Trumbull Dies – Today in History: August 17

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The Great Wallingford Tornado – Today in History: August 9

  • Writer:
    CTH Staff

  • Town(s):
    Wallingford

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Home Missionary Society’s First Missionary – Today in History: August 7

Connecticut Valley Railroad’s First Train – Today in History: July 29

Hartford Wide-Awakes – Today in History: July 26

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The White Mountain Express Derails in Greenwich

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Creating Candlewood Lake – Today in History: July 15

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Connecticut Suffragists Appeal to the President – Today in History: July 12

Bridgeport’s Catastrophic 1911 Train Wreck

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Erector Set Patented – Today in History: July 8

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British Burn Fairfield – Today in History: July 7

The Hartford Circus Fire – Today in History: July 6

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Pepperidge Farm Opens Bakery – Today in History: July 4

Buffalo Bill Cody Visits the Monument of Uncas – Today in History: July 2

Private vs. Public Property – Today in History: June 23

John Howe Makes a Better Pin – Today in History: June 22

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The Blake Rock Crusher – Today in History: June 15

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East Haddam Swing Bridge – Today in History: June 14

Harriet Beecher Stowe Born – Today in History: June 14

The Platt Amendment – Today in History: June 12

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USS George Washington Launched – Today in History: June 9

Thomas Hall’s Electric Block Railroad Signal – Today in History: June 7

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The State Cantata – Today in History: June 3

Alse Young Executed for Witchcraft – Today in History: May 26

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W. J. Squire’s Gill Net Manufactory in East Haddam

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Katharine Hepburn Born – Today in History: May 12

First Woman Elected as US State Governor Born – Today in History: May 10

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John Brown Born – Today in History: May 9

Learning about the Lusitania: How Hartford Heard the News

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First Woman to Receive US Patent – Today in History: May 5

Artist Frederic Church Born – Today in History: May 4

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Last State Highway Toll Paid – Today in History: April 28

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Ironclad Commissioned – Today in History: April 21

Vietnam Veterans Against the War – Today in History: April 19

Bridgeport Women Answer the Call – Today in History: April 15

Colt’s Submarine Battery – Today in History: April 13

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Celebrating Civil War Men and Women – Today in History: April 9

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The “Father of American Football” is Born – Today in History: April 7

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Steamboat Accident – Today in History: March 29

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Anna Elizabeth Dickinson at Touro Hall – Today in History: March 24

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Paleontologist Othniel Marsh dies – Today in History: March 18

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The Telescoping Fishing Rod – Today in History: March 8

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Elihu Burritt Dies – Today in History: March 6

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Abraham Lincoln’s Republican Rally – Today in History: March 5

Rockwell Hardness Tester – Today in History: February 11

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Charles Stratton and Lavinia Warren Wed – Today in History: February 10

Waterbury Burns – Today in History: February 2

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G. Fox & Co. Destroyed by Fire – Today in History: January 29

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New Haven Coliseum Imploded – Today in History: January 20

Sam Colt’s Funeral: The Day Hartford Stopped

Lounsbury Elected Governor – Today in History: January 4

Pratt & Whitney Debuts Wasp Engine – Today in History: December 24

First New-Gate Prisoner – Today in History: December 22

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First Recorded Fall of Meteorites in the United States – Today in History: December 14

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The Beadle Family Murders – Today in History: December 11

Jim Morrison Arrested – Today in History: December 9

Father of Architects Born – Today in History: December 4

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Oliver Wolcott Dies – Today in History: December 1

The Father of Gastric Physiology Born – Today in History: November 21

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Pierre Lallement and the Modern-Day Pedal Bicycle – Today in History: November 20

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The Aqua Velva State – Today in History: November 17

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Calder in Connecticut: World-Famous Artist Called Roxbury Home

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First US Detachable Electric Plug – Today in History: November 8

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The Temperance Movement in Connecticut – Today in History: October 27

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Igor Sikorsky Dies – Today in History: October 26

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The Flood That We Forget: October 15 and 16, 1955

The Steamboat New England: “The shock was dreadful” – Today in History: October 8

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Elizabeth Jarvis Colt Born – Today in History: October 5

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Accidental Shooting Leads to Witchcraft Conviction – Today in History: October 3

  • Town(s):
    Windsor

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The Great Hurricane of 1938 – Today in History: September 21

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A Day of Celebration – Today in History: September 17

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Bucket Brigade to the Rescue – Today in History: September 12

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Painter, Muralist, Sculptor Sol LeWitt born – Today in History: September 9

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Fort Griswold Attacked – Today in History: September 6

Mastodon Bones Unearthed – Today in History: August 13

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USS Nautilus Passes Under North Pole – Today in History: August 3

Poet Wallace Stevens Dies – Today in History: August 2

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Fire Ravages Cos Cob School – Today in History: July 29

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Roger Tory Peterson Dies – Today in History: July 28

An American Heritage River – Today in History: July 27

Sanitary Fair – Today in History: July 25

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The Connecticut Compromise – Today in History: July 16

Sheff v. O’Neill – Today in History: July 9

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Jonathan Edwards’ Famous Sermon – Today in History: July 8

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Furniture Caster Patented – Today in History: June 30

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Deadly Fire at Gulliver’s – Today in History: June 30

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Educator Sarah Pierce Born – Today in History: June 26

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Henry Ward Beecher Born – Today in History: June 24

Oliver Cromwell Launched – Today in History: June 13

Christopher Leffingwell Born – Today in History: June 11

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Academy Graduates First African American Student – Today in History: June 8

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Parking Authority Created in New Haven – Today in History: June 2

Helen Keller Dies – Today in History: June 1

The Free Consent of the People: Thomas Hooker and the Fundamental Orders

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Cornerstone Set – Today in History: May 25

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Stealth Attack from Guilford Launched – Today in History: May 23

Setting Speed Limits – Today in History: May 21

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Dark Day – Today in History: May 19

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New-Gate Prison Breakout – Today in History: May 18

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Largest Earthquake in Connecticut – Today in History: May 16

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Jacob Schick Invents the Electric Razor – Today in History: May 13

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Misread Signal Leads to Deadly South Norwalk Train Wreck – Who Knew?

Connecticut Declares War Against the Pequot – Today in History: May 1

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First American Medicine Patent – Today in History: April 30

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USS Tullibee – Today in History: April 27

Hamilton Wrecks Aeroplane – Today in History: April 22

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The American School for the Deaf – Today in History: April 15

Horace Bushnell Born – Today in History: April 14

The Coaster Brake – Today in History: April 9

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Freighter Worcester Launched – Today in History: April 5

William Redfield Born – Today in History: March 26

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Leatherman Dies – Today in History: March 20

A Day for Women – Today in History: March 8

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Gideon Welles Appointed Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy – Today in History: March 7

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Today in History – Fales & Gray Explosion Underscores Need for a Hartford Hospital

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Rex Brasher Dies – Today in History: February 29

The Revolving Gun – Today in History: February 25

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Abraham Ribicoff dies – Today in History: February 22

Park Central Hotel Boiler Explosion – Today in History: February 18

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Meriden Town Hall Burns Down – Today in History: February 14

Arthur Miller dies – Today in History: February 10

Charles Stratton and Lavinia Warren Wed – Today in History: February 10

Colt Armory Burns – Today in History: February 4

First General Copyright Law – Today in History: January 29

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First Commercial Telephone Exchange – Today in History: January 28

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John Fitch Born – Today in History: January 21

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Almost a Tragedy: The Collapse of the Hartford Civic Center

The Tariffville Disaster – Today in History: January 15

Land Purchase Becomes Bushnell Park – Today in History: January 5

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Kensington Soldiers Monument Dedicated – Today in History: July 28

Charlotte Perkins Gilman Born – Today in History: July 3

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Sarah Bernhardt Performs in Hartford – Today in History: June 8

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Phineas Pratt’s Machine for Making Combs – Today in History: April 12

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P. T. Barnum Dies – Today in History: April 7

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Knights of Columbus Chartered – Today in History: March 29

Fire at Wesleyan’s North College – Today in History: March 1

Artist Louis Paul Dessar Dies – Today in History: February 14

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Branding Law Enacted – Today in History: February 5

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Mianus River Bridge Collapses – Today in History: June 28

  • Writer:
    Karen Frederick

  • Town(s):
    Greenwich

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Benedict Arnold died in London, England – Today in History: June 14

The Bazooka Changes War – Today in History: June 14

Hamilton Breaks Air Records – Today in History: June 13

Governor Chester Bowles Dies – Today in History: May 25

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Waterbury Tornado – Today in History: May 24

The Portable Typewriting Machine – Today in History: April 12

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Civil Rights Demonstrations – Today in History: March 18

Reel Lawn Mower Patent – Today in History: January 28

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Civil War Soldier Dies of Gangrene – Today in History: July 10

Government Orders Horse Pistols – Today in History: March 9

Miss Huntley’s School Opens – Today in History: August 1

Connecticut’s “Woodstock” Canceled – Today in History: July 30

Farmington Canal’s Ground-Breaking – Today in History: July 4

President Grant Celebrates Independence Day in Woodstock – Today in History: July 4

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Ivoryton Playhouse Opens – Today in History: June 17

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Connecticut 29th Mustered into Service – Today in History: March 8

  • Writer:
    CTH Staff

  • Town(s):
    New Haven

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The Turtle Submarine – Today in History: September 6

Theodate Pope Riddle Dies – Today in History: August 30

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Halladay’s Revolutionary Windmill – Today in History: August 29

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Lisbon Tunnel Completed – Today in History: August 28

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Horror on the Housatonic: The Railroad Disaster of August 1865

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Danbury Prison Protest – Today in History: August 11

D-Day – Today in History: June 6

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First Human Test of a Nylon Parachute – Today in History: June 6

Samuel Colt and Elizabeth Jarvis Marry – Today in History: June 5

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Begins Serialization – Today in History: June 5

The Lemon Law – Today in History: June 4

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Frederick Law Olmsted Born – Today in History: April 26

Benedict Arnold Demands the Key – Today in History: April 22

The 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment Leaves for War – Today in History: March 19

  • Writer:
    Cornel Garfman

  • Town(s):
    New Haven

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Hartford Protests in Support of Selma – Today in History: March 9

  • Town(s):
    Hartford

Thread Your Needle – Today in History: March 2

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The USS Nautilus: The World’s First Nuclear Submarine

  • Town(s):
    Groton, New London

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The Blizzard of 1888 – Today in History: March 11

Joshua Hempsted Born – Today in History: September 1

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Fitch Soldiers’ Home Closes – Today in History: August 28

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Medical Pioneer Eli Todd born – Today in History: July 22

Mystic River Bridge Opens – Today in History: July 19

The Automatic Gallows – Today in History: June 18

  • Town(s):
    Wethersfield

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American Painter John Trumbull Born – Today in History: June 6

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Connecticut’s First Female Telephone Operator – Today in History: March 24

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