Tag: the state
March 31: The First Statewide Aerial Photography Survey in the US
In 1933, Connecticut Governor Wilbur L. Cross, determined to move forward with infrastructure improvements in spite of budget constraints caused by the Great Depression, presented the State Planning Board with a formal request for an aerial photographic survey of the entire state. Governor Cross reasoned that a detailed set of photographs would be an…
March 18: A Rising Star Falls Twice
The day after St. Patrick’s Day was anything but a lucky one for John G. Rowland, who found himself on the wrong end of the law on March 18, 2005, and then again 10 years later on March 18, 2015. Once considered one of Connecticut’s best and brightest politicians, Rowland first won elected office…
March 16: Quick— What Rhymes with “Connecticut”?
In late 1977, temporarily setting aside the politics of a struggling national economy and election-year posturing, the Connecticut General Assembly took up the task of selecting an official state song for the state of Connecticut. The request for a state song first came from then-governor Ella Grasso’s predecessor, Thomas Meskill, who was reportedly sick…
November 27: Connecticut Passes Its Own Equal Rights Amendment
In 1972, Connecticut was one of over 30 states that voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment as passed by Congress, which expressly prohibited discrimination based on a person’s sex. The federal E.R.A would have become the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution upon ratification by 3/4 of the states in the Union, but…
November 24: Connecticut’s Longest-Serving Governor Learned His Political Skills in the Family Tavern.
In many respects, Governor William A. O’Neill lived the life of a quintessential 20th century Connectican. Born in Hartford in 1930, he attended public schools in East Hampton, took classes at the Connecticut Teacher’s College (now Central Connecticut State University), and subsequently held jobs in two of Connecticut’s major industries: first at Pratt…
November 16: A Governor of Connecticut Actually Born in Connecticut
Mm The first thirteen chief executives of colonial Connecticut (including the governors of Saybrook and New Haven colonies, which merged with Connecticut by 1665) were all born in England. It was not until the second decade of the eighteenth century that Connecticut’s governor was a person actually born and raised in the Land of…
November 7: Washington Slept Here — Not His Favorite Place
Throughout the eastern United States, claims that “George Washington slept here” at some local home or landmark are so exceedingly plentiful — and frequently fabricated to boost business — that the term has become something of a cliché. Connecticut, however, can point to many locations where George Washington did pass by or spend the…
November 4: Connecticut Founder John Winthrop Jr. Arrives in America
Today in 1631, John Winthrop, Jr., one of the most important figures in Connecticut history, first set foot in the New World, having arrived in Boston where his father, John Winthrop Sr., was governor the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A Renaissance man of many talents, the younger Winthrop was well-versed in alchemy, medicine, and early…
October 31: Trick or Treat? Connecticut’s Greatest Legend Happened Today…. or Did It?
One of the most important symbols in Connecticut history is the Charter Oak – the giant, gnarled oak tree that represents Connecticut’s “steady habit” of self-rule and resistance against tyranny. Depictions and namesakes of the Charter Oak are plentiful throughout the state: schools, streets, social organizations, parks, Connecticut’s state quarter, and even a brewery…
October 12: Connecticut’s Constitution of 1818 Goes Into Effect – but Not Without Grumbling
Today in 1818, Gov. Oliver Wolcott issued a Proclamation declaring the new state Constitution approved and ratified, and henceforth “the supreme law of the State.” The proclamation followed a state-wide referendum exactly one week before, on October 5th, that had seen the proposed revision of government win approval by only 1,554 votes. The 13,918…
October 7: The Political “Separation of Church and State” Begins with a Letter From Danbury.
One of the central tenets of modern American political doctrine was borne out of a humble letter exchange that began today in Connecticut history. On October 7, 1801, the Danbury Baptists Association sent an eloquent letter to newly elected President Thomas Jefferson expressing their concerns about Connecticut’s backing of the Congregational Church as the…