Stephen Hopkins (March 7, 1707 – July 13, 1785) was a Founding Father of the United States. He served as governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and was a signer of both the Continental Association and Declaration of Independence. Hopkins was from a prominent Rhode Island family. His grandfather, William Hopkins, was an influential colonial politician, while his great-grandfather Thomas Hopkins was among the original settlers of Providence Plantations. Thomas sailed from England in 1635 alongside his cousin, Benedict Arnold, who later became the first governor of the Rhode Island colony under the Royal Charter of 1663.

As a child, Hopkins was a voracious reader, becoming a serious student of the sciences, mathematics, and literature. He became a surveyor and astronomer and was involved in taking measurements during the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun. He began his public service at age 23 as a justice of the peace in the newly established town of Scituate, Rhode Island. He soon became a justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, while also serving at times as the speaker of the House of Deputies and president of the Scituate Town Council. While active in civic affairs, he also was part owner of an iron foundry and was a successful merchant who was portrayed in John Greenwood's 1750s satirical painting Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam. In May 1747, Hopkins was appointed as a justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, serving until May 1749. He became the third chief justice of this body in May 1751, serving until May 1755. In 1755, he was elected to his first term as governor of the colony, and he served in this capacity for 9 out of the next 15 years. (Full article...)

Ledge Road (west) façade

Belcourt is a former summer cottage designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Construction was begun in 1891 and completed in 1894, and it was intended to be used for only six to eight weeks of the year. Belcourt was designed in a multitude of European styles and periods; it features a heavy emphasis on French Renaissance and Gothic decor, with further borrowings from German, English, and Italian design. In the Gilded Age, the castle was noted for its extensive stables and carriage areas, which were incorporated into the main structure. (Full article...)

• ... that a Rhode Island TV station broadcast for 14 months and then was off the air for 26 years before returning?
• ... that the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait helped a U.S. senator win reelection?
• ... that a Rhode Island TV station started out by re-running an inventory of 50 hours of cartoons and 14 old movies?

Misquamicut Beach is a beach that stretches 7 miles from Weekapaug in the east, westward to Watch Hill. Misquamicut is in southern Washington County and is part of the town of Westerly.