Newport was founded in 1639 by William Coddington, John Clarke (1609-1676)John Clarke, and others, who left Portsmouth, Rhode Island after a political fallout with Anne Hutchinson and her followers. Newport soon grew to become the most important port in colonial Rhode Island. A public school was established in 1640. In the mid 1600s, a group of Jews fleeing the inquisition in Spain and Portugal were allowed to settle in Newport. The Newport congregation is the second oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. At the same time, a large number of Quakers settled in Newport. The evidence of this population can be seen today in the fact that many streets are named after trees. The Quaker meetinghouse in Newport (1699) is the oldest house of worship in Rhode Island. At the same time, a large population of Baptists settled in Newport. In 1727, James Franklin (brother of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin) was printing in Newport; in 1732, he published the first newspaper, the Rhode Island Gazette. In 1758, his son James founded the Mercury, a weekly paper. Throughout the 18th century the famous Goddard and Townsend furniture was made in Newport. Newport was also a major center of pirate activity during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. So many pirates used Newport as their base of operations that the London Board of Trade made an official complaint to the English government. The most famous pirate who made Newport his base was Thomas Tew. Tew was very popular with the locals, after one of his pirating voyages, it was reported that almost the whole town came out to greet him. In the 1720, colonial leaders, acting under pressure from the English government, arrested many pirates. Many were hanginghanged in Newport and were buried on Goat Island. During the colonial period, Newport was the center of the slave trade in New England. Many of the great fortunes made during this period were made in the slave trade. The Old Brick Market in Newport was the scene of many slave auctions. The Common Burial Ground on Fairwell Street was where most of the slaves were buried. During the American Revolution, Newport was the scene of much activity. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, William Ellery, came from Newport. He later served on the Naval Committee. In the fall of 1776, the British, seeing that Newport could be used as a naval base to attack New York (which they had recently occupied) took over the city. Because most of the population was pro independence, the British allowed them to leave. The city was repopulated with loyalists and British soldiers. For the next three years, the whole of the Narragansett Bay area became one large battlefield, with Newport being a British fortress. In the summer of 1778, the Americans began the campaign known as the Battle of Rhode Island. This was the first joint operation between the Americans and the French after the signing of the treaty of alliance. The Americans based in Tiverton, planned a formal siege of the town. However, the French (wanting a frontal assault) refused to take part in the siege. This weakened the American position and the British were able to expel the Americans from the island. The following year, the British, wanting to concentrate their forces in New York, abandoned Newport. In 1780, the French under Rochembeau landed in Newport and for the rest of the war Newport was the base of the French forces in the United States. The French soldiers behaved themselves so well that in gratitude, the Rhode Island General Assembly repealed an old law banning Catholics from living in Rhode Island. The first Catholic mass in Rhode Island was said in Newport during this time. By the time the war ended (1783) Newport's poulation had fallen from over 9,000 (according to the census of 1774) to less than 4,000. Over 200 abandoned buildings were torn down in the 1780s. Also, the war destroyed Newport's economic wealth, as years of military occupation closed the city to any form of trade. The Newport merchants moved away, some to Providence, others to Boston and New York. It was in Newport in 1791 that the Rhode Island General Assembly, acting under pressure from the merchant community of Providence, voted to ratify the Constitution and become the 13th state. The city is the site of the last residence of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the birthplace of Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the Reverend William Ellery Channing. In the mid 19th century, a large number of Irish immigrants settled in Newport. The Fifth Ward of Newport (in the southern part of the city) became a staunch Irish neighborhood for many generations. To this day, St. Patrick's Day is an important day of pride and celebration in Newport, with a large parade going down Thames Street. The oldest Catholic parish in Rhode Island, St. Mary's is located on Spring Street, though the current building is not the original one. mansion as of August 2006 Until 1900, Newport was one of two capitals of Rhode Island, the other being Providence. The state legislature would alternate its sessions between the two cities. Connecticut was the only other state to have more than one capital at one time. John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy OnassisJacqueline Bouvier were married in St. Mary's Church in Newport on September 12, 1953. http://www.lifetimetv.com/shows/weddings/kennedy/jfk.html Presidents Kennedy and Dwight EisenhowerEisenhower both made Newport the sites of their "summer White Houses" during their years in office. Eisenhower stayed at Fort Adams, while Kennedy used Hammersmith Farm. In the 20th century, immigrants from Portugal and the Caribbean began settling in Newport, adding to the rich diversity of the city. In 1900, 22,204 people lived in Newport, Rhode Island; in 1910, 27,149; in 1920, 30,255; and in 1940, 30,532. The city has long been entwined with the United States NavyU.S. Navy. Until 1971, it hosted the Cruiser-Destroyer Force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and subsequently it has from time to time hosted smaller numbers of warships. It held the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy during the American Civil WarCivil War, when the undergraduate officer training school was temporarily moved north from Annapolis, Maryland. It remains home to the U.S. Naval War College and the Naval Education and Training Center (NETC), the center of Surface Warfare Officer training. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport%2C_Rhode_Island