Biography:An early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state, Williams founded the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities.
Williams also started the first Baptist church in America.
1631-02-05 Puritan minister and founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams first arrives in Boston from England
1635-10-09 Religious dissident Roger Williams is banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony
1663-07-08 King Charles II of England approves the Rhode Island Royal Charter giving royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and freedoms to its colonists, among them Roger Williams