15 January 1974
Sunday-closing Laws

On this day a bill to repeal the section of the Code of Virginia relating to the transaction of business on Sunday was presented to the House of Delegates. [Full article]

16 January 1786
Statute for Religious Freedom

On this day the General Assembly adopted the Statute for Religious Freedom, which states that no Virginians will face prosecution for their religious beliefs. [Full article]

19 January 1872
Preservation of Historical Papers

On this day draft legislation proposing the securing of "the preservation of historical papers in the Capitol building" was read for the first time before the House of Delegates.
[Full article]

20 January 1671
Importation of Convicts

On this day the General Court order forbidding the importation of convicts into Virginia went into effect. [Full article]

21 January 1908
Executions

On this day House Bill 45 was read for the first time before the House of Delegates. The bill called for the establishment of a permanent facility within the state penitentiary in which to carry out death sentences. [Full article]

22 January 1888
Savings Bank of the Great Fountain

By this day a bill presented to the House of Delegates calling for the incorporation of the Savings Bank of the Grand Fountain, United Order of True Reformers, had passed into law. This institution was the first bank chartered in the United States to be owned and managed by African Americans. [Full article]

23 January 1798
Virginia Manufactory of Arms

On this day the General Assembly enacted legislation calling for the creation of an armory in or near the city of Richmond. [Full article]

26 January 1810
Dueling

On this day the General Assembly passed an act addressing dueling, a prevalent practice of the times. [Full article]

27 January 1870
End of Reconstruction

On this day a Richmond newspaper reported that "President Grant yesterday signed the bill admitting Virginia to representation in Congress, and now it only remains for us to organize our own Government to be once more a State governed, at least at home, by men of its own choice." [Full article]

28 January 1884
Capitol Police

On this day the General Assembly enforced an act that authorized seven policemen to protect Capitol Square. [Full article]

29 January 1958
First Lady's Day

On this day House Bill 12, calling for the designation of June 2 of each succeeding year as First Lady's Day in Virginia, was passed by the House of Delegates. [Full article]

30 January 1924
First Women in Legislature

On this day the first two women elected to the General Assembly had been seated for three weeks. Sarah Lee Fain, of Norfolk, and Helen Timmons Henderson, representing Buchanan and Russell counties, had both won election to the House of Delegates as Democrats.
[Full article]