1. In 1863, during the American Civil War, a group of Confederate soldiers from Texas attacked Fort Sumner in New Mexico Territory, but were repelled by Union troops. This was one of several skirmishes that took place in the Territory during the war.

2. In 1871, a fire broke out in Silver City, New Mexico, destroying much of the town's central business district. Over 70 buildings were destroyed, including many saloons and gambling houses.

3. In 1903, the first long-distance automobile race in New Mexico took place, from Las Vegas to Santa Fe. The winning car, driven by George H. Crosman of Colorado, completed the 84-mile (135 km) course in just under 5 hours.

4. In 1945, during World War II, members of the 509th Composite Group, based at Alamogordo Army Air Field, began training for the dropping of the atomic bomb. The group's B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6 of that year.

5. In 1971, the United States Atomic Energy Commission announced plans to build a facility for the storage and disposal of nuclear waste near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant began receiving waste in 1999, and is currently the only operating deep geologic repository for nuclear waste in the world.