1. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680: On August 23, 1680, a group of Pueblo Indians led by Popé launched a coordinated attack on Spanish colonists throughout New Mexico, resulting in the Pueblo Revolt. The uprising succeeded in driving the Spanish out of the region for the next 12 years.

2. New Mexico Becomes a State: On August 23, 1912, New Mexico officially became the 47th state of the United States. This event marked the culmination of a long process that began with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, which ended the Mexican-American War and ceded New Mexico and other territories to the U.S.

3. The Manhattan Project: On August 23, 1945, a B-29 bomber named "Bockscar" dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, Japan, effectively ending World War II. The bomb was developed as part of the Manhattan Project, which had a testing site in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

4. Breaking the Sound Barrier: On August 23, 1947, U.S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier, flying a Bell X-1 experimental aircraft over the skies of Southern New Mexico. The flight lasted just over ten minutes, but it paved the way for supersonic flight and space exploration.

5. Bill Richardson Becomes Governor: On August 23, 2003, Bill Richardson was inaugurated as the 30th Governor of New Mexico. Richardson, who had previously served as a member of Congress and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, would go on to serve two terms as governor and establish himself as a prominent figure in the Democratic Party.