1. On December 11, 1844, explorer and botanist John C. Fremont led an expedition that passed through what is now North Dakota, documenting the flora and fauna of the Great Plains.

2. December 11, 1899, saw the founding of Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota. Originally known as the State Normal School at Minot, it was established to train teachers for rural schools in the state.

3. In 1957, the Peace Garden State, North Dakota became the 39th state to ratify the 23rd Amendment to the US Constitution, granting residents of Washington, D.C. the right to vote in presidential elections.

4. Famous North Dakota football coach and former quarterback for the University of North Dakota, Bubba Schweigert, was born on December 11, 1962, in Zeeland, North Dakota.

5. On December 11, 2016, the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in North Dakota, which had been ongoing for several months, saw a violent clash between protesters and law enforcement, resulting in injuries and arrests. The protests were in opposition to the construction of the pipeline, which Native American groups and environmentalists argued would pose a threat to their land and water supply.