1. On December 12, 1894, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in favor of Florence Sabin, allowing her to attend and graduate from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Sabin would go on to become a pioneering medical researcher and the first woman elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

2. The opening day of the 1936 Winter Olympic Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, also fell on December 12. Colorado skiers Karl and Luggi Foeger competed for the United States in the games, with Karl winning a silver medal in the combined event.

3. In 1959, the first major snowstorm of the season hit the Colorado Rockies on December 12 and lasted for three days. The storm dumped over two feet of snow in some areas, causing widespread transportation delays and power outages.

4. Colorado's first public television station, KRMA, began broadcasting on December 12, 1956. The station was founded by the University of Denver and was part of a consortium of educational television stations that formed the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in 1970.

5. On December 12, 2012, Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational marijuana use with the passage of Amendment 64. The measure allowed adults aged 21 and over to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and to grow up to six plants in their homes for personal use. The sales and taxation of recreational marijuana would begin in 2014.