1. In 1792, the state of Kentucky was officially admitted into the United States Union as the 15th state. This momentous occasion marked the end of a long struggle for statehood that began in the 1770s.

2. On December 6, 1806, the famous explorer William Clark arrived in Louisville, Kentucky, after completing his journey of discovery with Meriwether Lewis. The two men had set out from St. Louis in 1803 to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory, and their journey resulted in the first detailed maps of the western United States.

3. In 1901, the Kentucky State Capitol building was destroyed by a devastating fire. The flames raged for several hours, completely destroying the building and most of its contents. The state government immediately set to work constructing a new Capitol that would be safer and more durable.

4. On December 6, 1924, Mary Breckinridge founded the Frontier Nursing Service in Leslie County, Kentucky. The organization provided healthcare and midwifery services to women and children living in the isolated mountain regions of eastern Kentucky, where medical care was often scarce.

5. December 6, 1989, is a tragic day in Kentucky history, as it was the date of the deadly Avondale Mine disaster in Harlan County. Fourteen coal miners were killed in a methane gas explosion, and the tragedy highlighted the dangers of working in the mining industry. The Avondale disaster remains one of the worst mining accidents in Kentucky's history.