1. On February 20, 1792, the state of Kentucky was admitted to the Union as the 15th state. Prior to statehood, Kentucky had been a part of Virginia.

2. On February 20, 1862, during the American Civil War, Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant captured the Confederate stronghold of Fort Donelson in Tennessee. This victory helped secure Kentucky for the Union and opened up the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers for Union use.

3. In 1913, the first Kentucky state highway was completed. The highway connected the cities of Bowling Green and Scottsville and became part of the Dixie Highway, which extended from Michigan to Florida.

4. On February 20, 1944, William R. Lucas, a Kentucky native, became the first African American to receive a commission as a naval officer through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program. Lucas went on to serve in World War II and the Korean War, and was eventually promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.

5. In 1962, Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) defeated fellow boxer Sonny Banks by TKO in the second round of their fight in Louisville, Kentucky. The victory was one of many that helped establish Ali as one of boxing's all-time greats.