1. In 1863, during the American Civil War, Union troops under General Benjamin Prentiss captured Arkansas Post, a strategic Confederate fortification on the Arkansas River. This victory helped pave the way for Union control of much of Arkansas for the remainder of the war.

2. On February 5, 1870, Arkansas became the 9th state to be readmitted to the United States after the Civil War. This followed the ratification of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted voting rights to African American men.

3. In 1919, a massive flood destroyed much of the town of Taylor, Arkansas. The flood, which was caused by heavy rains and levee failures along the Ouachita River, killed at least 34 people and caused extensive damage to homes, businesses, and farms.

4. By a vote of 64-35, the Arkansas House of Representatives passed legislation allowing the creation of a lottery in the state on February 5, 2009. The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery began selling tickets later that year, and has since raised hundreds of millions of dollars for college scholarships and grants.

5. On February 5, 2014, the Arkansas Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, clearing the way for gay and lesbian couples to legally wed in the state. The decision came just a week after a federal judge in Arkansas had also overturned the state's ban, and was one of several similar court rulings around the country in the months leading up to the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.