1. In 1822, the first American settlers arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico. William Becknell and his party of traders established the Santa Fe Trail, an important trade route that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, and played a significant role in the expansion of the American West.

2. In 1943, the University of New Mexico became the first university in the world to offer a course in nuclear engineering. The program was established in response to the needs of the Manhattan Project, which was based in Los Alamos, New Mexico, during World War II.

3. In 2018, a new law went into effect in New Mexico that requires all public schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of their family's income. The law is aimed at addressing the problem of childhood hunger in the state, which has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country.

4. On January 13, 1939, a severe snowstorm in Northern New Mexico stranded nearly 500 people in Jemez Springs. The storm caused widespread damage to homes, roads, and power lines, and resulted in several fatalities.

5. In 2004, the New Mexico State Legislature passed a law officially recognizing the Navajo language as one of the official languages of the state. Navajo is the most widely spoken indigenous language in the United States, and the law was seen as an important step in preserving and promoting the language and culture of the Navajo people.