1. In 1864, the Battle of Cache River was fought near Cotton Plant during the American Civil War. Union forces under Colonel John W. Kress defeated a Confederate cavalry force led by General Joseph O. Shelby, and the Union troops burned several Confederate supply boats.

2. On January 23, 1899, a large fire broke out in the town of Paris, Arkansas, destroying much of the business district. Despite the efforts of local firefighters and citizens, the blaze caused an estimated $100,000 in damages.

3. In 1957, Governor Orval Faubus declared a state of emergency in Little Rock and called out the National Guard to prevent nine African American students from enrolling at Central High School. The move sparked a national crisis and brought the issue of racial integration to the forefront of American politics.

4. On this day in 1961, the Arkansas State Police arrested several members of the Ku Klux Klan who had plotted to bomb schools in the city of Little Rock. The arrests were part of a larger crackdown on Klan activity in the state.

5. In 1986, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton announced that he would run for President of the United States in the upcoming election. Clinton went on to win the Democratic nomination and served two terms as President from 1993 to 2001.