1. In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state to join the Union. The state's admission was hurriedly pushed through Congress in order to help bolster support for the Union during the Civil War.

2. In 1931, Nevada's legal gambling industry was officially born when the state legislature passed a bill legalizing gambling. The move was intended to help the state generate revenue during the Great Depression.

3. In 1998, the infamous "Unabomber," Ted Kaczynski, was arrested at his remote cabin near Lincoln, Nevada. Kaczynski had been carrying out a string of bombings across the country since 1978, killing three people and injuring dozens more.

4. In 2002, the American astronaut Joe Engle was inducted into the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame. Engle had piloted both the X-15 rocket plane and the Space Shuttle during his career, and was born and raised in Kansas but attended college in Nevada.

5. In 2013, a shooting occurred at Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nevada, resulting in two deaths and injuries to two other students. The incident sparked debate about gun control and mental health issues in the United States.