1. In 1899, The Ohio State University held its first classes in Columbus. The university was founded in 1870 and is now one of the largest universities in the United States with over 66,000 students.

2. On January 9, 1912, the first Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge was officially opened in Maysville, Kentucky. The bridge links the city to Aberdeen, Ohio and is named after a legendary frontiersman who played a key role in the settlement of Kentucky and Ohio.

3. In 1972, Ohio's 5th congressional district elected the state's first African American congressman, Louis Stokes. Serving for 15 terms, Stokes helped to establish the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and was instrumental in the investigation into Watergate and the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

4. On January 9, 1979, Ohio reached a record-low temperature of -39 degrees Fahrenheit in Milligan, Ohio. This was the state's coldest temperature ever recorded and was part of a larger period of extreme cold known as the 1979 Ohio Winter Storm.

5. In 2007, the Ohio State Buckeyes won the NCAA College Football National Championship by defeating the Florida Gators 41-14. This was the second national championship for the Buckeyes in school history and the first since the 1968 season.