1. In 1861, Union forces under Brigadier General Thomas W. Sweeny prevailed in the Battle of Iatan, a minor engagement during the early months of the Civil War in Kansas. The battle resulted in only a few casualties but demonstrated the early efforts of both Union and Confederate forces to control the state.

2. In 1905, the first hospital for African Americans in Kansas opened when the Douglass Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas admitted its first patient. The hospital served as a vital resource for the African-American community in the area, offering medical care and training for medical professionals.

3. In 1933, the massive Dust Bowl that plagued the Great Plains in the 1930s reached its peak in Kansas, with dust storms and drought conditions causing widespread devastation to crops and farming communities across the state.

4. In 1954, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education declared that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, paving the way for the end of racial segregation in schools across the country. The case originated in Topeka, Kansas, where a group of African-American parents filed suit against the local school district.

5. In 1981, the deadliest outbreak of tornadoes in Kansas history struck the state, killing 16 people and causing extensive damage in several communities. The storms were part of a larger outbreak that affected several states in the Midwest and South, causing more than $136 million in damages.