1. In 1864, Nebraska became the 37th state in the United States of America. This was the same year that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which encouraged people to settle in the western territories, including Nebraska.

2. In 1898, the first automobile driver's license was issued in Omaha, Nebraska. The license was issued to a 21-year-old chauffer named Julius Terrapin, who drove a car owned by wealthy businessman John D. Markle.

3. In 1941, the famous Nebraskan actor, Henry Fonda, played the role of Tom Joad in the film adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel, "The Grapes of Wrath." The movie was a critical and commercial success, winning two Academy Awards and cementing Fonda's status as a Hollywood legend.

4. In 1965, the first chicken plant opened in Nebraska. The plant was owned by a company called Lincoln Poultry, and it marked the beginning of a significant shift in the state's agricultural industry towards the production of poultry and other meat products.

5. In 2013, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced that it had discovered a new species of dinosaur. The dinosaur, named "Dakotaraptor steini," was a predator that lived around 66 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. Researchers believe that the dinosaur was around 17 feet long and had razor-sharp claws designed for hunting.