1. In 1853, Washington Territory was created by an act of Congress. The territory included parts of what are now the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

2. On March 2, 1861, Washington D.C. was put under martial law by President Abraham Lincoln following the outbreak of the Civil War. The city was heavily fortified and troops were stationed throughout the area to prevent Confederate forces from capturing the capital.

3. In 1937, the world's first airplane with retractable landing gear was flown for the first time at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington. The plane was a Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner, which was designed for commercial airline use.

4. On March 2, 1974, the first McDonald's restaurant opened in Bellevue, Washington. The restaurant was located in the Overlake area and was the first McDonald's in the state of Washington.

5. In 1984, the Centralia Massacre occurred in Centralia, Washington. A group of Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis attacked a group of anti-fascist activists during a parade, resulting in the death of one person. The incident brought national attention to the issue of hate crimes in the Pacific Northwest.