1. In 1873, the United States Congress established the Colorado Territory, which would eventually become the 38th state in the Union. This day is celebrated as Colorado Day.

2. In 1978, the University of Colorado's basketball team won the NCAA Championship, defeating Duke 87-78 in the final. It was the first national championship in the school's history.

3. In 1883, the first electric light bulb was lit in Denver, Colorado. This demonstration was the first public use of an incandescent lamp west of the Mississippi river.

4. In 1968, Colorado passed the first ever "right-to-die" law, which allowed terminally ill patients to request life-ending medication from their doctors.

5. In 2002, the first legal same-sex civil union in the United States was performed in Boulder, Colorado. The couple, Tom Ciancio and Dave Zamora, were joined in a ceremony at the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's office.