1. In 1849, the first recorded discovery of gold in Colorado occurred near the present-day town of Denver, sparking the Colorado Gold Rush.

2. In 1886, the notorious outlaw and gunfighter Tom Horn was born in Scotland County, Missouri. Horn later worked as a cowboy in Colorado and gained a reputation as a skilled marksman and a cold-blooded killer.

3. In 1912, the RMS Titanic sailed from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage. Among the passengers on board was Margaret Tobin Brown, better known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown," a Denver socialite and activist who survived the sinking.

4. In 1964, the second-largest earthquake ever recorded in North America struck Alaska, causing a tsunami that devastated coastal communities as far away as Crescent City, California. The disaster prompted the federal government to invest in a nationwide system of seismic monitoring and research, including the construction of the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado.

5. In 1995, the Denver Broncos hired Mike Shanahan as their new head coach. Under Shanahan's leadership, the team went on to win two Super Bowl championships, in 1997 and 1998.