1. In 1888, the town of Kearney was incorporated in Nebraska. Originally called Dobytown, it was renamed in honor of General Philip Kearny, a hero of the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.

2. On May 21, 1892, Nebraska became the first state to celebrate Arbor Day as a legal holiday. The tradition began in 1872, when J. Sterling Morton encouraged Nebraskans to plant trees to help combat soil erosion and serve as windbreaks. Today, Arbor Day is observed in all 50 states and many countries around the world.

3. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made a historic stop in Omaha on his way across the country during the "Spirit of St. Louis" tour. Thousands of people turned out to see the famous aviator and his plane, which had completed the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean just two weeks earlier.

4. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln football team won its first national championship on May 21, 1970, when it defeated Louisiana State University 17-12 in the Orange Bowl. The team finished the season with a record of 11-0-1 and was led by future NFL stars Johnny Rodgers and Jeff Kinney.

5. On May 21, 2004, the Strategic Air and Space Museum opened in Ashland, Nebraska. The museum showcases a collection of aircraft and artifacts from the Cold War era, including the B-29 bomber "Enola Gay," which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. The facility was later renamed the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum before it was closed in 2015.