1. In 1848, the Arkansas Democrat newspaper was first published in Little Rock. The paper has since become the oldest surviving daily newspaper in the state.
2. On May 29, 1953, a tornado struck the town of Vilonia, Arkansas, killing 13 people and injuring 143. The tornado was rated as an F4 on the Fujita scale, with winds reaching up to 260 mph.
3. The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith was established on May 29, 2002. The university was originally founded as a community college in 1928, and has since grown into a four-year university with over 7,000 students.
4. On May 29, 1834, the Arkansas Territorial Legislature passed a law establishing the town of Van Buren as the county seat of Crawford County. Van Buren remains the county seat to this day.
5. Country singer and songwriter Johnny Cash was born on February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas. However, Cash spent much of his childhood in Dyess, Arkansas, where his family was part of a resettlement program during the Great Depression.