1. In 1861, Nevada became the 36th state in the United States. November 2 is celebrated as Nevada Day, a state holiday.

2. On November 2, 1986, a fire broke out at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fire killed 85 people and injured more than 700 others. It remains one of the deadliest hotel fires in United States history.

3. On November 2, 1920, Republican Warren G. Harding was elected the 29th President of the United States. Nevada was one of the states that voted for Harding, giving him all three of its electoral votes.

4. In 1954, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas was founded on November 2. The school originally opened as the Nevada Southern University satellite campus of the University of Nevada, Reno.

5. In 1998, professional boxer Oscar De La Hoya defended his WBC welterweight title against Julio César Chávez at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight was known as the "Fight of the Year" and De La Hoya won by TKO in the eighth round.