1. In 1789, Virginia became the 10th state to ratify the United States Constitution. This helped ensure the Constitution's success and marked Virginia's pivotal role in the formation of the new country.

2. In 1864, during the Civil War, Union troops under General William T. Sherman burned the town of Daleville in Botetourt County, Virginia. The raid was part of Sherman's infamous "March to the Sea," which laid waste to much of the South.

3. On November 26, 1917, the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) defeated the University of North Carolina in a football game that was notable for the championship ring worn by VMI's quarterback, cadet "Red" Fleming. The ring was made of bullets that had been fired during World War I, from a gun mounted on a VMI cannon named "Big Bertha."

4. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited Virginia's Fort Monroe to take part in ceremonies commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, which he described as "one of the most important and far-reaching acts of our freedom, of our history."

5. On November 26, 1990, the Virginia State Police arrested serial killer Aileen Wuornos at a biker bar in Port Orange, Florida. Wuornos had killed at least six men in Florida and was later executed in Virginia's death chamber. The case inspired the movie "Monster," which earned Charlize Theron an Academy Award for Best Actress.