1. In 1903, the University of New Mexico was founded as a public research university in Albuquerque. It is now known for its diverse student body and excellent academic programs in the arts, sciences, and humanities.

2. In 1910, New Mexico became the 47th state to join the United States. The territory had been under Spanish and Mexican rule prior to becoming a state.

3. In 1949, a devastating airplane crash occurred near Grants, New Mexico, that claimed the lives of 13 people. The Lockheed Constellation crashed due to a combination of bad weather and mechanical failure.

4. In 1964, the Arroyo Hondo ruins near Taos were added to the National Register of Historic Places. The adobe buildings and kiva were constructed by the ancestors of the Taos Pueblo people in the 13th century.

5. In 2009, the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium launched a student-built rocket from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico. The rocket reached a height of 82 miles before returning to Earth. This marked the first time that a student group had launched a rocket from the state's spaceport.