1. The University of Utah was founded on October 16, 1850. Originally called the University of Deseret, it was the first institution of higher education in the Western United States.
2. In 1916, the first national forest in Utah, the Uinta National Forest, was established on October 16. It encompasses over 2.2 million acres of land and is home to a diverse range of wildlife and plant species.
3. On October 16, 1846, the Donner party, a group of pioneers headed for California, entered Utah territory. They would later become trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains and resort to cannibalism to survive.
4. In 1978, the first Mormon temple outside of the United States was dedicated in Sao Paulo, Brazil on October 16. Today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has over 16 million members worldwide.
5. The first commercial oil well in Utah was drilled on October 16, 1908. The well was located in southeastern Utah and began producing oil shortly after it was drilled. Today, the state produces over 25 million barrels of oil per year, primarily from shale deposits.