1. On February 23, 1870, Montana was officially designated as a territory of the United States. Prior to this, the area was considered part of the Dakota, Idaho, and Nebraska territories.
2. One of Montana's most famous outlaws, Henry Plummer, was hanged on February 23, 1864. Plummer was the sheriff of Bannack, Montana, but was eventually convicted of leading a gang of thieves and murderers known as the "Innocents".
3. In 1989, Montana's first statewide LGBTQ+ rights organization, the Montana Human Rights Network, was founded on February 23.
4. On February 23, 1918, the Montana State Legislature passed a law allowing women to vote in all state and local elections. This was two years before the 19th Amendment was ratified by the United States, which granted women the right to vote nationwide.
5. The Montana Historical Society was established on February 23, 1865, with the goal of preserving and promoting the history of the state. Today, the society operates a museum in Helena which contains over 50,000 artifacts and documents related to Montana's past.