1. On January 12, 1842, Michigan Governor William Henry Harrison signed a bill into law that established the state's first agricultural college, which would later become Michigan State University.

2. In 1918, the deadliest pandemic in history, the Spanish flu, reached Michigan on January 12. The first case was reported in Detroit, and within weeks, the virus had spread throughout the state, infecting thousands of people and killing over 15,000.

3. On January 12, 1933, a group of unemployed autoworkers known as the "Detroit Hunger Marchers" began a protest march on the city's streets. The marchers demanded relief for the unemployed and a higher minimum wage, but the protest turned violent when police opened fire on the crowd, killing four people and injuring dozens more.

4. Former Michigan Governor George Romney, who went on to serve as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Nixon, was born on January 12, 1907, in Chihuahua, Mexico. Romney grew up in Michigan and later became a successful businessman and politician.

5. On January 12, 2009, a massive ice storm hit Michigan, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power for several days. The storm caused widespread damage and was one of the worst ice storms to hit the state in decades.