1) On January 3, 1889, South Dakota was officially admitted as the 40th state in the United States.

2) The legendary Wild Bill Hickok was shot and killed in a Deadwood saloon on August 2, 1876. However, it was not until January 3, 1877, that his killer, Jack McCall, was hanged in Yankton, South Dakota.

3) South Dakota State University was founded on January 3, 1881, in Brookings, South Dakota. It originally offered courses in agriculture and engineering, and has since expanded to a wide range of fields.

4) In 1943, the U.S. Army established the Rapid City Army Air Base, which later became Ellsworth Air Force Base. The base played a significant role in the Cold War and continues to serve as an important military installation.

5) The Crazy Horse Memorial, a massive sculpture of the Oglala Lakota warrior, began construction in the Black Hills of South Dakota on June 3, 1948. Although it remains unfinished, it is an important cultural landmark and tourist attraction in the state.