1) On January 4, 1837, Michigan became the 26th state to join the Union.

2) In 1965, Michigan's longest-serving governor, William Milliken, was inaugurated for his first of five terms in office.

3) On January 4, 1940, the first snowmobile patent was issued to Carl Eliason of Sayner, Wisconsin. Michigan quickly became a hub for snowmobile production and sales.

4) In 1987, Detroit's Coleman A. Young International Airport (now known as Detroit City Airport) received its first international flight from Windsor, Canada.

5) On January 4, 2011, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to five years in prison on obstruction of justice charges. This marked the end of a long legal battle for Kilpatrick, who had been convicted of multiple charges related to corruption during his tenure as mayor.