1. Kansas Territory was officially established on March 2, 1854, when President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act into law. This controversial legislation allowed settlers in the territories to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery, contributing to the growing tensions between pro- and anti-slavery forces in the region.

2. On March 2, 1861, the State of Kansas was admitted to the Union as the 34th state. Kansas had been a free state since its territorial days, and its admission was seen as a victory for the anti-slavery cause in the lead-up to the Civil War.

3. Dodge City, one of the most famous and notorious towns of the Old West, was founded on March 2, 1872. Located in southwestern Kansas, Dodge City became a center of cattle drives and cowboys, as well as outlaws and gunfights.

4. The deadliest tornado in Kansas history occurred on March 2, 1955. The F5 tornado, which affected the town of Udall in southern Kansas, killed 80 people and injured over 270 more. The tornado remains one of the most destructive and deadly in American history.

5. On March 2, 1999, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state's school funding system was unconstitutional, citing its failure to provide adequate funding for poorer school districts. The ruling set off a long and contentious debate over education funding that continues to this day.