1. In 1864, Montana was officially established as a territory by President Abraham Lincoln. This allowed for greater government representation for settlers and Native American tribes in the area.

2. On November 12, 1906, the University of Montana was founded in Missoula. The school has since grown to a student body of over 10,000 and stands as one of the state's most prestigious higher education institutions.

3. The Anaconda Copper Company, a central player in Montana's mining industry, was created on November 12, 1881. The company went on to dominate the region for decades, producing billions of dollars worth of copper and other precious metals.

4. In 1996, federal agents arrested several members of the Unabomber's family in Helena, Montana. The notorious domestic terrorist, also known as Ted Kaczynski, had been active for nearly two decades before being apprehended in 1996.

5. Montana was the site of one of the largest wildfires in United States history on November 12, 1910. Known as the "Big Burn," the fire destroyed millions of acres of land in Montana and Idaho, and killed 87 people in total.