1. In 1846, the Iowa Territorial Legislature approved a bill to establish the University of Iowa, making it the first public university in the state.

2. In 1864, the Battle of Baxter Springs occurred in Kansas, just across the border from Iowa. Several Iowa soldiers were among the Union forces that repulsed a Confederate raiding party.

3. In 1895, the first edition of the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald was published. The newspaper is still in circulation today as the Telegraph Herald, and is one of the oldest continuously operating newspapers in the country.

4. In 1929, the Hamilton County Courthouse in Webster City was destroyed in a fire. The building was rebuilt in the Art Deco style, and still serves as the county courthouse today.

5. In 2013, Iowa State University researchers announced that they had successfully created a new type of graphene-based material that could improve the performance and efficiency of electronic devices. The breakthrough could have significant implications for the future of computing and electronics.