Nebraska is a state in the United States. It is located on the great plains east of the Rocky Mountains. The name Nebraska comes from a chiwere word meaning “flat water” after the Platte River that flows through the state.
Nebraska is surrounded by South Dakota to the north, Iowa to the east, Missouri to the southeast on the other side of the Missouri River, Kansas to the south, Colorado to the southwest, and Wyoming to the west. Nebraska consists of 25 counties.
Nebraska was once referred to as part of the Great American Desert, but now the state has become a leading state in agriculture. See directoryaah for museums in Nebraska.
Nebraska is located in Tornado Alley, an area of the United States where there is particularly strong tornado activity. Thunderstorms are normal in spring and summer.
TIMELINE:
1541 – Spanish conqueror Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, the first to claim Nebraska after the pursuit of the seven golden cities of Cibola, is abandoned.
1682 – French sailor Robert Cavallier claims Nebraska.
1803 – USA buys Nebraska from France in the Louisiana Purchase.
1854 – Omaha, now the largest city in the state, was founded by Iowa speculators.
1857 – Florence, established near Omaha on March 10, serves as the ” front door to Omaha ” due to the many national monuments in the area.
1867 – Nebraska, the US State no. 37, while the capital was moved from Omaha to Lancaster, later to be renamed Lincoln after the assassinated President Lincoln.
1879 – The first telephone line in Omaha is opened.
1883 – Buffalo Bill founds the Wild West, Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition in Omaha.
1891 – African American George Smith is lynched in Omaha for ” staring at a white woman. ”
1913 – A series of tornadoes in the southern United States and parts of the Upper Midwest erupt, and the ” Easter Sunday Tornado ” hits Omaha, killing 140 people, injuring more than 400 and causing more than $ 7 million in damage.
1918 – Alcohol, like the rest of the United States, is banned in Nebraska.
1919 – Racial riots break out in Omaha, and Will Brown, a black worker, is lynched and the city is looted. Read more here.
1939 – Petroleum is discovered in southeastern Nebraska.
1948 – US Strategic Air Command opens in Sarpy County, near Omaha.
1964 – Malcolm X speaks in Omaha.
1966 – The National Guard puts an end to two days of riots in Omaha in July.
1968 – In April, riots break out after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr..
1977 – The third-last concert with Elvis Presley was held at the Omaha Civic Auditorium on June 19. The concert was filmed as CBS TV Special: Elvis In Concert. Elvis wore the Mexican Sunscreen suit to the show. It aired on CBS on October 3, two months after his death, and is the very last footage with him. The show only exists on bootleg, and has never been officially released. Elvis died on August 16, 1977. Watch the full video here.
1999 – Approx. 72,000 acres of land were engulfed by a prairie wildfire that broke out in the middle of the state, burning down the farm with all the cattle.
2000 – Train derailment in Scottsbluff, which results in a large spill of 80,000 gallons of benzene.
2007 – On December 5, 19-year-old Robert A. Hawkins killed nine people (including himself), injuring four, two of them critically, at the Westroad Mall in Omaha.
2012 – Four tornadoes in the North Platte area, injure four people, destroy homes, farms, and derail 31 train cars.