During the late 16th century, Spanish Conquistadors became the first Europeans to visit the region. They did not settle in Colorado, but they frequently traded with Native Americans who were living in the area.
Colorado was admitted to the union as a state on August 1, 1876, but the human history of the region actually dates back 13,000 years. The area that is Colorado today was first inhabited by Native Americans.
In 1893, Colorado became the first state in the union to grant women the right to vote through popular election.
The Ku Klux Klan was a powerful political unit in Colorado in the 1920s. In 1925, Clarence Morley, a Klan member, was elected governor of the state.
Denver, Colorado is the only venue to ever reject hosting the Olympic Games after being granted hosting rights. The 1976 winter games were moved to Innsbruck, Austria after Colorado voters rejected a bond issue to support the event with public funds.
