Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912. Historically part of the territory of Alta California and Nuevo México in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848, where the area became part of the territory of New Mexico. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase.
Arizona's population and economy have grown dramatically since the 1950s because of inward migration, and the state is now a major hub of the Sun Belt. Cities such as Phoenix and Tucson have developed large, sprawling suburban areas. Many large companies, such as PetSmart and Circle K, have headquarters in the state, and Arizona is home to major universities, including the University of Arizona and Arizona State University. The state is known for a history of conservative politicians such as Barry Goldwater and John McCain, though it has become a swing state since the 1990s. (Full article...)
Twenty-four people have served as governor over 28 distinct terms. All of the repeat governors were in the state's earliest years, when George W. P. Hunt and Thomas Edward Campbell alternated as governor for 17 years and, after a two-year gap, Hunt served another term. One governor, Evan Mecham, was successfully impeached, and one, Fife Symington, resigned upon being convicted of a felony. The longest-serving governor was Hunt, who was elected seven times and served just under fourteen years. The longest single stint was that of Bruce Babbitt, who was elected to two four-year terms after succeeding to the office following the death of his predecessor, Wesley Bolin, serving nearly nine years total. Bolin had the shortest tenure, dying less than five months after succeeding as governor. Arizona has had five female governors, the most in the United States, and was the first—and until 2019 (when Michelle Lujan Grisham succeeded Susana Martinez in neighboring New Mexico) the only—state where female governors served consecutively. (Full article...)
... that at the peak of the 2018 Tinder Fire in Arizona, 695 firefighters worked to contain its spread?
... that Phoenix's Chinese Cultural Center was remodeled into an ordinary office building despite the objections of preservationists and community groups?
... that Arizona state senator W. P. Mahoney became an acquaintance of Wyatt Earp when he was a miner?
... that the first tequila distillery in the United States was opened in 1936 in Nogales, Arizona, by Harry J. Karns, former Arizona state senator and Nogales mayor?
... that the owner of Phoenix's KNXV-TV "[held] a gun to ABC's head" – and it paid off?
A petrified log in Petrified Forest National Park, located in northeastern Arizona, US. The pieces of wood found in the park are mostly of the extinct species Araucarioxylon arizonicum. The logs were buried under volcanic ash, which was the source of the silica that helped to permineralize the buried logs, replacing wood with silica, colored with oxides of iron and manganese.
... that Dwight B. Heard is credited with making Arizona's cotton industry more competitive after becoming president of the Arizona Cotton Association?
Image 10A map showing the extent of the Ancestral Puebloan, Hohokam, and Mogollon cultures within the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, all three of which were based in what is now Arizona and/or New Mexico in around 1350 CE (from History of Arizona)
Image 11Inspiration Copper Company smelter at Miami, Arizona, c. 1915 (from History of Arizona)
Image 12Major airfields in Arizona during World War II. (from History of Arizona)
Image 13The location of Arizona in the United States (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 21This ornate grain basket by Akimel O'odham dates from the early 20th century, showing the Native American dimension to the state's culture (from History of Arizona)
Image 22The Gadsden Purchase (shown with present-day state boundaries and cities) (from History of Arizona)
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