Wyoming History

According the Wyoming State Library, over 4,200 patents have been issued to inventors here in the Cowboy State. Here's a look back at some of the greatest inventions in Wyoming history. The first patent in the Territory of Wyoming was issued in 1870 to George Choate, who developed an improvement to shovel handles...

Here's a little known fact, Wyoming was part of the very first flight to include a "stewardess" (as they were referred to in those days). In 1930, the new commercial airline industry wanted to insure their customers that flying was safe...

39 years ago, one of the worst floods in Wyoming history began. It started with heavy rain on the morning of May 15, 1978, which later turned to snow. As the storm spread, property damage was reported in 12 counties. Over 100 homes were destroyed, dozens of bridges and roads were flooded, and power was knocked out across the state...

Television and movie fans were shocked to hear about the passing of actor Powers Boothe this weekend. Booth was well-known for several iconic roles, including one fictional character with a "real-life" Wyoming connection. For three seasons, from 2004 through 2006, Boothe portrayed Cy Tolliver, the owner of the Bella Union Saloon in the HBO series Deadwood...

John Osborne was the third Governor of Wyoming, the state's largest sheep farmer, a banker, doctor, chemist, United States Congressman and the United States Assistant Secretary of State. Osborne's biggest claim to fame, however, was his morbid curiosity with dead bodies; particularly the corpse of former cattle rustler "Big Nose" George Parrott...

Cinco De Mayo marks the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, where Mexico manhandled a much larger French army. Although present-day Wyoming was already a United States Territory in 1862, nearly 10 percent of land in the Cowboy State was once a part of Mexico...

Just in time for the 143rd "run for the roses" this weekend, here's a Kentucky Derby tribute to the greatest horses in Wyoming history. 1. Steamboat – Born in 1896 near Chugwater, Wyoming, Steamboat was widely considered among the best bucking broncos in rodeo history...

Brown's Saloon was established in 1822 to serve thirsty fur trappers at the Brown's Hole trading fort along the Green River

33 years ago this week, one of the worst spring storms in Wyoming history dumped nearly three feet of snow on the Cowboy State. The snow began falling on April 25, 1984, and didn't let up for three days. But wind was the biggest problems...

April 21st marks an infamous anniversary. 146 years ago today, in 1871, John Boyer was the first man to be legally executed in Wyoming. Prior to Boyer, several outlaws had met the end of the noose due to vigilante justice, but this was the first legal hanging ever carried out in the fledgling territory...

With all due respect to Curt Gowdy and Dave Walsh, who are legends in their own right, Larry Birleffi is the greatest sportscaster in Wyoming history. This week, Birleffi, who passed away in 2008, would have celebrated his 101st birthday...

Millions of years before the University of Wyoming and Colorado State began the Border War, there was a different kind of rivalry in the rockies; a battle for survival between dinosaurs on the Front Range. Wyoming's official state dinosaur Triceratops roamed the high plains nearly 65 million years ago...