Oklahoma (pronounced: /ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/) is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With 3,579,212 residents in 2006, it is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state by land area. Its name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people," and is known informally by its nickname, The Sooner State. Formed by the combination of Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory on November 16, 1907, it was the 46th state to enter the union. Its people are known as Oklahomans, and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.
A major producer of oil and food, Oklahoma is also an important manufacturer of aircraft parts and a leader in biotechnology. It has one of the fastest growing economies in the nation, leading in gross domestic product growth and ranking third among states in per capita income growth. Nearly 65 percent of Oklahomans live in the metropolitan areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and the cities serve as primary economic centers of the state. Six universities ranked high for academic achievement are located in the state, and two rate among the best college sports programs in American history.
Made up of small mountain ranges, prairie, and eastern forests, Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains and Ozark Highlands in a region prone to severe weather, holding the most ecologically diverse terrain in the nation, with more ecoregions per mile than any other state. With a prevalence of German, Irish, and Native American ancestry, more than 25 native languages are spoken in the state, the most in the nation. It is located at a confluence of three major cultural regions, historically serving as a route for cattle drives, a destination for southern settlers, and a government-sanctioned territory for Native Americans. Part of a strip of conservative political views and widespread beliefs in Christianity known as the Bible Belt, the state has a nearly even voter demographic, with slightly more registered voters in the Democratic Party.
The Outsiders is a novel by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1967 by Viking Press. Hinton was 15 when she began writing the novel and 18 when it was published. The Outsiders is an account of a traumatic time in the life of fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis. Hinton explores the themes of class conflict, brotherly love, friendship, and coming of age by following two rival gangs, the Greasers and the Socs(pronounced "soashes"short for "Socials"), who are separated by social-economic status and political beliefs.
The main characters in The Outsiders are Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade, Dallas "Dally" Winston, Darrel "Darry" Curtis, Sodapop Curtis, Keith "Two-Bit" Mathews, and Steve Randle, a gang of Greasers in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The story is narrated by Ponyboy, younger brother of both Sodapop and Darrel, or Darry. The three boys are orphaned after a car accident that kills their parents. Darry assumes the parental role to keep them from getting sent to different homes. Darry feels overly burdened and cannot provide all of the things they need. Although he is smart, he didn't pursue college so he could get a job and provide food for the other two boys, Sodapop and Ponyboy. Sodapop dropped out of high school in favor of employment. (Read more . . . )
McAlester located in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 17,783 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pittsburg County.
The crossing of the east-west California Road with the north-south Texas Road formed a natural point of settlement in Tobucksy County of the Choctaw Nation, a site originally called Bucklucksy. James Jackson McAlester, an employee of licensed traders Reynolds and Hannaford convinced the firm to locate a general store at that location in late 1869. The general store was an immediate success, but J.J. McAlester recognized an even greater opportunity in the abundance of readily available coal deposits in the area, and the impending construction of a rail line through Indian Territory. In 1871, J.J. McAlester journeyed with a sample of coal to the railroad town in hopes of persuading officials to locate the line near his store at Bucklucksy. The location of the trading post on the Texas Road weighed in its favor, given that the Katy Railroad line construction roughly followed the Shawnee Trail – Texas Road route southward to the Red River. The line reached Bucklucksy in 1872 and Katy Railroad officials named the railway stop McAlester. (Read more...)
Credit: Jon Sullivan
Oklahoma's state insect, the Honeybee.
- ...that Tulsa is often considered the birthplace of U.S. Route 66?
- ...that Oklahoma has the longest drivable stretch of Route 66 in the nation?
- ...that in 1927, Oklahoma businessman Cyrus Avery, known the "Father of Route 66," proposed using an existing stretch of highway from Amarillo, Texas to Tulsa for the original portion of Highway 66?
- ...that Oklahoman Cyrus Avery spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Highway 66 Association, the organization that oversaw the planning and creation of Route 66, and he placed the organization's headquarters in Tulsa?
State symbols:
The Scissortail Flycatcher, Oklahoma's state bird
Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., also noted as Gordo Cooper, was born 6 March 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma and was a American astronaut. Cooper was one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first manned-space effort by the United States.
Each of the Mercury astronauts was assigned to a different portion of the project along with other special assignments. Cooper specialized in the Redstone rocket (and developed a personal survival knife for astronauts to carry). He also chaired the Emergency Egress Committee, responsible for working out emergency launch pad procedures for escape. Cooper served as capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for John Glenn's first orbital spaceflight in Mercury-Atlas 6 (Friendship 7) and Scott Carpenter's flight on Mercury-Atlas 7 (Aurora 7). He was backup pilot for Wally Schirra in Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7).
Cooper was launched into space on 15 May 1963 aboard the Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) spacecraft, the last Mercury mission. He orbited the earth 22 times and logged more time in space than all five previous Mercury astronauts combined – 34 hours, 19 minutes and 49 seconds, traveling 546,167 miles (878,971 km) at 17,547 mph (28,239 km/h), pulling a maximum of 7.6 g (74.48 m/s²). Cooper achieved an altitude of 165.9 statute miles (267 km) at apogee. He was the first American astronaut to sleep not only in orbit but on the launch pad during a countdown. (Read more...)
- Current collaborations: University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University - Stillwater
- To Improve to Featured standard: Will Rogers, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City
- To Expand: Robert J. Sullivan, Jr., Philbrook Museum of Art, Ford Center, Tulsa Zoo, BOK Center, Bell's Amusement Park, Frontier City, Oklahoma State Capitol, Kate Barnard, add {{Infobox City}} to town and city pages.
- To Create: Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Land Run of 1892, Land Run of 1895, Oklahoma Territorial Legislature
- To Clean up: Tulsa World
- Lists to complete: List of radio stations in Oklahoma, List of television stations in Oklahoma, List of newspapers in Oklahoma, List of Oklahoma rivers, List of people from Oklahoma
- To Destub: See Category:Oklahoma stubs
- Wanted Pictures/Graphics: See Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Oklahoma
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