September 25, 2006
Just nine years after the country hit the 100 million mark, Colorado hit its first biggie: 1 million residents. That was in 1924. Today we're at 4.7 million. What was going on in the state and the country when we reached those big round numbers in between? Here's a look back:

1924

• Colorado population: 1 million

• Governor: William E. Sweet

• President: Calvin Coolidge

• On the bandstand: It Had To Be You

• At the movies: The Thief of Bagdad, starring Denver native Douglas Fairbanks

• Head- lines: KOA-AM signs on the air. KKK member Clarence Morley elected governor.

1966

• Colorado population: 2 million

• Governor: John Love

• President: Lyndon B. Johnson

• On the AM radio: I'm a Believer, by The Monkees

• On the color TV: Star Trek, Batman

• At the movies: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

• Headlines: Headquarters of the NORAD combat operations center is activated 1,200 feet below ground at Colorado Springs' Cheyenne Mountain.

1982

• Colorado population: 3 million

• Governor: Richard Lamm

• President: Ronald Reagan

• On the FM radio: I Love Rock and Roll, by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

• On the remote-controlled TV: Mork and Mindy, set in Boulder, signs off after four years. Dynasty, set in Denver, begins its rise.

• At the movies: E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial

• Headlines: Exxon stops oil-shale development on the Western Slope, signaling the state's energy bust; within six years, half of Denver's 28,000 oil jobs are gone. Construction on downtown's "cash register" building begins. Christmas Eve blizzard's 2- to 3-foot dumping shuts down the metro area.

1999

• Colorado population: 4 million

• Governor: Roy Romer

• President: Bill Clinton

• On satellite radio: Smooth, by Santana and Rob Thomas

• On pay- cable TV: The Sopranos makes its debut

• At the movies, on DVD: The Sixth Sense

• Headlines: Two teen gunmen kill 12 fellow students, a teacher and themselves at Columbine High School. John Elway and the Denver Broncos win their second consecutive Super Bowl; Elway retires.

"Hey, what about this new building? That's amazing."

Celine Dion, to her audience at opening night of the $180 million Pepsi Center

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Colorado Demography Office, Colorado State Archives, Rocky Mountain News archives