1. In 1943, the city of Mobile, Alabama was the site of a major shipyard strike that lasted for 100 days. The strike involved thousands of workers and resulted in significant disruptions to the war effort, as ships crucial to the Allied cause were delayed in their construction.

2. On April 7, 1862, the Battle of Shiloh began in southwestern Tennessee, just across the border from northern Alabama. The battle was one of the bloodiest of the Civil War, with both Union and Confederate forces suffering heavy casualties.

3. In 1964, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at a rally in Birmingham, Alabama urging the passage of the Civil Rights Act. The act, which was signed into law later that year, prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

4. On April 7, 1931, Alabama Governor Bibb Graves signed a law making it illegal to teach the theory of evolution in public schools. The law, known as the Butler Act, was later challenged in court and ultimately struck down in the landmark case of Scopes v. State.

5. The town of Tuskegee, located in central Alabama, is home to Tuskegee University, a historically black college that was founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington. The university has a rich history and is known for its strong programs in medicine, aviation, and engineering.