1. Mississippi became the 20th state to join the United States on August 15, 1817. The Constitution of Mississippi was adopted on that same day, establishing the framework for the state government.

2. In 1969, the Woodstock music festival took place in upstate New York from August 15-18. Several Mississippi artists performed at the festival, including Jimi Hendrix, who famously played a version of the national anthem on his guitar.

3. On August 15, 1966, The Beatles played a concert at Memphis' Mid-South Coliseum. The concert was not well-attended, as many fans in the South were still upset over John Lennon's remark earlier that year that The Beatles were "bigger than Jesus."

4. In 1956, Emmett Till was murdered in Money, Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman. His death galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and is remembered as a pivotal moment in the struggle for racial equality.

5. August 15 is celebrated as Ghandi Day in Mississippi, in honor of Mahatma Ghandi's nonviolent resistance to British rule in India. The day is marked by cultural events and public lectures on the principles of nonviolence and peaceful conflict resolution.