1. In 1920, the first radio station in Mississippi was licensed in Meridian. The station, known as WTOK, was initially established as a means of broadcasting weather and crop reports to area farmers.

2. On August 18, 1961, James Meredith became the first African American to enroll at the University of Mississippi. His admittance sparked protests and riots, culminating in the deployment of federal troops to the campus to quell the violence.

3. In 1890, L.Q.C. Lamar, a former congressman and senator from Mississippi, was appointed to the United States Supreme Court. Lamar served on the Court until his death in 1893.

4. On August 18, 1958, a violent tornado struck the town of Ruleville, Mississippi, killing 13 people and injuring dozens more. The storm was one of the deadliest in the state's history.

5. In 1907, the first international air mail flight in the United States took off from Jackson, Mississippi. The flight carried mail from Jackson to New Orleans, Louisiana, and was piloted by a young aviator named Fredrick Wiseman.