1. On August 8, 1899, the Mississippi State Society Daughters of the American Revolution was organized in Jackson. The organization has since worked to promote the principles of patriotism and preservation of American history.
2. In 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy, was brutally murdered in Money, Mississippi. August 8 marks the day when his body was discovered in the Tallahatchie River. Till's death became a flashpoint in the Civil Rights Movement.
3. On August 8, 1966, Charles Evers was elected as the mayor of Fayette, Mississippi. He became the first African American mayor in the state since Reconstruction.
4. In 1986, Republican Senator Thad Cochran won re-election in Mississippi, becoming the first Republican senator from the state since Reconstruction. Cochran served in the Senate until 2018.
5. August 8, 2019 marked the 150th anniversary of the Mississippi State Capitol building. The building, which is located in Jackson, was completed in 1903 and is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the state.