1. On December 13, 1817, Mississippi officially became the 20th state in the United States, joining the union as a slave state.

2. In 1862, during the Civil War, Confederate General Van Dorn led an attack on Union troops stationed in Holly Springs, Mississippi. The attack was successful, and resulted in the destruction of much of the Union army's supplies.

3. On December 13, 1944, Mississippi Senator James O. Eastland was elected to the United States Senate for the first time. Eastland would go on to serve in the Senate for over 30 years, rising to become one of the most powerful voices in the conservative wing of the Democratic Party.

4. In 1955, Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers and his wife Myrlie moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where they became involved in the struggle for civil rights. Evers was assassinated in 1963, but his legacy as a pioneer in the fight for racial equality lives on.

5. On December 13, 1964, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party held a state convention in Jackson, Mississippi. The convention was a historic moment for the Civil Rights Movement, as it represented the first time that black delegates were seated at a state convention in Mississippi.