1. On February 23, 1945, Sergeant Cornelius H. Charlton, a native of East Gulf, Alabama, became the first African American to receive the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War for his extraordinary heroism in battle.

2. In 1954, a tornado outbreak that resulted in 22 deaths struck parts of Alabama on February 23, causing widespread damage and destruction.

3. On February 23, 1861, Alabama became the fourth state to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy, leading to the outbreak of the American Civil War.

4. The Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American pilots who served during World War II, were activated on February 23, 1942, at the Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama.

5. On February 23, 1965, civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson was fatally shot by an Alabama state trooper during a peaceful voting rights march in Marion, Alabama, leading to nationwide protests and the eventual passage of the Voting Rights Act.