1. On January 17, 1861, Mississippi declared its secession from the United States of America. This was one of the pivotal events leading up to the Civil War.

2. On January 17, 1929, the Mississippi Legislature ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This vote made Mississippi the last state to officially ratify the amendment, which had been passed by Congress in 1919.

3. Mississippi native and civil rights activist Medgar Evers was born on January 17, 1925. Evers played a key role in the desegregation of the University of Mississippi and the Mississippi Freedom Summer. He was assassinated in 1963 and is remembered as a hero in Mississippi and across the country.

4. The infamous Ku Klux Klan leader Sam Bowers was indicted for murder on January 17, 1998. Bowers was convicted of several Klan-related murders and was known for his violent tactics in opposing the civil rights movement.

5. On January 17, 1991, an airplane carrying eight Mississippi Air National Guardsmen crashed during Operation Desert Storm. All eight crew members were killed in the crash, making it one of the deadliest events for Mississippi soldiers in modern history.