1. In 1964, the bodies of three civil rights workers were found in Philadelphia, Mississippi, on June 26. James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner had been working to register African American voters in the state as part of the Freedom Summer project. They were abducted and murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan.

2. On June 26, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and read General Order No. 3, which informed enslaved African Americans in the state that they were free. This announcement, known as Juneteenth, has become a significant holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.

3. In 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized in Mississippi on June 26, following the landmark Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges. Mississippi was one of the last states to legalize same-sex marriage, and the decision was met with controversy and protests.

4. On June 26, 1924, the governor of Mississippi signed the "Mississippi Baptist Convention and Board of Missions vs. Cox" statute. This law made it illegal to teach evolution in public schools in the state, and led to the famous Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee the following year.

5. In 1972, the state of Mississippi celebrated its bicentennial on June 26. The event marked 200 years since the state was admitted to the union as the 20th state in 1817. Festivities included parades, speeches, and special ceremonies throughout the state.