1. On May 23, 1863, Confederate General John Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg, Mississippi to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the Siege of Vicksburg and giving the Union control of the Mississippi River.

2. On May 23, 1934, notorious bank robber and outlaw Bonnie Parker was arrested in a failed robbery attempt in Kaufman, Texas. Parker, a native of Rowena, Texas, was famously half of the bank-robbing duo Bonnie and Clyde.

3. On May 23, 1967, civil rights icon James Meredith began his "March Against Fear" from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi. The march was designed to bring attention to continuing racial discrimination and violence in Mississippi and ultimately led to increased voter registration and the formation of the Voter Education Project.

4. On May 23, 1977, the city of Tupelo, Mississippi hosted a concert to honor the memory of native son Elvis Presley, who had died the previous year. The concert, which featured performances by numerous musicians, including Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, drew a crowd of over 10,000.

5. On May 23, 1991, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned the conviction of civil rights activist Medgar Evers' killer, Byron De La Beckwith, citing prosecutorial misconduct. De La Beckwith was ultimately convicted in a new trial in 1994 and died in prison in 2001.