1. In 1819, Alabama was admitted as the 22nd state in the United States. The state is named after a native American tribe that lived in the region.

2. In 1963, a major civil rights event occurred on September 18. Future Congressman John Lewis and other civil rights leaders were arrested during a protest outside of the whites-only Greyhound bus terminal in Montgomery.

3. On September 18, 1862, the Civil War battle of Iuka took place in northeastern Mississippi, which was an important area for Confederate supplies. Union General William Rosecrans was victorious, with the Confederacy losing over 500 soldiers.

4. In 1965, Governor George Wallace met with President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 18 to discuss voting rights for African Americans. Wallace, a staunch segregationist, had previously gained national attention for his “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” in 1963 to prevent the integration of the University of Alabama.

5. Alabama's first National Football League (NFL) team played its first regular season game on September 18, 1966. The team, the Alabama Hawks, was later renamed the Atlanta Falcons and currently plays in Georgia.