1. In 1863, the Battle of Chickamauga began in Georgia. Although this battle did not take place in Mississippi, it was significant for the state because it marked the beginning of the end for the Confederate army in the western theater of the American Civil War. Many of the soldiers who fought in this battle were from Mississippi.

2. In 1890, Mississippi adopted a new constitution that included several provisions aimed at disfranchising black voters. These included poll taxes, literacy tests, and strict residency requirements. The new constitution also established the state's first public-school system.

3. In 1934, the first high school for African American students opened in Jackson, Mississippi. The school was called Lanier High School and was named after Sidney Lanier, a poet and musician from Georgia who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War.

4. In 1960, a group of black students from Tougaloo College staged a sit-in at the Jackson Public Library. This was one of the first sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement and helped to galvanize support for the desegregation of public facilities in Mississippi and across the country.

5. In 2006, Hurricane Rita made landfall on the Louisiana coast and caused widespread damage across Mississippi. The storm caused extensive flooding and wind damage in many parts of the state, including the Gulf Coast region, which was still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina the previous year.