2013 Event A 2-year old Mississippi girl born with HIV/AIDS is pronounced HIV negative after receiving treatment for the virus within 30 hours after her birth 2012 Event Severe weather hits the U.S. on Christmas Day; more than 30 tornadoes are reported in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana 2011 Event In efforts to save Baton Rouge and New Orleans from floods, the Morganza Spillway is opened on the Mississippi River, deliberately flooding 3,000 square miles of rural Louisiana 2011 Event Thousands of homes are ordered evacuated as the Spring 2011 Mississippi River Floods continue 2011 Event The U.S. Coast Guard responds to heavy flooding by closing a section of the Mississippi River near Caruthersville, Missouri 1998 Death Cary Middlecoff, professional golfer with what is currently known as the PGA Tour in the 1940s, University of Mississippi's first golf All-American 1939, dies in Memphis, Tennessee at age 77 1997 Event Mississippi becomes 1st state to settle tobacco suit 1995 Event Mississippi House of Representatives formally abolishes slavery and ratifies 13th Amendment 1988 Event Kristen Logan, 17, of Mississippi, crowned America's Junior Miss 1987 Event Kristi Addis, of Mississippi, crowned 5th Miss Teen USA 1987 Event BB King donates his 7,000 record collection to the University of Mississippi 1981 Birthday Britney Spears, born in McComb, Mississippi, singer, songwriter, dancer, entertainer, number one Billboard Hot 100 hit 'Baby One More Time' 1980 Birthday Cara Lewis, Miss Mississippi Teen USA, 1997 1979 Event Cheryl Prewitt of Mississippi, 22, crowned 52nd Miss America 1980 1979 Birthday Brandy Norwood, born in McComb, Mississippi, known as 'Brandy', singer, songwriter, appeared in film, 'Cinderella', Grammy-Award winning song, 'The Boy is Mine' 1977 Birthday Brandee Layne Loving, Miss Mississippi Teen USA 1996 1975 Birthday Arleen McDonald, Miss USA 1977, Mississippi 1973 Birthday Monica Louwerens, Greenville Mississippi, Miss America, Miss-Top 10-1996 1973 Birthday Kari Litton, born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Miss America, Mississippi-Top 10-1997 1973 Birthday Caroline Ramagos, Miss Mississippi USA, 1996 1972 Death Mississippi Fred McDowell, jazz artist, dies at 68 1972 Birthday Howard Battle, born in Biloxi, Mississippi, infielder for the Philadelphia Phillies 1971 Event Series of tornadoes cuts through Mississippi and Louisiana killing 117 1970 Event Mississippi Highway Patrol kills 2 at Jackson State College 1969 Birthday Beth Howell, born in Clinton, Mississippi, Miss Mississippi-America, 1991 1968 Birthday Jeff Barlow, born in Jackson, Mississippi, Nike golfer, 1994 NIKE Carolina Classic-5th 1967 Birthday Faith Hill, born in Ridgeland, Mississippi, singer, country music, sold 40 million records, hits include, 'This Kiss', appeared in 'The Stepford Wives', married to Tim McGraw 1967 Birthday Ruthie Bolton, McClain Mississippi, basketball guard, 1996 Olympics gold 1967 Birthday Jeff Branson, Waynesboro Mississippi, infielder for the Cincinnati Reds 1966 Event U.S. performs underground nuclear test at Hattiesburg, Mississippi 1966 Death Mississippi John Hurt, rocker, dies at 73 1966 Event Activist James Meredith wounded by white sniper in Mississippi 1966 Event Twister hits Jackson, Mississippi; 3 minutes after 1st sighting, 57 die 1966 Event -19 degrees F (-28 degrees C), Corinth, Mississippi (state record) 1965 Birthday Glen Hnatiuk, Selkirk Manitoba, Nike golfer, 1992 Mississippi Gulf 1964 Event Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James E Chaney, bodies discovered in an earthen Mississippi dam 1963 Event James Meredith becomes 1st black graduate from University of Mississippi 1963 Birthday [Michael] Tony Dees, Pascagoula, Mississippi, hurdler 1963 Birthday Todd Graves, born in Laurel, Mississippi, skeet, Olympics 1992, 1996 1962 Event James Meredith became 1st black at University of Mississippi 1962 Event John F. Kennedy routes 3,000 federal troops to Mississippi 1962 Event James Meredith registers for classes at University of Mississippi 1962 Event John F. Kennedy authorized use of federal troops to integrate University of Mississippi 1961 Event James Meredith refused access as a student in Mississippi 1961 Event 27 Freedom Riders arrested in Jackson, Mississippi 1960 Birthday Curt Ford, born in Jackson, Mississippi, professional baseball player, played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball teams 1960 Birthday Alice Regina Brown, born in Jackson, Mississippi, 4X100 runner, Gold Medals 1984, 1988 Olympics 1960 Birthday Barry Lyons, born in Biloxi, Mississippi, Barry Stephen Lyons, baseball player, catcher, played for Major League Baseball teams, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, served as backup catcher to Gary Carter, named Most Valuable Player, South Atlantic League, 1984 1959 Birthday Missy Cleveland, Jackson, Mississippi, playmate, April, 1979 1958 Birthday Larry Smith, born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, professional basketball player, coach, played forward/center for Alcorn State University, played for NBA's Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, credited as best rebounder in the 1980's, coached Anaheim Arsenal 1957 Birthday Chico Walker, born in Jackson, Mississippi, professional baseball player, second base, played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, California Angels, New York Mets 1957 Birthday Park Overall, born in Tennessee, actress, Laverne-Empty Nest, Mississippi Burning 1956 Birthday Sela Ward, born in Meridian, Mississippi, actress, Hilary-Emerald Point NAS, Sisters 1956 Birthday Eric Roberts, born in Mississippi, actor, Pope of Greenwich Village, King of Gypsies 1955 Birthday Steve Forbert, born in Meridian, Mississippi, singer, songwriter, wrote 1980 hit 'Romeo's Tune', compared to Bob Dylan 1955 Birthday Cassandra Wilson, born in Jackson, Mississippi, jazz singer, guitar player, jazz and blues genres, album 'New Moon Daughter' won Grammy Award 1955 Birthday Yolanda King, actress, Fluke, Ghosts of Mississippi 1955 Birthday Willem Dafoe, born in Wisconsin, actor, Platoon, Roadhouse 66, Mississippi Burning 1955 Birthday Cary Middlecoff, born in Halls, Tennessee, professional golfer with what is currently known as the PGA Tour in the 1940s, University of Mississippi's first golf All-American 1939 1955 Birthday Paul Overstreet, born in Van Cleave, Mississippi, country singer, Daddy's Come Around 1955 Birthday Lusia Mae Harris, born in Minter City, Mississippi, basketball player, Silver Medal 1976 Olympics 1954 Birthday Oprah Winfrey, born in Mississippi, actress/TV host, Color Purple, Oprah 1953 Birthday Mike Espy, born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, Representative-D-Mississippi 1987 - 1993 1953 Birthday Ralph Ezell, born in Unio,n Mississippi, singer, Shenandoah-Sunday in the South 1953 Birthday Alexander O'Neal, born in Natchez, Mississippi, singer, rhythm and blues genre, successful songs include 'Saturday Love', Never Knew Love Like This' and 'Fake' 1952 Birthday Stan Shaw, born in Chicago, Illinois, actor, Mississippi, Roots Next Generation 1952 Birthday Beth Henley, Jackson, Mississippi, actress/playwright, Miss Firecracker 1952 Event F Durrenmatt's "Die Ehe des Herrn Mississippi," premieres in Munich 1952 Event Tornadoes in Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Kentucky cause 343 deaths 1951 Birthday Jimi Jamison, born in Mississippi, songwriter, vocalist, member and lead singer for rock band, Survivor, 1984 - 1989 and 2000 - 2006 1951 Event 100,000 acres flooded from Mississippi River in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois 1951 Event Mississippi Valley State University founded 1951 Birthday Dick Mast, born in Bluffton, Ohio, Nike golfer, 1990 Mississippi Gulf Coast 1949 Birthday Mike Parker, born in Laurel, Mississippi, Representative-D-Mississippi 1989 - 1999 1949 Birthday Spencer Haywood, born in Silver City, Mississippi, NBAer, Knicks, Gold Medal 1968 Olympics 1948 Birthday Chris LeDoux, Biloxi Mississippi, country singer, Ridin' for a Fall 1948 Birthday Gerald McRaney, born in Collins, Mississippi, actor, Rick-Simon and Simon, Major Dad 1947 Birthday Gerald McRaney, Collins Mississippi, actor, Simon and Simon, Major Dad 1947 Birthday Barbara Ann Ferrell Edmondson, born in Mississippi, 4x100m runner, Gold Medal 1968 Olympics 1947 Event Mississippi Valley flooding kills 16 and causes $850M in damage 1947 Birthday Eddie Hodges, born in Mississippi, actor/singer, High Hopes, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1947 Event 1st commercial TV station west of Mississippi opens, Hollywood CA 1946 Birthday Jimmy Buffett, born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, vocalist, Margaritaville 1946 Birthday Alfred Jones, born in Grace, Mississippi, middleweight boxer 1968 Olympics bronze 1946 Birthday Jessi B. Wilson, Mississippi, murderer, FBI Most Wanted List 1945 Birthday Hattie Winston, born in Greenville, Mississippi, actress on Nurse, Electric Company 1944 Birthday Bobbie Gentry, Mississippi, singer and songwriter, Ode to Billy Joe 1944 Birthday Johnny Winter, John Dawson, Leland Mississippi, guitarist, Silver Train 1942 Birthday Linda G Miller, born in New York City, actress, Night of the Juggler, Mississippi 1942 Event Nazi U-boat sinks American cargo ship at mouth of Mississippi River 1941 Birthday Trent Lott, born in Grenada, Mississippi, Representative-R-Mississippi 1973 - 2007 1941 Birthday Quincey Daniels, born in Biloxi, Mississippi, boxer 1960 Olympics bronze 1941 Birthday David Ruffin, Mississippi, vocalist, Temptations-Papa Was a Rolling Stone 1940 Event John Sigmund begins swimming for 89 hours 46 minutes in the Mississippi River 1940 Birthday Mary Mills, born in Laurel, Mississippi, professional golfer, member, LPGA Tour, won 9 LPGA Tour victories 1939 Birthday Jerry Butler, Sunflower Mississippi, rock vocalist, Never Give You Up 1939 Birthday Ralph Boston, Laurel, Mississippi, long jumper, Olympic-gold/sil/brz-60, 64, 68 1938 Birthday Charley Pride, born in Sledge, Mississippi, country singer, Sweet Country 1938 Birthday Jack Knight, Somerville Mississippi, actor, Mr Shamley-James at 15 1937 Birthday Thad Cochran, born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Senator-R-Mississippi 1978 1937 Birthday Richard H. Truly, born in Fayette, Mississippi, Rear Admiral USN astronaut, STS-T-2, T-4, 2, 8 1936 Birthday Stella Stevens, born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, actress, Girls! Girls!, Manitou 1936 Birthday Jim Henson, born in Greenville, Mississippi, muppeteer, Sesame Street, Muppet Show 1936 Event Tupelo Mississippi virtually annihilated by a tornado, 216 die 1935 Birthday Elvis Presley, born in Tupelo, Mississippi, singer, Blue Suede Shoes, Hounddog 1933 Birthday Fred W. Haise, Jr., Biloxi Mississippi, astronaut, Apollo 13 STS-T-1, T-3, T-5 1933 Birthday Donald Herod Peterson, Winona Mississippi, Col USAF/astronaut, STS-6 1933 Birthday Conway Twitty, born in Mississippi, country singer, Hello Darlin' 1933 Birthday Unita Blackwell, 1st black mayor in Mississippi 1933 Birthday Lee Calhoun, Laurel Mississippi, hurdler, Olympics gold 56, 60 1932 Birthday Diane Ladd, Meridian Mississippi, actress, Wild Angels, Wild at Heart 1931 Birthday Ike Turner, born in Mississippi, American musician, bandleader, record producer, talent scout, Grammy Award winner 1931 Birthday James Earl Jones, Mississippi, actor, Darth Vader, Exorcist II, Soul Man 1930 Event Fred P Newton completes longest swim ever (1826 miles), when he swam in the Mississippi River from Ford Dam, Minn, to New Orleans 1930 Event 115 degrees F (46 degrees C), Holly Springs, Mississippi (state record) 1928 Birthday Bo Diddley, born in Mississippi, acclaimed as a founder of American rock and roll, singer, guitarist, songwriter 1927 Birthday Mose Allison, Tippo Mississippi, jazz artist, Black Country Suite 1927 Birthday Leontyne Mary Violet Price, Laurel Mississippi, opera soprano, Porgy and Bess 1926 Birthday Jerry Clower, Amite County Mississippi, country comedian, Nashville on Road 1926 Birthday Beah Richards, born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, actress/playwright, Big Shot, Generation 1925 Birthday B[lues] B[oy] King, Itta Bena Mississippi, blues singer, Thrill is Gone 1925 Birthday Jimmy Reed, born in Mississippi, blues singer, Soulin', Big Boss Man 1923 Birthday Albert King, born in Mississippi, blues singer/guitarist, Bad Look Blues 1922 Birthday Phil Gordon, Meridian Mississippi, singer and actor, Jasper-Bev Hillbillies 1921 Event Oldest radio station west of Mississippi River licensed in Greeley Co 1920 Birthday Gillespie V. Montgomery, born in Meridian, Mississippi, Representative-D-Mississippi 1967 - 1997 1920 Event Tornadoes kill 219 in Alabama and Mississippi 1920 Event Tornadoes killed 219 people in Alabama and Mississippi 1918 Birthday Gerald Wilson, Shelby Mississippi, orchestra leader, Redd Foxx 1918 Event Mississippi becomes 1st state to ratify 18th amendment (prohibition) 1917 Birthday John Lee Hooker, born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, blues guitarist, Canned Heat 1917 Birthday Shakey, Walter Horton, Mississippi, harmonicist, Everybody's Fishin' 1917 Birthday Rufus Thomas, born in Mississippi, singer, Walking the Dog 1916 Birthday Winson Hudson, community activist, rural Mississippi 1915 Event Hurricane claims 275 in Mississippi Delta 1915 Birthday Willie Dixon, born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, bassist, Walkin' the Blues 1914 Birthday Eddie Boyd, blues vocal/pianist, Mississippi 1914 Birthday Dovie Hudson, community activist in rural Mississippi 1911 Birthday Tennessee Williams, born in Columbus, Mississippi, playwright, 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' 1910 Birthday Lehman Engel, Jackson, Mississippi, conductor/comp, Streetcar Named Desire 1910 Birthday Jamie L. Whitten, born in Cascilla, Mississippi, Representative-D-Mississippi 1941 - 1995 1909 Birthday Cleo Brown, born in Mississippi, pianist, vocalist, stage name Cleo Patra Brown, performed on National Public Radio, stride piano playing was compared to Fats Waller 1909 Birthday Bukka White, born in Houston, Mississippi, Booker T. Washington White, gave cousin B.B. King his first guitar, celebrated as National steel guitarist, wrote "Parchman Farm Blues" 1909 Birthday Eudora Welty, born in Jackson, Mississippi, novelist, Optimist's Daughter-Pulitzer 1973 1909 Birthday Dana Andrews, Collins Mississippi, actor, Battle of the Bulge, Laura 1908 Birthday Walter L "Red" Barber, Mississippi, sports announcer, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees 1906 Birthday Edward Lansing Gordon, Jr., Jackson, Mississippi, long jumper, Olympics gold 32 1905 Birthday Frederick O'Neal, Brooksville Mississippi, actor, Car 54 Where Are You 1904 Birthday James Eastland, born in Doddsville, Mississippi, Senator-D-Mississippi 1941 - 1941 and 1943 - 1978 1904 Birthday Mississippi Fred McDowell, jazz artist 1901 Birthday John C. Stennis, born in Mississippi, Senator-D-Mississippi, 1947 - 1989 1901 Birthday John C. Stennis, born in Mississippi, Senator-D-Mississippi 1947 - 1989 1897 Birthday William Faulkner, Mississippi, author, Sound and Fury-Nobel 1949 1897 Birthday Jimmie Rodgers, Mendoza Mississippi, country singer/singing brakeman 1895 Birthday William Grant Still, Woodville Mississippi, composer, Afro-American 1893 Event 3rd worst hurricane in U.S. history kills 1,800 (Mississippi) 1893 Birthday Mississippi John Hurt, rocker 1893 Birthday "Big Bill" Broonzy, born in Mississippi, blues singer/guitarist, Blues by Broonzy 1892 Birthday Roscoe Ates, Grange Mississippi, actor, Dep Roscoe-Marshal of Gunsight Pass 1892 Birthday Dumas Malone, Mississippi, historian, Jefferson and His Time 1886 Event Carrollton Massacre, (Mississippi) 20 blacks killed 1884 Event Mississippi establishes 1st U.S. state college for women 1884 Event Tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana kill 800 people 1883 Event John Gordon Cashmans begins "Vicksburg Evening Post" in Mississippi 1880 Birthday Mahlon Hamilton, born in Virginia, actor, Honky Tonk, High School Girl, Mississippi 1875 Event President Grant sends federal troops to Vicksburg, Mississippi 1870 Birthday John Lomax, Mississippi, folk song collector/ethnomusicologist 1870 Event Mississippi is readmitted to U.S. 1870 Event Mississippi becomes 9th state readmitted to U.S. after Civil War 1868 Event Memorial Day 1st observed when 2 women in Columbus Mississippi placed flowers on both Confederate and Union graves 1868 Event Mississippi constitutional convention meets in Jackson 1866 Event President Johnson ends war in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia 1865 Event Battle of Grand Gulf, Mississippi 1865 Event Steamboat "Sultana" explodes in Mississippi River, kills up to 1,547. 1450 of 2000 paroled Union POWs on their way home are killed when river steamer "Sultana" blows up 1864 Event Battle of Smith's Expedition, Mississippi (Tupelo, Harrisburg) 1864 Event 2nd/last day of Battle of Okolona, Mississippi 1864 Event Battle at Okolona, Mississippi 1864 Event Miridian Campaign fighting at Chunky Creek and Wyatt, Mississippi 1864 Event Federals occupy Jackson, Mississippi 1864 Event Skirmish at Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi 1864 Event Sherman's march through Mississippi 1863 Event Skirmish at Danville, Mississippi 1863 Event Battle of Jackson, Mississippi and Battle of Birdsong Ferry, Mississippi 1863 Event Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Union forces 1863 Event Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi 1863 Event Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi 1863 Event Battle of Jackson, Mississippi 1863 Event Battle of Raymond, Mississippi 1863 Event Battle of Tupelo, Mississippi 1863 Event Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi 1863 Event Skirmish at Okolona/Birmingham, Mississippi (Grierson's Raid) 1862 Event Armies of Mississippi/Kentucky merge as Army of Tennessee 1862 Event Battle of Corinth, Mississippi 1862 Event Battle at Iuka Mississippi (1,700 casualties) 1862 Event Battle at Booneville Mississippi: Confederate superior power driven out 1862 Event Battle of Booneville, Mississippi - captured General Beauregard evacuates Corinth 1862 Event Battle of Farmington, Mississippi 1862 Event 100,000 federal troops prepare to march into Corinth, Mississippi 1862 Event Civil War action at Island #10 on Mississippi River 1862 Event Ulysses S. Grant begins military campaign in Mississippi 1861 Event Confederate ironclad Manassas attack Union's Richmond on Mississippi 1861 Event Confederate constitutional convention meets for 1st time in Montgomery, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina elect Jefferson Davis President of Confederacy 1861 Event Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and 4 other southern senators resign 1861 Event U.S. forts and property seized by Mississippi 1861 Event Mississippi becomes 2nd state to secede 1855 Event 1st train crosses Mississippi River's 1st bridge, Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport Iowa 1842 Event Natchex Mississippi, hit by tornado; about 500 die 1837 Event "Sherrod" burns in Mississippi River below Natchez Miss; 175 dies 1834 Event 1st published reference to poker (as Mississippi riverboat game) 1832 Event Source of Mississippi River discovered, Henry R. Schoolcraft 1823 Event 1st steamboat to navigate the Mississippi River arrives at Ft. Snelling 1817 Event Mississippi admitted as 20th state 1817 Event 1st Mississippi "Showboat," leaves Nashville on maiden voyage 1817 Event Mississippi River steamboat service begins 1817 Event Mississippi Territory is divided into Alabama Territory and Mississippi 1811 Event Earthquake in Missouri caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards 1804 Event Congress orders removal of Indians east of Mississippi to Louisiana 1798 Event Mississippi Territory organized 1795 Event Treaty of San Lorenzo, provides free navigation of Mississippi 1795 Event Pinckney's Treaty between Spain and U.S. is signed, establishing southern boundary of U.S. and giving Americans right to send goods down Mississippi 1770 Event Blanche Kelso Bruce sworn in as a U.S. Senator (Mississippi) 1682 Event Robert La Salle claims lower Mississippi (Louisiana) for France 1673 Event Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring Mississippi 1542 Death Hernando de Soto, dies while searching for gold, near Mississippi R 1541 Event Hernando de Soto discovers Mississippi River 1541 Event Hernan de Soto observes 1st recorded flood in America (Mississippi R)
