The term “Mississippi” is derived from the Anishinabe tribe of Native Americans and means “Father of Waters”.1)
Though not as well-known as the Mississippi River, the Missouri River in the United States is almost 100 miles longer.2)
Mississippi became the 20th state of the United States in 1817.3)
Alcorn State University, located in Claiborne County, Mississippi, is the country's first African American land-grant university.4)
Robert Parris Moses was a key organizer of the American civil rights movement in the 1960s, fostering student protests in Mississippi based on community organizing and mobilization concepts.5)
Poultry, soybeans, lumber, and cotton are Mississippi's top agricultural exports.6)
When the Ohio and Missouri River tributaries are counted as part of the Mississippi River, the river system becomes the world's third biggest.7)
Edward Barq created Barq's Root Beer in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1897.8)
In 1963, Dr. James D. Hardy of the University of Mississippi Medical Center performed the first successful human lung transplant.9)
Dr. James D. Hardy of the University of Mississippi transplanted a chimp heart into a human in 1964. The heart continued to beat for 90 minutes before stopping. The transplant generated heated controversy among doctors.10)
Mississippi has the world's longest man-made beach. From Biloxi to Henderson Point, the beach stretches over 26 kilometers.11)
In 1964, civil rights activists in Mississippi formed the “Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party” to compete with the Mississippi Democratic Party, which was solely open to white people.12)
Mississippi University for Women, established in 1884, was the country's first state-funded female institution.13)
Mississippi is home to the Eastern United States' sole petrified forest.14)
Jackson is the state capital of Mississippi.15)