1. In 1945, Mississippi native and University of Mississippi alumnus Percy Lavon Julian became the first African American chemist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. Julian was a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal compounds from plants, and his work helped lead to the production of synthetic cortisone and other important drugs.

2. On April 28, 1947, a devastating tornado outbreak struck Mississippi, killing 38 people and injuring hundreds more. The storms caused widespread damage across the state, and a total of 97 tornadoes were reported across the South during the two-day outbreak.

3. In 1954, the Mississippi state legislature passed the segregationist "Upholding Segregation Amendment," which declared that public schools should be segregated by race and that the state's existing segregation policies were constitutional. The amendment was later declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

4. On April 28, 1971, the Mississippi River reached its all-time high water mark at the Natchez gage, rising to a depth of 58.04 feet. The flood caused extensive damage to homes, businesses, and agricultural fields throughout the region.

5. Mississippi native Eudora Welty, one of America's most celebrated writers, was born on April 13, 1909. Over the course of her long literary career, Welty wrote numerous acclaimed works of fiction, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Optimist's Daughter." She was also a keen observer of Mississippi life and culture, and her writings are an invaluable record of the state's social and cultural history.