1. 1931 - Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) initiated its first power generation activities at Wilson Dam near Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and Muscle Shoals Dam in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

2. 1953 - Elvis Presley made his first public appearance at the Overton Park Shell in Memphis, Tennessee. His performance won him first prize in a local talent contest.

3. 1960 - The National Civil Rights Museum, located in Memphis, opened in the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

4. 1971 - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga established its first African American Studies program.

5. 2002 - The Tennessee Titans defeated the Oakland Raiders in a preseason game at the Coliseum in Oakland, California. It was the team's first game following the death of former Titans quarterback Steve McNair.