1. The Mississippi Tallahatchie Bridge Incident: On August 23, 1955, black teenager Emmett Till was brutally lynched in Mississippi after allegedly whistling at a white woman. This event sparked national outrage and helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement.

2. Hurricane Camille Strikes the Gulf Coast: In 1969, Hurricane Camille made landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, causing widespread destruction and killing over 250 people. It remains one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the United States.

3. Mississippi Ratifies the 19th Amendment: On August 23, 1920, Mississippi became the final state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, which granted women the right to vote.

4. Elvis Presley's Mississippi Roots: The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. August 23 marks the anniversary of his death in 1977 at his home in Memphis, Tennessee.

5. First African American Judge in Mississippi: On August 23, 1874, Jonathan Jasper Wright was appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court of Mississippi, becoming the first African American to hold such a position in the state. Wright was a prominent figure in the Reconstruction era and a staunch advocate for civil rights.