1. On February 15, 1895, the first building of the Mississippi Normal College, now known as the University of Southern Mississippi, was completed in Hattiesburg. The school's mission was to provide teacher education and it has since grown to become a comprehensive research institution.

2. On this day in 1930, John Roy Lynch, a prominent figure in Reconstruction-era Mississippi politics, passed away in Chicago. Lynch was born into slavery and later became a state representative, state senator, and even served as the temporary presiding officer of the U.S. House of Representatives.

3. Delta blues musician Robert Johnson recorded some of his most influential songs on February 15, 1937, in a studio in San Antonio, Texas. These recordings would go on to influence countless musicians in the decades that followed.

4. On February 15, 1961, the first Freedom Ride bus left Washington D.C. bound for New Orleans. The riders, black and white, faced violence and arrest as they challenged segregation on interstate buses and at bus terminals in the South including in Mississippi.

5. Civil rights leader Medgar Evers was born on February 15, 1925, in Decatur, Mississippi. Evers played a significant role in the desegregation of the University of Mississippi and worked towards voting rights for African Americans. He was assassinated in his driveway in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963. Today, the Medgar Evers Home Museum is located in Jackson to honor his legacy.