1. On March 12, 1930, Dr. C.H. Byrd performed the first recorded appendectomy in Indianola, Mississippi. The patient was a 20-year-old woman who had been suffering from acute abdominal pain. The operation was successful, and the woman made a full recovery.

2. On March 12, 1965, James Meredith, the first African-American student to attend the University of Mississippi, led a march from Memphis to Jackson to protest against racism and segregation. The march was called the "March Against Fear" and lasted for almost three weeks. Meredith was shot and wounded on the second day of the march, but other civil rights leaders continued the march in his absence.

3. On March 12, 1967, Mississippi State defeated Tennessee Tech 124-87 in a college basketball game. The Bulldogs set a new record for the most points scored in a single game, a record that still stands today. The team was led by All-American guard Jeff Malone, who scored 53 points in the game.

4. On March 12, 1988, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a state holiday. Mississippi was the last state in the US to recognize the holiday, which had been established as a federal holiday in 1983.

5. On March 12, 2019, Mississippi became the first state in the US to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The law was immediately challenged by the Center for Reproductive Rights and a federal judge blocked it from going into effect. The case is currently being appealed.