1. In 1865, the Civil War officially ended for Alabamians when Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union forces in Georgia.

2. In 1933, the famous "Scottsboro Boys" trials began in Scottsboro, Alabama. Nine black teenagers were falsely accused and convicted of raping two white women on a train. The case became a symbol of racial discrimination and injustice in the United States.

3. On May 9, 1961, Freedom Riders arrived in Birmingham, Alabama to test the Supreme Court's decision banning segregation on interstate buses. The riders were met with violent resistance from white mobs and arrested by police, sparking national attention and furthering the Civil Rights Movement.

4. The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo was founded on May 9, 1989 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The zoo is home to over 300 animals and has become a popular tourist destination for families visiting the Gulf Coast.

5. In 2017, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey became the second woman to hold the office of Governor in the state's history. She succeeded Robert Bentley, who had resigned amidst a scandal involving an alleged affair with a staff member.