1. In 1864, during the Civil War, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked the Union garrison at Athens in McMinn County, Tennessee. This battle became known as the Battle of Athens and resulted in a Union victory.

2. In 1899, the Tennessee State Fair, which had been held in various locations throughout the state since 1869, opened at its new permanent home in Nashville. The fairgrounds were a gift from the city of Nashville to the state of Tennessee.

3. In 1937, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) took over the operation of the Norris Dam in East Tennessee. The dam was the first major project undertaken by the TVA and provided flood control, hydroelectric power, and recreational opportunities for the region.

4. In 1968, the Memphis sanitation workers strike began. The strike, which was sparked by the deaths of two workers due to unsafe working conditions, lasted for more than two months and gained national attention when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Memphis to support the strikers. King was assassinated in Memphis in April of that year.

5. In 2002, the Tennessee Titans football team defeated the Buffalo Bills 38-30 in a game played in Nashville. The victory was the Titans' fifth consecutive win of the season and helped the team reach the playoffs for the third time in four years.