1. On September 3, 1957, Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent black students from attending Little Rock Central High School. This sparked a nationwide crisis over desegregation and civil rights.

2. The University of Alabama football team won its first season opener under head coach Nick Saban on September 3, 2007, beating Western Carolina 52-6. Saban has since led the team to five national championships.

3. Tuskegee native and civil rights leader Charles G. Gomillion was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously on September 3, 1999. Gomillion was instrumental in fighting against the discriminatory gerrymandering of Tuskegee's voting district in the 1960s.

4. On September 3, 1984, Alabama native and astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space. She was part of the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-41-G.

5. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra made its debut performance on September 3, 1921, at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham. The orchestra has since become a major cultural institution in the state, performing concerts and community outreach events throughout the year.