Mississippi Trivia & Tidbits - Page 10

Looking for Mississippi trivia? Try our list Mississippi little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

In 1894, Joseph Biedenharn of Vicksburg (pop. 26,407) bottled the fountain drink Coca-Cola and delivered the glass bottles with iron stoppers to rural areas. The first bottling site today operates as a museum.

first appeared: 9/21/2003

In 1937, Claire Pittman became the first female letter winner at the University of Mississippi at Oxford (pop. 11,756) for points earned in tennis, swimming, volleyball, and basketball.

first appeared: 9/14/2003

Monthly stargazing parties are held in French Camp (pop. 393) at Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium, the state’s largest observatory.

first appeared: 9/7/2003

Tom Edwards of Toomsuba holds the state record for largest channel catfish—51 pounds, 12 ounces—hooked in 1997 at Lake Tom Bailey near Meridian (pop. 39,968).

first appeared: 8/31/2003

In 1878, yellow fever swept through Grenada (pop. 14,879) and claimed 367 lives. Victims are buried in Yellow Fever Cemetery.

first appeared: 8/24/2003

Founded in 1884, Mississippi University for Women in Columbus (pop. 25,944) was the nation’s first public college for women. In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the college to admit a male student.

first appeared: 8/17/2003

Founded in 1826, Mississippi College in Clinton (pop. 23,347) is the state’s oldest college.

first appeared: 8/10/2003

The B.S. Ricks Memorial Library in Yazoo City (pop. 14,550) was built in 1900 with a $20,000 gift from the resident’s widow. It also is the state’s first library funded entirely by a memorial donation.

first appeared: 8/3/2003

Legendary bluesman B.B. King, born Riley B. King in 1925 near Indianola (pop. 12,066), performs at a homecoming there each June.

first appeared: 7/27/2003

In 1958, Mary Ann Mobley of Brandon (pop. 16,436) became the first Miss Mississippi to be crowned Miss America. She crowned the 1960 Miss America—Miss Mississippi Lynda Lee Mead of Natchez (pop. 18,464).

first appeared: 7/20/2003

Composer William Grant Still, born in 1895 in Woodville (pop. 1,192), was the first African-American to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra. The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra performed his 1931 Afro-American Symphony.

first appeared: 7/13/2003

In 1899, John Lindsey patented an eight-wheeled wagon for hauling felled timber. The Lindsey Wagon Co. of Laurel (pop. 18,393) soon became the state’s largest manufacturer.

first appeared: 7/6/2003

With 148 miles of shoreline and 36,000 acres, Grenada Lake near Grenada (pop. 14,879) is the state’s largest body of water.

first appeared: 6/29/2003

Corinth (pop. 14,054) National Cemetery is the final resting place of 3,895 unknown Civil War soldiers, representing 273 regiments from 15 states.

first appeared: 6/22/2003

Three-time Grammy winner Marty Stuart was born in 1958 in Philadelphia (pop. 7,303), performed bluegrass with Lester Flatt at age 13, and hit the Top 10 in 1990 with Hillbilly Rock.

first appeared: 6/15/2003

West Point (pop. 12,145) received the gift of a windmill in 1992 from its namesake—West Point, Neb. (pop. 3,660).

first appeared: 6/8/2003

In 1896, Margaret Murray Washington founded the National Association of Colored Women. The educator was born in 1865 in Macon (pop. 2,461).

first appeared: 6/1/2003

Delta Gamma, an international sorority, was founded in 1873 at the Lewis School for Girls in Oxford (pop. 11,756).

first appeared: 5/25/2003

Flamboyant aviator Roscoe Turner won the nation’s air speed contest, the Thompson Trophy Race, in 1934, 1938, and 1939, but also is remembered for his copilot, a pet lion named Gilmore. Turner was born in 1895 in Corinth (pop. 14,054).

first appeared: 5/18/2003

Nicknamed the “Grandma Moses of Stitchery,” the late Ethel Wright Mohamed of Belzoni (pop. 2,663) embroidered more than 100 scenes from her life, including harp singing and country-store memories.

first appeared: 5/11/2003

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