The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864 was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fleet led by Admiral Franklin Buchanan and three forts that guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay.
Alabama introduced the Mardi Gras to the western world. The celebration takes place on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent.
Alabama workers built the first rocket to bring people to the moon.
The world's first electric trolley system was introduced in 1886 in Montgomery.
Alabama is the only state with all the important natural resources needed for the production of iron and steel. It is also the largest supplier of cast iron and tubular steel products.
Montgomery is the capital and birthplace of the Confederate States of America.
The Confederate flag was designed and first flown in 1861 in Alabama.
Alabama became the 22nd state on 14th December 1819.
The city of Enterprise houses the Boll Weevil Memorial to honor the role that destructive insect played in encouraging farmers to grow crops other than cotton.
Baseball player Henry Louis (Hank) Aaron was born in Mobile in 1934.
Boxer Joe Louis was born in 1914 in Lexington. He died in 1981.
"Alabama" is the official state song.
Baseball player Willie Howard Mays was born in 1931 in Westfield.
A skeleton of a prehistoric man was found in Russell Cave.
At 2,405 feet, Cheaha Mountain is Alabama's highest point above sea level.
Huntsville is known as the rocket capital of the world.
The Alabama Department of Archives is the nation's oldest state-funded archive agency.
The musical vocal group Alabama has a fan club and a museum in Fort Payne.
In 1902, Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill performed the first open heart surgery in the Western Hemisphere by stitching a puncture wound in the heart of a young boy. The operation occurred in Montgomery.
In order to finance education, Alabama introduced its state sales tax in 1937.
Mobile-based schools include the Washington Academy (founded in 1811) and the Huntsville Green Academy (founded in 1812).
Between 1817 and 1819 Old Saint Stephens was the first territorial capital of Alabama.
In 1956, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency was founded in Huntsville Redstone Arsenal.
Governor George C. Wallace served four terms in office.
In 1995, Heather Whitestone served as the first Miss America with a disability elected.
The geographic center of Alabama is located in Chilton, a community 20 miles southwest of Clanton.
The word Alabama means tribal city in the Creek Indian language.
The United States Army's Chemical Corps Museum at Fort McClellan contains over 4,000 chemical warfare artifacts.
Hitler's typewriter survived its retreat from the mountain and is exhibited in the Hall of History in Bessemer.
Blount County was founded on February 7, 1818 and is older than the state.
Winston County is often referred to as the Free State of Winston. It got the name during the Civil War.
Mobile is named after the Mauvilla Indians.
Peter Bryce is considered the first psychiatrist of the state. He was born in 1834 and died in 1892.
The Alabama State Flag was approved on 16 February 1895 by the Legislature of Alabama.
Hematite is Alabama's official state mineral and is known as iron oxide (Fe2O3).
The monarch butterfly (Danaus pleipuss) is the official insect of the state.
The blue star quartz is the official jewel of the state.
The Florence Renaissance Faire is the official fair of Alabama.
The pecan is the official nut of Alabama.
Alabama people are called Alabamians.
On January 11, 1861, Alabama becomes the fourth state to secede from the Union.
On January 28, 1846 Montgomery was selected as the capital of Alabama.
Tallulah Bankhead was celebrated in the 1930s and 1950s as a stage, screen and radio star. She was born in Huntsville in 1902 and died in 1968.
Singer and entertainer Nathaniel Adams (Nat King) Cole was known as the man with the velvet voice. He was born in Montgomery in 1919 and died in 1965.
Alabama-based Sequoyah developed the phonetic, written alphabet of the Cherokee language.
The airport of Birmingham was opened in 1931. At the time of opening, a flight from Birmingham to Los Angeles took 19 hours.
Alabamas mean height is 500 feet at its lowest point.
Audemus jura nostra defensive is the official state motto. Translated it means "we dare to defend our rights".
Washington County is the oldest county in Alabama.
General Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Indians in 1814. Subsequent to the event, the Native Americans handed over nearly half of today's territory to the United States.
At the Battle of Mobile Bay, Admiral David Farragut gave his famous command: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead." The event occurred on August 5, 1864.
Alabama Fast Facts & TriviaGene Wright . Alabama Fast Facts & Trivia
