Alabama Facts and Trivia

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Things Alabama is famous for:

  • Alabama introduced the Mardi Gras to the western world. The celebration is held on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins.
  • People from Alabama are called Alabamians. Find out the interesting facts about the famous people born in Alabama.
  • Alabama workers built the first rocket to put humans on the moon.
  • The world’s first Electric Trolley System was introduced in Montgomery in 1886.
  • Montgomery is the capital and the birthplace of the Confederate States of America.
  • The Confederate flag was designed and first flown in Alabama in 1861.
  • Alabama became the 22nd state on December 14, 1819.
  • Baseball player Henry Louis (Hank) Aaron was born in Mobile in 1934.
  • Boxer Joe Louis was born in Lexington in 1914. He died in 1981.
  • Baseball player Willie Howard Mays was born in Westfield in 1931.
  • A skeleton of a pre-historic man was found in Russell Cave.
  • Huntsville is known as the rocket capital of the World.

Fun Facts about Alabama State’s Geography:

  • City Guide: Visit Alabama City Guide for a look at geography, local history, architecture, and culture.
  • Alabama map outline
  • Alabama is the only state with all major natural resources needed to make iron and steel. It is also the largest supplier of cast-iron and steel pipe products.
  • Alabama’s geographic center is located in Chilton a community located 12 miles southwest of Clanton.
  • Alabama’s mean elevation is 500 feet at its lowest elevation point.
  • Hematite is Alabama’s official state mineral and is known as oxide of iron (Fe2O3).
  • Cheaha Mountain as part of Appalachian Mountain Range (among others) exist in the state of Alabama

Alabama State Symbols Trivia:

  • The official song of the state of Alabama is called ‘Alabama’
  • The official state motto of Alabama is ‘Audemus jura nostra defendere’ which translates to ‘We dare to defend our rights’
  • The official state flower of Alabama is Camellia
  • The Longleaf Pine is the official state tree of Alabama.
  • Alabama State Bird is called the Yellowhammer-Colaptes aurutus
  • Officially called ”The Great Seal of The State of Alabama”, the seal was designed in 1817 by William Wyat Bibb
  • On January 11, 1861 Alabama becomes the fourth state to secede from the Union.
  • The star blue quartz is the state’s official gemstone.
  • The Florence Renaissance Faire is Alabama’s official fair.
  • The pecan is Alabama’s official nut.
  • The Monarch butterfly (Danaus pleipuss) is the state’s official insect.
  • The Alabama State Flag was authorized by the Alabama legislature on February 16, 1895.
  • Alabama has been known as the “Yellowhammer State” since the Civil War.

Historical Facts about the State of Alabama

  • The town of Enterprise houses the Boll Weevil Monument to acknowledge the role this destructive insect played in encouraging farmers to grow crops other than cotton.
  • Alabama quarter was issued on March 17, 200.
  • AL is the Two-letter or Postal Abbreviation and Ala. is the Traditional or Standard Abbreviation for the State of Alabama.
  • The Alabama Department of Archives is the oldest state-funded archival agency in the nation.
  • The musical singing group Alabama has a Fan Club and Museum in Fort Payne.
  • In 1902 Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill performed the first open heart surgery in the Western Hemisphere by suturing a stab wound in a young boy’s heart. The surgery occurred in Montgomery.
  • To help fund education Alabama instituted its state sales tax in 1937.
  • Schools established in Mobile include Washington Academy (founded in 1811) and 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 established at Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal.
  • Governor George C. Wallace served four terms in office.
  • In 1995 Heather Whitestone serves as the first Miss America chosen with a disability.
  • The word Alabama means tribal town in the Creek Indian language.
  • The United States Army Chemical Corps Museum in Fort McClellan contains over 4000 chemical warfare artifacts.
  • Hitler’s typewriter survived from his mountain retreat and is exhibited at the Hall of History in Bessemer.
  • Blount County was created on February 7, 1818 and is older than the state.
  • Winston County is often called the Free State of Winston. It gained the name during the Civil War.
  • Mobile is named after the Mauvilla Indians.
  • Peter Bryce is recognized as the state’s first psychiatrist. He was born in 1834 and died in 1892.
  • On January 28, 1846 Montgomery was selected as the capital of Alabama.
  • Tallulah Bankhead entertained as a star of stage, screen, and radio during the 1930s-1950s. 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 resident Sequoyah devised the phonetic, written alphabet of the Cherokee language.
  • The Birmingham Airport opened in 1931. At the time of the opening, a Birmingham to Los Angeles flight took 19 hours.
  • Washington County is the oldest county in Alabama.
  • General Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Indians in 1814. Following the event, the Native Americans ceded nearly half the present state land to the United States.
  • At the Battle of Mobile Bay, Admiral David Farragut issued his famous command, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.” The event occurred on August 5, 1864.