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Mississippi - The Birthplace of America's Music.

Mississippi

Mississippi was admitted to the Union on the 10th of December 1817, making it the 20th state of the USA.

Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi in 1954. Other notable Mississippians include the musicians Tammy Wynette, Muddy Waters and B. B. King, the playwright Tennessee Williams and the voice of Darth Vader from the Star Wars films, James Earl Jones.

Mississippi's motto is Virtute et Armis, which translates into English as By valour and arms.

Mississippi's state tree is the southern magnolia which grows in the southernmost part of the state. Its state flower is the magnolia flower.

Mississippi covers an area of 48,430 square miles or 125,443 square km, roughly the same size as Austria and Switzerland combined. This makes Mississippi the 32nd largest of all the US states.

The original capital of Mississippi was Nachez which was founded in 1716 by the French. It was succeeded as Mississippi's capital by Jackson in 1822, three years after Mississippi gained statehood.

The official state butterfly of Mississippi is the Spicebush Swallowtail which was adopted in 1991. Its name is derived from its favourite host plant, the Lindera, or Spicebush.

Mississippi has approximately 2,994,000 inhabitants, making it the 31st largest of the 50 US states in terms of population.

Roughly 78,000 Mississippians joined the Confederate army during America's Civil War. Of these approximately 59,000 were either killed or injured. The state suffered the highest percentage of casualties amongst all of the Confederate States.

As well as The Birthplace of America's Music, Mississippi is also known by a few more nicknames. Why not play this quiz and test your knowledge of The Magnolia State, The Hospitality State, The Bayou State and The South's Warmest Welcome?

Click on the pictures for a closer look.

1 .

This is a picture of Mississippi's state capitol building. Which city is it in?

Jackson

Gulfport

Southaven

Hattiesburg

Not only is Jackson Mississippi's capital, it is also the state's largest city with a population of around 174,000. It is named after the General and later 7th President of the USA, Andrew Jackson.

Gulfport, Southaven and Hattiesburg are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th largest cities in Mississippi with populations of approximately 68,000 49,000 and 46,000 respectively

2 .

What is Mississippi's official state waterfowl (pictured) which was adopted in 1974?

The Harlequin Duck

The Red-Eyed Duck

The Crested Duck

The Wood Duck

The wood duck can be found all year long in the state of Mississippi. They have some of the most colourful plumage of North American waterfowl. Partly because of this they were hunted to near extinction in the 19th century, both for their meat and for their feathers which were used to adorn ladies hats. Rules on hunting were brought in in the early part of the 20th century and wood duck numbers began to increase. In some parts of the USA hunters are limited to killing only two wood ducks per day, though in other parts they can kill as many as seven

3 .

The teddy bear was named after which US President following an event which took place on a hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902?

Grover Cleveland

William McKinley

Theodore Roosevelt

William Howard Taft

The story goes that Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, whilst on the hunting trip he was invited on by Mississippi Governor, Andrew Longino, was presented with a bear which had been chased by hounds, beaten with clubs and then tied to a tree. It was suggested that Roosevelt should shoot the animal but he refused, saying that it would not be sporting. He did however say that someone should kill the bear to end its suffering.

The incident inspired a cartoon in The Washington Post newspaper which was seen by Morris Michtom who made a soft toy which he named "Teddy's Bear"

4 .

What is the official marine mammal of the state of Mississippi (pictured)? Like the wood duck it was adopted in 1974.

The Porpoise

The Bottlenose Dolphin

The White-beaked Dolphin

The Pygmy Killer Whale

Also known as the common bottlenose dolphin or the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, the creature gets its name because its nose resembles the shape of gin bottles from centuries ago.

Bottlenose dolphins are renowned for their intelligence. They have a larger brain in relation to their body size than any other animal save man. This has led to their use by the military as a means of locating marine mines and enemy divers. They also help fishermen by driving shoals of fish into their nets

5 .

This is the flag of Mississippi. It is the only state flag which still retains the Confederate battle flag, the starred saltire in the top-left corner. In 2001 a referendum was held in Mississippi on whether or not to replace the battle flag with what?

A white square containing a magnolia tree

A blue square containing 20 white stars

A blue square containing 1 white star

A red square containing 13 white stars

The proposed new design featured 13 stars arranged in a circle (representing the original 13 colonies of the USA), 6 more stars arranged in a smaller circle inside the first (symbolising the 6 countries which have governed Mississippi (Native Americans, France, Spain, Great Britain, the United States and the Confederate States) and one larger star in the centre of these two circles representing Mississippi itself. The electorate chose to keep the current flag by a majority of 488,630 votes to 267,812.

Some flags formerly used in Mississippi have included magnolia trees and a single white star. If you'd like to see them then click here

6 .

The state of Mississippi is named after the river which flows along its western border. The musical Show Boat contains a famous song about the Mississippi River, sung film version by Paul Robeson. What is the song called?

Roll On Mississippi

Big River

When the Levee Breaks

Ol' Man River

The river has inspired many musicians and writers. Mark Twain's most famous work charts a journey down the Mississippi,Big River is the name of a musical based on Twain's book and also a song by Johnny Cash about travelling the length of the river in an attempt to save a relationship. Roll On Mississippi was a hit for the country musician Charley Pride and When the Levee Breaks was written in 1929 on the subject of the Great Mississippi flood of 1927, though the version recorded by Led Zeppelin in 1970 is the most widely recognised

7 .

The official state reptile of Mississippi is the American Alligator. The creature has been observed using what tool to help it catch its prey?

A lure

A net

A hook

A projectile

American alligators are one of the few species of reptile to be seen using tools. They are known to balance sticks, branches and twigs on their heads, partly as a disguise but also to lure birds searching for nesting material. They can grow up to 15 feet (4.6 metres) in length and can weigh as much as 1,000 lbs (453 kg)

8 .

This man was born in the city of Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935. He went on to be known as "the King of Rock and Roll". What is his name?

Buddy Holly

Bill Haley

Elvis Presley

Jerry Lee Lewis

Though he was born in Mississippi, Presley's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was 13 years old. 6 years later he made his first recording. He had his first hit record in 1956 and released a total of 30 singles and 18 albums before his untimely death in 1977. He also appeared in more than 30 films during his exceptionally successful career

9 .

The Great Seal of the State of Mississippi is one of the oldest of all 50 US states. In which year was it designed?

1877

1817

1798

1777

The seal was adopted by the state of Mississippi when it was admitted to the Union in 1817. However, it was first used in 1798 as the seal of the newly created Mississippi Territory. The seal shows a shield bearing stars and stripes on a background of an eagle. The eagle carries an olive branch (symbolising peace) and a quiver of arrows (signifying the power to wage war)

10 .

Jim Henson (seen on the left of this picture, alongside George Lucas with whom he worked on the 1980s film Labyrinth) was born in the city of Greenville, Mississippi in 1936. He is best known as the creator of which characters?

The Rugrats

The Muppets

The Simpsons

The Wombles

Henson made his first puppets while he was still at high school, though he didn't achieve fame until he began work on Sesame Street in the 1970s. The Muppet Show, featuring characters such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear, began in 1976 and then Henson began to make more complicated puppets for use in films. Sadly, he died in 1990 when he was only 53 years old

Author: Graeme Haw