Nat "King" Cole (1919-1965) Singer and jazz pianist.
Born Montgomery, Alabama.
Helen A. Keller (1880-1968) Deaf and blind educator.
Born Tuscumbia, Alabama.
Harper Lee, author of Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill
a Mockingbird, 1961.
Jesse Owens (1913-1980) Olympic athlete. Broke
five world records at one college track meet in
1935, and shattered Adolph Hitler's attempt to
demonstrate "Aryan superiority" by winning four
gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Born
Danville, Alabama.
Rosa Lee Parks, courageous woman who was
arrested on December 1, 1955 for refusing to give
up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery,
Alabama bus. The year-long Montgomery Bus
Boycott began 4 days later.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) Noted educator
and civil rights advocate; Founder and first
President of AlabamaΓÇÖs Tuskegee Institute (1881).
Fascinating Fact
The original American Mardi Gras tradition was started in Mobile, Alabama, long before the first one was held in New Orleans.
State Flag Of Alabama
Alabama adopted a state flag in 1895. The flag is similar to the Confederate flag, featuring a square shape, a white background, and a diagonal crimson cross, said to represent the cross of St. Andrew. By Alabama law, the state flag must be flown over the capital when the legislature is in session and alongside a U.S. flag on school grounds when school is in session.