Key Facts to Know about Alabama

The Alabama A&M University (AAMU) welcomes students from all over the country through its doors each year. For their Executive Vice President/COO Kevin Rolle Alabama is a fantastic place to live and study in. In fact, he has listed a number of key facts that he hopes will better help prospective students integrate into the community.

Key Facts about Alabama

  1. It is a state known for its hospitable and friendly nature.
  2. The state introduced the world to Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday.
  3. The first rocket ship that led to the moon landing was built in Alabama.
  4. The world’s first electric trolley system was introduced in Montgomery in 1886.
  5. Alabama is the only state in the country that has the necessary natural resources for the creation of iron and steel, and is therefore also one of the biggest producers in the country.
  6. The Confederate States of America were born in Alabama, with Montgomery as its capital.
  7. The Confederate flag was designed and initially flown in Alabama in 1861.
  8. Alabama was declared the 22nd state on December 14, 1819.
  9. The state is highly agricultural, which is represented by the Boll Weevil Monument, encouraging diversification in crops.
  10. Mobile is the birthplace of Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron, one of the greatest baseball players of all times.
  11. Lexington is the birthplace of famous boxer Joe Lewis, who died in 1981.
  12. Westfield is the birthplace of famous baseball player Willie Howard Mays, born in 1931.
  13. A prehistoric skeleton of a man was discovered in Russell Cave.
  14. Huntsville is the global capital of space rockets.
  15. The Alabama Department of Archives is the country’s oldest archival that is funded by the state.
  16. The Alabama education system is funded by the state’s sales tax, which started in 1937.
  17. Old Saint Stephens, established between 1817 and 1819, is the first territorial capital of the state.
  18. In 1956, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency was built in Huntsville.
  19. The first Miss America with a disability was Heather Whitestone, from Alabama, which was in 1995.
  20. Hitler’s mountain retreat typewriter is on show in the Bessemer Hall of History.
  21. Peter Bryce (1834-1892) was the state’s first psychiatrist.
  22. Hematite is the official mineral of the state.
  23. The monarch butterfly is the state’s official insect.
  24. The star blue quartz is the state’s official gemstone.
  25. On January 11, 1861, Alabama seceded from the Union, the 4th state to do so.
  26. Nat King Cole, born Nathanial Adams, was born in Montgomery in 1919. The man with the velvet voice died in 1965.
  27. The Birmingham Airport opened in 1931. It then took 19 hours to fly to Los Angeles.
  28. Washington County is the state’s oldest county.
  29. General Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Indians in 1814. Native American ceded half of Alabama to the United States as a result.

Kevin Rolle hopes that this information will enable more prospective students to gain an understanding of what Alabama will be able to offer them.