First explored for Spain by Hernando De Soto, who discovered the Mississippi River in 1540, the region was later claimed by France. In 1699, a French group under Sieur d'Iberville established the first permanent settlement near present-day Ocean Springs.
Great Britain took over the area in 1763 after the French and Indian Wars, ceding it to the U.S. in 1783 after the Revolution. Spain did not relinquish its claims until 1798, and in 1810 the U.S. annexed West Florida from Spain, including what is now southern Mississippi.

1927-Present: Soprano; born in Laurel, Mississippi. Price studied at Juilliard in New York before finding success on Broadway in Four Saints in Three Acts in 1952 and the female lead in Porgy and Bess the same year. In 1954 she presented a recital in New York's Town Hall, where she premiered Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs.She went on to an outstanding international career on both operatic and concert stages, especially admired for her Italian opera roles; her Metropolitan Opera debut came in 1961. For a time she was married to baritone William Warfield.

1931–Present: Stage/film/television actor; born in Arkabutla, Mississippi. Son of an ex-prizefighter-actor, he attended the University of Michigan, and after Army service, studied acting in New York, making his Broadway debut in 1957. After his first major role in The Great White Hope (1966), he went on to star in a wide variety of classic and contemporary plays. His varied film career included lending his distinctive resonant voice (only) to Darth Vader in Star Wars (1977).