Short answers, pulled from the story.
The name Alabama comes from a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived near the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. Early Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto encountered this group in 1540 during his expedition through the region.
Alabama officially joined the Union as the 22nd state on the 14th of December 1819. Delegates met between July 5 and the 2nd of August 1819 to draft the state constitution before this official admission.
A cavalry company from Huntsville wore uniforms with yellow trim that led to their nickname Yellowhammer. This name later applied to all Alabama troops in the Confederate Army.
Sixty-two tornadoes struck during the April 2011 Super Outbreak killing 238 people. This event remains one of the deadliest natural disasters recorded in the state's history.
The 2020 census recorded Alabama's population at 5,024,279 representing a 5.12 percent increase since 2010. Non-Hispanic whites make up 66.5 percent of residents while African Americans comprise 26.9 percent.