Short answers, pulled from the story.
Memphis Tennessee was officially founded on the 22nd of May 1819 when John Overton James Winchester and Andrew Jackson laid out the city on the Chickasaw Bluffs. The United States claimed the land in 1797 but the city itself did not exist until this specific date.
The 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Memphis Tennessee was triggered by the death of Kate Bionda on the 13th of August 1878 and the city's reliance on river water and rain cisterns for sanitation. The outbreak killed over 5,000 people and caused financial losses estimated at $15 million which bankrupted the city.
Sam Phillips founded Sun Studio where he discovered Elvis Presley Johnny Cash Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins in the 1950s. Stax Records was founded in 1960 and developed a horn-based soul sound featuring artists like Otis Redding and Sam and Dave.
Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated on the 4th of April 1968 while staying at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee. He had come to the city to support the Memphis sanitation strike where predominantly African American workers demanded better pay and working conditions.
The site of Memphis Tennessee was chosen for its elevation because the Chickasaw Bluffs rise 80 feet above the Mississippi River offering a natural fortress. This geographical advantage allowed indigenous communities to control river traffic and resist encroachment for centuries before European explorers arrived.