Louisiana (LA).

• Region: Gulf coast
• Population: 4,590,241 (ranked 25th) (2022 estimate)
• Capital: Baton Rouge (pop. 223,520) (2022 estimate)
• Largest city: New Orleans (pop. 376,971) (2022 estimate)
• Number of counties: 64 (Parishes)
• State nickname: Pelican State; Sportsman’s Paradise; Creole State; Sugar State
• State motto: Union, Justice, and Confidence
• State flag: Blue field with state seal design and the state motto on a banner below

Located in the Deep South and bordering the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana is situated between Texas and Mississippi and to the south of Arkansas. The Mississippi River, a commercial gateway for the United States, flows through the entire length of the state and into the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana became the eighteenth state to join the Union on April 30, 1812, and is one of the country's largest producers of cotton, sugarcane, and rice. Tourism is among Louisiana's largest industries, and the state's rich history and its intriguing geographic features make it a popular destination for tens of millions of visitors each year.

State Name: Louisiana was named in honor of French King Louis XIV by Rene Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, when he claimed the region for France in 1682. The original French form of the name, "Louisiane," translates as "belonging to Louis" or "the realm of Louis." The state has been nicknamed "The Pelican State" for its state bird, the Eastern brown pelican.

Capital: Named for the reddened boundary marker that French explorers discovered while exploring the Mississippi River, Baton Rouge (French for "red stick") is the capital of Louisiana. Discovered in 1699, the city was incorporated in 1817 and became the state's capital in 1882. It is situated on the east bank of the Mississippi River.

Flag: The current state flag of Louisiana, adopted in 1912, depicts a pelican feeding its young in a nest set against a field of medium blue. The state motto "Union, Justice & Confidence" is printed on a ribbon below the image. Over the course of its history, ten flags have flown over the state of Louisiana.

Official Symbols

• Flower: Magnolia
• Bird: Brown pelican
• Tree: Bald cypress
• Fish: White perch
• Song: "Give Me Louisiana" by Doralice Fontane; "You are My Sunshine" by Jimmy Davis

State and National Historic Sites

• Audubon State Historic Site (St. Francisville)
• Cane River National Heritage Area (Natchitoches)
• Centenary State Historic Site (Jackson)
• Delta Queen (New Orleans)
• Fort Jesup State Historic Site (Many)
• Fort Pike State Historic Site (New Orleans)
• Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site (Natchitoches)
• Forts Randolph and Buhlow State Historic Site (Pineville)
• Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve (New Orleans)
• Kent Plantation House State Historic Site (Alexandria)
• Locust Grove State Historic Site (northeast of St. Francisville)
• Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site (St. Martinville)
• Los Adaes State Historic Site (Robeline)
• Mansfield State Historic Site (Mansfield)
• Marksville State Historic Site (Avoyelles Parish)
• New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park (New Orleans)
• Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site (Plaquemine)
• Port Hudson State Historic Site (Jackson)
• Poverty Point National Monument (Epps)
• Rebel State Historic Site (Marthaville)
• Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site (St. Francisville)
• Winter Quarters State Historic Site (Newellton)

State Specific Holidays

• Battle of New Orleans Day, January 8
• Mardi Gras, February (Tuesday before Ash Wednesday)
• Confederate Memorial Day, June 3
• Huey P. Long Day, August 30

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Population: 4,590,241 (ranked 25th) (2022 estimate)
• Population density: 107.8/sq mi (2020 estimate)
• Urban population: 71.5% (2020 estimate)
• Rural population: 28.5% (2020 estimate)
• Population under 18: 23.1% (2022 estimate)
• Population over 65: 17.0% (2021 estimate)
• White alone: 62.5% (2022 estimate)
• Black or African American alone: 32.8% (2022 estimate)
• Hispanic or Latino: 5.8% (2022 estimate)
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 0.8% (2022 estimate)
• Asian alone: 1.9% (2022 estimate)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.1% (2022 estimate)
• Two or More Races: 1.9% (2022 estimate)
• Per capita income: $30,340 (ranked 46th)
• Unemployment: 3.6% (2023 estimate)

American Indians: During the seventeenth century, when French and Spanish explorers were first descending upon what is now known as Louisiana, there were as many as ten thousand American Indians inhabiting the area. Today, several of the state's parishes (similar to counties) are named for these peoples. Some examples include Natchitoches, Ouachita, and Avoyelles.

At the time of European settlement, the Muskhogean group, comprised of the Taensa, Okelousa, Bayougoula, Quinnipissa, Avoyels, Tangipahoa, Acolapissa, Houma, and Choctaws, occupied the southeast and eastern central area of the state. The Choctaws were the first tribe to befriend the Europeans. Most of the tribe's descendants now live in Mississippi, though there are still some remnants of the tribe in Louisiana.

The Indians of the Caddoan group were primarily located in the north and northwest of Louisiana along the banks of the Red River, although most fled to Oklahoma in 1859. Tribes in this group included the Yatasi, Doustioni, Kadohacho, Adais, Washita, and Natchitoches. The Tunican group, comprised of the Washa, Loroa, Chawasha, Chitimacha, Attakapa, and Opelousa tribes, lived along the coast.

In the twenty-first century, the federally recognized tribes in Louisiana included the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, and the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana. The state of Louisiana recognizes the Addai Caddo Tribe, Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogee, Choctaw-Apache Community of Ebarb, Clifton Choctaw, Four Winds Tribe Louisiana Cherokee Confederacy, Grand Caillou/Dulac Band, Isle de Jean Charles Band, Louisiana Choctaw Tribe, Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana, Pointe-Au-Chien Indian Tribe, and the United Houma Nation.

ENVIRONMENT AND GEOGRAPHY

• Total area: 52,378 sq mi (ranked 31st)
• Land area: 43,204 sq mi (82.5% of total area)
• Water area: 9,174 sq mi (17.5% of total area)
• Shoreline: 7,721 miles
• National parks: 5
• Highest point: Driskill Mountain (535 feet)
• Lowest point: New Orleans (-8 feet)
• Highest temperature: 114° F (Plain Dealing, August 10, 1936)
• Lowest temperature: -16° F (Minden, February 13, 1899)

Topography: The most fertile land in Louisiana is located in the southern portion of the state, where the Mississippi River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. This low lying area, covering approximately 18,000 square miles, is referred to as the Delta. This area is dominated by miles of canals and bayous, the banks of which are dotted with plantations that grow cotton, sugar cane, and rice.

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain stretches north from the Delta toward Arkansas. The fields on either side of the river are referred to as the "frontlands," and the land sloping away from these fields is referred to as the "backlands." The average elevation of this area is 100 feet above sea level. It is here that the city of New Orleans sits at 8 feet below sea level, the second lowest point in the United States.

To the east of the Mississippi is a low-lying area abundant with marshes. It is referred to as the East Gulf Coastal Plain. The western half of the state, or the West Gulf Coastal Plain, contains three distinct topographical features: barrier beaches to the south; prairie land in the central western part of the state; and the higher elevations of the north, where the land rises to its highest point of approximately 500 feet above sea level at Driskill Mountain.

Major Lakes

• Atahoula Lake
• Calcasieu Lake
• Grand Lake
• Lake Maurepas
• Lake Pontchartrain
• Toledo Bend Reservoir Lake (Artificial)
• White Lake

Major Rivers

• Atchafalaya River
• Calcasieu River
• Mississippi River
• Ouachita River
• Pearl River
• Red River
• Sabine River

State and National Parks: There are over twenty state parks located throughout Louisiana. Sites managed by the National Parks Service include Poverty Point National Monument in the northeast part of the state, New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park and Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve in the southeast, and Cane River National Heritage Area located in central Louisiana.

Natural Resources: Louisiana is one of the largest producers of natural gas in the nation. Other natural resources include petroleum and sulfur. The oldest working salt mine is the Avery Island salt mine, located in New Iberia, Louisiana. The mine has been in operation since the Civil War era. The woods of Louisiana help support the state's timber industry.

Plants and Animals: Louisiana's woodlands are home to rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, wood rats, deer, and black bear. Under the cover of night, possums, owls, bats, and snakes emerge. Louisiana is home to many varieties of snakes, including the speckled kingsnake, the cottonmouth snake, and the copperhead. Bird watching is a favorite pastime of many visitors and residents of Louisiana. One half of all the bird species to be found in North America can be found in the state of Louisiana. These include the cardinal, the Carolina wren, thrashers, blue jays, eastern towhees, woodpeckers, mockingbirds, bald eagles, and hawks.

Along the coastal waterways it is not uncommon to see a variety of seabirds, such as cranes, herons, or egrets. In the bayous, American alligators, diamondback water snakes, and an assortment of frogs and turtles coexist. The bayous are dark and humid waterways with hundred-year old cypress trees and dangling Spanish moss. Along the banks of these wetlands the blue flag iris, the lizard tail, and pickerelweed rise up from the muddy ground.

Climate: Louisiana's climate is subtropical. The average temperature in the winter months is about 50.7 degrees Fahrenheit, while the summer averages around 82 degrees. The heat, combined with an abundance of air moisture due to rainfall, and the state's natural water sources makes Louisiana's climate humid.

The average annual rainfall statewide is approximately 55.45 inches. The northern area receives an annual average of about 46 inches, while the southern zone receives close to 66 inches. Snow is rare in the northern part of Louisiana and practically unheard of in the southern part of the state.

Some of the most destructive hurricanes ever to hit the United States have wreaked havoc on Louisiana in particular. Statistics show that about every 1.2 years the state experiences a tropical storm and about every 2.8 years a hurricane. Since 1871 there have been thousands of lives lost in the state of Louisiana during tropical storms or hurricanes. The lack of barrier islands on the coast makes the state a target for extreme wave damage. Lower sections of the state are sinking into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of one foot per year in some areas.

EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Major Colleges and Universities

• Centenary College of Louisiana (Shreveport)
• Dillard University (New Orleans)
• Grambling State University (Grambling)
• Louisiana College (Pineville)
• Louisiana State University (Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Shreveport)
• Louisiana Tech University (Ruston)
• Loyola University (New Orleans)
• Northwestern State University of Louisiana (Natchitoches)
• Southeastern Louisiana University (Hammond)
• Southern University and A&M College (Baton Rouge, New Orleans)
• St. Joseph Seminary College (St. Benedict)
• Tulane University (New Orleans)
• University of Holy Cross (New Orleans)
• University of Louisiana (Lafayette, Monroe)
• University of New Orleans (New Orleans)
• Xavier University of Louisiana (New Orleans)

Major Museums

• Acadian House Museum (Saint Martinville)
• George Williamson Museum, Northwestern State University of Louisiana (Natchitoches)
• Louisiana Art and Science Museum (Baton Rouge)
• Louisiana State Museum (New Orleans)
• Marksville State Historic Site (Avoyelles Parish)
• National WWII Museum (New Orleans)
• New Orleans Museum of Art (New Orleans)
• New Orleans Pharmacy Museum (New Orleans)
• Old Courthouse Museum (Natchitoches)
• R.W. Norton Art Gallery (Shreveport)
• Wedell-Williams Aviation and Cypress Sawmill Museum (Patterson)

Major Libraries

• Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University (New Orleans)
• Latin American Library, Tulane University (New Orleans)
• Louisiana State Archives (Baton Rouge)
• Louisiana State University Library (Baton Rouge)
• New Orleans Public Library (New Orleans)
• State Library of Louisiana (Baton Rouge)

Media

The major metropolitan papers in Louisiana are the Advocate, a daily circulated in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, and the New Orleans Times-Picayune; in 2019 the New Orleans edition of the Advocate merged with the Times-Picayune. There are many other daily local newspapers as well as several weeklies published in the state. Both Baton Rouge and New Orleans are home to their own business newspapers, the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report and New Orleans CityBusiness. The state's first newspaper, Montieur de la Louisiane, began publication in 1794. More than thirty television stations and more than eighty radio stations broadcast in the state of Louisiana.

ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• Gross domestic product (in millions $USD): 281,429.3 million (ranked 24th) (2022 estimate)
• GDP percent change: -1.8%

Major Industries: Many crude oil refineries, petrochemical production facilities, and natural gas processors can be found in Louisiana. The state is the among the top ten producers of crude oil and among the top five largest producers of natural gas in the United States. It also has a large nondurable goods manufacturing industry and a large insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing industry. Louisiana's commercial fishing industry accounts for much of the seafood taken from the Gulf Coast region. The state is a leading supplier of shrimp, crayfish, oysters, and blue crab. The state's woodlands also contribute to the local economy. Forestry is among the largest land-based industries in the state, and wood products are another important export. Trappers in Louisiana harvest large numbers of fur pelts. The majority of these pelts come from nutria, muskrat, mink, otter, and beaver.

Tourism: Louisiana's second largest industry is tourism. While the sector experienced a significant decline in 2020 due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it largely recovered in subsequent years. In 2022 42.6 million domestic and international tourists visited Louisiana and spent an estimated $17.1 billion.

The state has five distinct areas of interest to tourists. The northern region offers fishing, hunting, and camping in its rolling wooded hills and alongside its rivers and lakes. The historic central Crossroads region is where visitors can explore the history of Louisiana. It is here that they can visit the oldest settlement of the Louisiana Purchase territory in Natchitoches. Cajun Country, in the southwest half of the state, affords tourists the opportunity to travel the mysterious winding bayous and crayfish ponds in search of alligators. The area surrounding the lower part of the Mississippi River is known as Plantation County, where visitors may tour the historic churches and antebellum plantations that once flourished on the fertile delta land. The fifth tourism region, and one of the most popular, is the Greater New Orleans area, where tourists flock to the famous French Quarter and experience the wonder of Mardi Gras, an annual festival held just before the Christian season of Lent, which precedes Easter.

Energy Production: Louisiana is one of the top five producers of natural gas in the nation, accounting for about 10 percent of US gas production in 2022. Its ports handle a significant portion of the country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports as well as coal exports. The state also has several major oil refineries, making up almost one-fifth of the total US refining capacity. Louisiana is a major energy consumer as well; it ranked second in the nation for energy consumption per capita and fourth in total energy consumption in 2021.

Agriculture: Louisiana is one of the nation's largest producers of cotton, sugarcane, rice, and aquaculture. Corn, soybeans, hay, sorghum, and wheat are also grown on the state's fertile farmland. Forestry is another major land-based industry. Louisiana is also one of just a few US states to produce alligator hides.

Airports: The largest airport in Louisiana is the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, which is located twenty-one miles from central New Orleans; the airport reported 5,946,283 passengers in 2022. Louisiana also has two more international airports: Alexandria International Airport at Alexandria and Chennault International Airport at Lake Charles. There are more than eighty smaller airports throughout the state.

Seaports: The three largest seaports in Louisiana are the Port of New Orleans, located at the mouth of the Mississippi; the Port of South Louisiana; and the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. The Port of New Orleans is the only deep-water port that is served by six railroads, making it an integral force in the distribution of goods in the southern United States. The Port of South Louisiana, stretching more than 50 miles along the Mississippi River, is considered the largest port in the North America in terms of cargo tonnage. The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is located at the intersection of the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and is among the top twenty-five largest ports in the United States for total annual tonnage.

GOVERNMENT

• Governor: John Bel Edwards (Democrat)
• Present constitution date: 1974
• Electoral votes: 8
• Number of counties: 64 (parishes)
• Violent crime rate: 564 (per 100,000 residents; 2021 estimate)
• Death penalty: Yes

Constitution: The Constitution of 1974 is the state's body of law. The state's previous constitution had the dubious distinction of being one of the longest such documents in the nation, at more than a quarter of a million words and including more than 500 amendments. Notably, it was revised in 1864 to abolish slavery. A constitutional convention was called in 1972, which resulted in a much shorter document after over a year of deliberations. Significant changes in the new constitution included the consolidation of many state agencies and a new, more liberal state Bill of Rights.

Branches of Government

Executive: The governor, who is elected for a four-year term, heads the executive branch, and works with the legislature to manage the state much like a business. The governor works within the budget to pass laws and introduce improvements to state policies and programs. Other elected state executives include the lieutenant governor and the state attorney general.

Legislative: The state's bicameral legislature is divided into a 39-member Senate and a 105-seat House of Representatives. State legislators are each popularly elected to a four-year term.

Judicial: Located in New Orleans, the Louisiana Supreme Court is the state's highest court. The court is comprised of seven justices who are elected from districts throughout the state and each serve ten-year terms. The justice with the most seniority serves as the chief justice and chief administrative officer of the court.

HISTORY

700 BCE An organized prehistoric Native American society exists at the Poverty Point site near present-day Epps, Louisiana.

1519 European explorer Alonso Alvarez de Pineda discovers the Mississippi River while leading an expedition.

1540 Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto travels from Florida in search of gold and claims the Mississippi River for Spain.

1682 French explorer Sieur de La Salle claims the Mississippi Valley for France and names the area "Louisiane" for French king Louis XIV.

1714 Fort St. Jean Baptiste, the first permanent European settlement in the Mississippi Valley, is founded in what is now known at Natchitoches.

1718 New Orleans begins to be established as a seaport.

1721 The population of New Orleans approaches 400 people.

1723 New Orleans is named the capital of Louisiana.

1731 Louisiana is named a French crown colony.

1743 Marquis de Vandruil is the first governor of Louisiana under French rule.

1750 The population of European settlers in Louisiana is estimated at 10,000.

1751 Sugar cane is introduced into Louisiana.

1762 France loses the French and Indian War and cedes Louisiana to Spain in the Treaty of Fontainebleau. The French settlers are not notified of this development until two years later.

1764 The first of many French Acadian families arrive in Louisiana from Canada.

1763 Spain cedes the area east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain. Baton Rouge is renamed New Richmond.

1779 The entirety of Louisiana is returned to Spain after the Spanish execute a surprise attack on the British in New Orleans.

1788 A fire destroys most of New Orleans on Good Friday.

1800 Spain returns the area west of the Mississippi River to France as a condition of the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. French general Napoleon Bonaparte, who promises never to cede the territory to another power, hopes to extend the French empire to the New World.

1803 US president Thomas Jefferson purchases the area surrounding the state of Louisiana from Napoleon Bonaparte for $15 million in what is known as the Louisiana Purchase. The purchase doubles the size of the United States at the time, and thirteen new states are eventually created from this acreage.

1804 The Louisiana Territory is divided into the District of Louisiana and the Territory of Orleans; William Charles Cole Claiborne is appointed as governor of the Territory of Orleans, which covers approximately the same area as the present-day state of Louisiana.

1805 The state's first Protestant church is established in New Orleans.

1808 The state's first public school is opened in Pointe Coupee parish.

1812 Louisiana becomes the eighteenth state to join the Union. Claiborne is elected as the first governor of Louisiana and serves until 1816.

1812 The New Orleans is the first steamboat to navigate the Mississippi River from Pittsburgh and arrives in New Orleans in early January.

1815 General Andrew Jackson wins the Battle of New Orleans, ending the War of 1812.

1823 Louisiana's first natural gas field is discovered near Natchitoches.

1837 The city of Shreveport is founded.

1838 The first Mardi Gras parade is held in New Orleans on Shrove Tuesday.

1850 The state capital is moved to Baton Rouge from New Orleans.

1861 For two months Louisiana secedes from the Union and declares itself an independent republic. After several weeks, the state joins the Confederacy.

1862 New Orleans is captured by a Union fleet led by Admiral David Farragut during the US Civil War. In the years to follow, approximately 500 battles are fought on Louisiana soil. By the end of the war the state loses half its wealth and approximately 20 percent of its White males to military service or illness.

1863 The salt mine at Avery Island is discovered.

1868 Louisiana is readmitted to the Union after revising its constitution to grant full civil rights to African Americans.

1869 Sulfur is discovered in Louisiana.

1877 Governor Francis Nicholls restores home rule to Louisiana.

1879 A new state constitution is adopted and Baton Rouge is reinstated as capital; New Orleans becomes a full-fledged ocean port.

1884 The World's Fair is held in New Orleans.

1893 Two thousand people are killed in a hurricane that hits Mississippi and Louisiana.

1896 The US Supreme Court rules that Louisiana's law allowing racial segregation on railroad cars is constitutional in Plessy v. Ferguson.

1901 The state's first oil well is drilled in Jennings, Louisiana.

1912 The current state flag is adopted as the official flag.

1928 Huey P. Long is elected governor and serves until 1932. He continues to control politics in the state after his subsequent election to the US Senate. The oldest fishing tournament in the United States, the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo, is established.

1935 US Senator and former Governor Huey P. Long is assassinated in the Baton Rouge Capital building. The first Sugar Bowl football game is played.

1957Hurricane Audrey kills hundreds in Cameron parish.

1958 Segregation on city buses is abolished in New Orleans.

1965Hurricane Betsy kills sixty-one people.

1973 The state generates several hundred million dollars in additional revenue by raising taxes on petroleum products.

1975 The Louisiana Superdome, the world's largest steel-constructed room unobstructed by posts, opens in New Orleans.

1977 New Orleans elects its first African America mayor, Ernest Morial.

1984 The Louisiana World Expo is held in New Orleans.

1989 The former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke, is elected to the state legislature.

1992Hurricane Andrew devastates Louisiana, killing eleven people and causing $1 billion in damage.

1997 Louisiana is the first state to introduce the controversial concept of "covenant marriage," which requires couples to participate in marriage counseling both at the beginning and at the end of a marriage, and makes divorce more difficult.

2005 Louisiana is ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, the first Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 storm season. Particularly devastated is the city of New Orleans, which floods after levees surrounding the city break. An estimated 1,300 people are killed in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama. Over one million people are displaced from their homes, and damage from the storm is estimated to be well over $100 billion dollars.

2006 Filmmaker Spike Lee premieres his documentary film When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, which recounts the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. In particular, the film focuses on the human toll of the city wide flooding that followed the storm.

2010 On April 20, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes forty-one miles off Louisiana's coast, killing eleven workers. Oil from the well gushes into the Gulf of Mexico for the next three months, resulting in significant damage to local wetlands and fishing waters. Louisiana's fishing industry and tourism sector incur significant losses.

2016 Excessive rainfall in August creates catastrophic flooding over ten days in southern Louisiana, killing thirteen and damaging an estimated 146,000 homes, with $10–15 billion in property damage.

2018 Louisiana becomes the first state to join the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie—which represents countries and regions that use French as a major language—as part of their attempt to restore the state's cultural use of Colonial French.

2020 Like the rest of the country, Louisiana begins to experience the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Many businesses and services are shut down amid efforts to slow the spread of the viral disease.

2021 Hurricane Ida hits Louisiana on the sixteenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Ida tests New Orleans' system of levees and floodgates, which the Army Corps of Engineers rebuilt after Katrina. The system successfully prevents catastrophic flooding during Ida, but the hurricane's winds damage New Orleans's power grid and leave more than a million residents without electricity.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Louis Armstrong, 1901–71 (New Orleans) , Jazz musician and one of the nation's most popular entertainers in the 1930s.

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, 1818–93 (St. Bernard Parish) , Confederate soldier who held public office in Louisiana following the Civil War.

Buddy Bolden, 1877–1931 (New Orleans) , Jazz musician fabled to be the originator of jazz music.

Terry Bradshaw, 1948– (Shreveport) , Professional football player and television sports analyst

Truman Capote, 1924–84 (New Orleans) , American writer known for his fast-paced lifestyle.

Clifton Chenier, 1925–85 (Opelousas) , Referred to as the "King of Zydeco," he pioneered zydeco music in the 1950s.

Fats Domino, 1928–2017 (New Orleans) , Rock and roll singer, pianist, and composer.

Ernest J. Gaines, 1933–2019 (Oscar) , Writer who chronicled the lives of poor African Americans in the South.

Bryant Gumbel, 1948– (New Orleans) , Television journalist.

George Herriman, 1880–1944 (New Orleans) , Cartoonist.

Clementine Hunter, 1887–1988 (Hidden Hill Plantation) , Artist.

Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, 1971– (Baton Rouge) Indian American politician; Republican governor of Louisiana 2007–16

Sam Houston Jones, 1897–1978 (Merryville) , Democratic governor of Louisiana from 1940–44.

DJ Khaled (Khaled Mohamed Khaled), 1975– (New Orleans) , Hip-hop/rap music producer and deejay.

Jerry Lee Lewis, 1935–2022 (Ferriday) , Rock and roll musician.

Huey P. Long, 1893–1935 (Winfield) , Governor of Louisiana from 1928–32 and US senator 1932–35 who was assassinated in the state's capital building in 1935.

Branford Marsalis, 1960– (Breaux Bridge) , Jazz musician, saxophone player.

Wynton Marsalis, 1961– (New Orleans) , Jazz musician, trumpet player.

Aaron Neville, 1941– (New Orleans) , Singer.

Huey P. Newton, 1942–1989 (Monroe) , Cofounder of the Black Panther Party in 1966.

Lee Harvey Oswald, 1939–63 (New Orleans) , Accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby two days following Kennedy's assassination.

Tyler Perry, 1969– (New Orleans) , Writer, actor, producer, and director.

Norbert Rillieux, 1806–94 (New Orleans) , Engineer and inventor who helped to increase sugar production with his invention to evaporate juice from sugar cane.

Anne Rice, 1941–2021 (New Orleans) , Popular author of the Vampire Chronicles.

Cokie Roberts, 1943–2019 (New Orleans) , Television journalist.

Britney Spears, 1981– (Kentwood) , Popular music personality.

Jimmy Swaggart, 1935– (Ferriday) , Pentecostal televangelist.

Madam C. J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove), 1867–1919 (near Delta) , Entrepreneur, self-made millionaire, civil rights activist, and philanthropist.

Edward Douglass White, 1845–1921 (Lafourche Parish) , Former Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court and US senator from Louisiana.

INTERESTING FACTS

• Louisiana is the only state that has political subdivisions called parishes rather than counties.
• Caesars Superdome, home to the New Orleans Saints football team, has held more NFL Super Bowls than any other facility, and holds the world record for concert seating. In 2005 the Superdome was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina, and was also used as a shelter for over 15,000 people after the storm devastated the city.
• The Aquarium of the Americas, located in New Orleans, was severely affected during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Due to a loss of power and the need for aquarium workers to evacuate, approximately 10,000 fish within the aquarium died. Surviving animals included penguins, sea otters, and a white alligator.
• Every year from the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6 until Mardi Gras Day in February or March, New Orleans residents consume king cake, a sweet, often-colorful pastry containing a baby figurine that symbolizes the Christ child.

Bibliography

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"Economic Profile for Louisiana." BEARFACTS, US Bureau of Economic Analysis, 31 Mar. 2023, apps.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

Kein, Sybil, editor. Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana’s Free People of Color. Louisiana State UP, 2000.

"Louisiana." Louisiana.gov, www.louisiana.gov. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

"Louisiana." QuickFacts, US Census Bureau, 1 July 2022, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/LA. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

"Louisiana: State Profile and Energy Estimates." US Energy Information Administration, 2022, www.eia.gov/state/?sid=LA. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

Taylor, Joe Gray. Louisiana: A History. Norton, 1984.

"Welcome to Explore Louisiana." Explore Louisiana, www.explorelouisiana.com. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

Jennifer Petersen