Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, Arkansas to the southwest, and Missouri to the northwest. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. According to the United States Census Bureau, the state's estimated population as of 2024 is 7.22 million.
Tennessee is geographically, culturally, and legally divided into three Grand Divisions of East, Middle, and West Tennessee. Nashville is the state's capital and largest city, and anchors its largest metropolitan area. Tennessee has diverse terrain and landforms, and from east to west, contains a mix of cultural features characteristic of Appalachia, the Upland South, and the Deep South. The Blue Ridge Mountains along the eastern border reach some of the highest elevations in eastern North America, and the Cumberland Plateau contains many scenic valleys and waterfalls. The central part of the state is marked by cavernous bedrock and irregular rolling hills, and level, fertile plains define West Tennessee. The state is twice bisected by the Tennessee River, and the Mississippi River forms its western border. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the nation's most visited national park, is in eastern Tennessee.
Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association, a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachian Mountains. Its name derives from Tanasi (ᏔᎾᏏ), a Cherokee town preceding the first European American settlement. Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, and later the Southwest Territory, before its admission to the Union as the 16th state on June 1, 1796. It earned the nickname "The Volunteer State" due to a strong tradition of military service. A slave state until the American Civil War, Tennessee was politically divided, with most of its western and middle parts supporting the Confederacy, and most of the eastern region harboring pro-Union sentiment. As a result, Tennessee was the last state to officially secede from the Union and join the Confederacy, and the first former Confederate state readmitted to the Union after the war had ended during the Reconstruction era. (Full article...)
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Donald Clinton Grant (August 17, 1916 – April 21, 2010) was an American photographer and photojournalist based in Dallas, Texas. He was a staff photographer with The Dallas Morning News from 1949 to 1986. He was particularly known for his images of animals and children. Grant's photographs were published in numerous newspapers and magazines, including Paris Match, Newsweek and Time; five of his feature photos were published on the back page of issues of Life magazine.
Grant was on assignment in November 1963 to cover President John F. Kennedy's trip from Washington, D.C., to Dallas. One of his photographs made the front page of the November 22 edition of the Morning News; a copy is believed to be the last thing Kennedy ever signed. Grant also would make several pictures at Parkland Memorial Hospital within minutes after Kennedy's motorcade arrived following the shooting in Dealey Plaza. (Full article...)
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The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students.
The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI), the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, the former Lambuth University campus in Jackson, Tennessee (now a branch campus of the University of Memphis), the Loewenberg College of Nursing, the School of Public Health, the College of Communication and Fine Arts, the FedEx Institute of Technology, the Advanced Distributed Learning Workforce Co-Lab, and the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology. The University of Memphis is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High research activity". (Full article...)
- History of Tennessee
- List of Tennessee state symbols
- Nashville, Tennessee
- List of governors of Tennessee
- Governor of Tennessee
- East Tennessee
- Middle Tennessee
- West Tennessee
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Tennessee River
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Clarksville, Tennessee
- Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
- Cleveland, Tennessee
- Dolly Parton
- Tennessee State Guard
- Toqua (Tennessee)
- Great Smoky Mountains
- Great Smoky Mountains
- Interstate 40 in Tennessee
- Old Crow Medicine Show
- Swaggerty Blockhouse
- Unicoi Mountains
- Old City, Knoxville
- Nashville Americans
- Valerie June
- Battle of Fort Donelson
- Battle of Fort Henry
- Collierville, Tennessee
- Vanderbilt University
- Tennessee whiskey
- Jack Daniel's
- Grand Ole Opry
- Battle of Nashville
- Nashville Superspeedway
- Johnny Cash
- Carl Perkins
- Tennessee Waltz
- Morristown, Tennessee
- Fainting goat
- Bessie Smith
- Cookeville, Tennessee
- Murfreesboro, Tennessee
- Bob Corker
- Edgar Evins State Park
- Graceland
- Bledsoe Creek State Park
- Dollywood
- Tennessee Valley Authority
- Black Patch Tobacco Wars
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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The following are images from various Tennessee-related articles on Wikipedia.
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Image 1The Hermitage, plantation home of President Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from Tennessee)
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Image 2Calutron operators at the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project (from Tennessee)
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Image 4Established in 1942, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from Tennessee)
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Image 5Nashville's replica of the Parthenon (built 1897) (from History of Tennessee)
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Image 61861 Bank of Tennessee 1 dollar banknote (from History of Tennessee)
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Image 7Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991–2020 climate normals. (from Tennessee)
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Image 8Surveyor Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from Tennessee)
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Image 10The Ocoee River was home to the 1996 Summer Olympics whitewater slalom events, the only Olympic sporting event ever held in the state. (from Tennessee)
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Image 11The resort city of Gatlinburg borders the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is the most visited national park in the United States. (from Tennessee)
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Image 12Surveyor Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from Tennessee)
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Image 13A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from Tennessee)
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Image 15Mount Le Conte in the Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from Tennessee)
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Image 16The Grand Ole Opry, which was recorded in Nashville's Ryman Auditorium from 1943 to 1974, is the longest-running radio broadcast in US history. (from Tennessee)
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Image 17Al Gore served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1985–1993) and as Vice President (1993–2001) (from Tennessee)
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Image 18Memphis International Airport, the hub of FedEx Corporation, is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from Tennessee)
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Image 19Reconstruction of Fort Loudoun, the first British settlement in Tennessee (from Tennessee)
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Image 20The Hermitage, plantation home of President Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from Tennessee)
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Image 21Map of counties in Tennessee by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Non-Hispanic White
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90%+
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Black or African American
50–60%
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(from Tennessee)
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Image 22Conquistador Hernando de Soto, first European to visit Tennessee (from History of Tennessee)
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Image 23Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from Tennessee)
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Image 24Calutron operators at the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project (from Tennessee)
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Image 25A Nissan Leaf, one of six models manufactured at the Nissan Smyrna Assembly Plant, the largest automotive assembly plant in North America (from Tennessee)
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Image 27The Ocoee River was home to the 1996 Summer Olympics whitewater slalom events, the only Olympic sporting event ever held in the state. (from Tennessee)
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Image 28Workers at the Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from Tennessee)
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Image 31Detail of Tanasi (spelled "Tennessee") on Henry Timberlake's Draught of the Cherokee Country (from Tennessee)
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Image 34Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from Tennessee)
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Image 35The Grand Ole Opry, which was recorded in Nashville's Ryman Auditorium from 1943 to 1974, is the longest-running radio broadcast in US history. (from Tennessee)
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Image 37The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from Tennessee)
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Image 38in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from Tennessee)
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Image 39A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from Tennessee)
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Image 40The Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864 (from Tennessee)
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Image 41The 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from Tennessee)
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Image 42The 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from Tennessee)
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Image 43Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from Tennessee)
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Image 44A Nissan Leaf, one of six models manufactured at the Nissan Smyrna Assembly Plant, the largest automotive assembly plant in North America (from Tennessee)
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Image 45Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991–2020 climate normals. (from Tennessee)
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Image 46Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from Tennessee)
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Image 47in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from Tennessee)
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Image 48The Ryman Auditorium, home of the "Grand Ole Opry" in Nashville (from History of Tennessee)
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Image 49Offices of The Tennessean in Nashville (from Tennessee)
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Image 50Al Gore served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1985–1993) and as Vice President (1993–2001) (from Tennessee)
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Image 51The Hermitage, plantation home of President Andrew Jackson, now a museum in Davidson County (from History of Tennessee)
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Image 53Detail of Tanasi (spelled "Tennessee") on Henry Timberlake's Draught of the Cherokee Country (from Tennessee)
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Image 54Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from Tennessee)
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Image 56Mount Le Conte in the Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from Tennessee)
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Image 57Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from Tennessee)
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Image 582024 U.S. presidential election results by county in Tennessee Republican Democratic (from Tennessee)
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Image 60Memphis International Airport, the hub of FedEx Corporation, is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from Tennessee)
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Image 622024 U.S. presidential election results by county in Tennessee Republican Democratic (from Tennessee)
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Image 64John Bell (from History of Tennessee)
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Image 65The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from Tennessee)
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Image 66The Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864 (from Tennessee)
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Image 67Workers at the Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from Tennessee)
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Image 68A View of Memphis, Tennessee, 1871 (from History of Tennessee)
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Image 69Offices of The Tennessean in Nashville (from Tennessee)
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Image 71Reconstruction of Fort Loudoun, the first British settlement in Tennessee (from Tennessee)
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Image 73The Tennessee at Chattanooga, 1872, by Harry Fenn (from History of Tennessee)
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Image 74Howard Baker served as Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from Tennessee)
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Image 75Howard Baker served as Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from Tennessee)
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Image 77Established in 1942, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from Tennessee)
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Image 78Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from Tennessee)
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Image 79Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from Tennessee)
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Image 80Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from Tennessee)
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Image 81The resort city of Gatlinburg borders the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is the most visited national park in the United States. (from Tennessee)
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Image 82Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from Tennessee)
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Image 83Map of counties in Tennessee by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Non-Hispanic White
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90%+
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Black or African American
50–60%
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(from Tennessee)
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Image 84Fall Creek Falls, the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (from Tennessee)
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Image 85Fall Creek Falls, the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (from Tennessee)
- ... that William Jenkins Wilcox Jr. was given a Citizen Archivist award at a symposium titled "Secret City in the Tennessee Hills: From Dogpatch to Nuclear Power"?
- ... that when guitarist Pete Wade was 19, he moved to Nashville with $3, his suitcase, two ham sandwiches, and the telephone numbers of Don Helms and Jerry Rivers?
- ... that one candidate in the 1990 United States Senate election in Tennessee began the campaign with $3,000 in campaign funds, while the other began with $1 million?
- ... that Interstate 155 is the only piece of surface transportation infrastructure that directly connects the U.S. states of Missouri and Tennessee?
- ... that TV stations in Nashville and in Memphis, Tennessee, both on channel 30, lost their Fox affiliations in 1990?
- ... that Dutch Maid Bakery in Tennessee has survived fire, war, the Great Depression, and the rebranding of its fruitcake?
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Tennessee Communications in Tennessee Native American tribes in Tennessee Organized events in Memphis, Tennessee Professional wrestling in Tennessee Science and technology in Tennessee Tourist attractions in Tennessee Transportation in Tennessee
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