[sel-muh] 
| 1. | a city in central Alabama, on the Alabama River. 26,684. |
| 2. | a town in central California. 10,942. |
| 3. | a female given name. |
| Sel·ma (sěl'mə) A city of south-central Alabama west of Montgomery. In 1965 it was the site of a voter registration drive led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Population: 19,300. |
City in south-central Alabama.
Note: In 1965, during the civil rights movement, Selma was the center of a registration drive for black voters, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Selma
city, seat (1865) of Dallas county, central Alabama, U.S. It lies on the Alabama River about 50 miles (80 km) west of Montgomery. The site was first recorded on a map in 1732 as Ecor Bienville; it was later called Moore's Bluff, for a settler who arrived about 1815. It was renamed about 1819 by William Rufus King, an organizer of the town, for one of Scottish poet James Macpherson's Ossian poems. A Confederate supply depot during the American Civil War, it was burned by Union troops after being captured in battle (April 2, 1865).
Learn more about Selma with a free trial on Britannica.com.
mə