The name of Biloxi in French was Bilocci, a transliteration of the term for the local Native American tribe in their language. Labeled along with "Fort Maurepas"<ref name=enquete/> on maps dated circa year 1710/1725, the name was sometimes used in English as "Fort Bilocci".<ref name="rmaps1">"Pas-Kaart Van de Golff van Mexico" (map from Amsterdam/1710),
In 1720, the area of today's city of Biloxi was settled for the first time around Fort Louis, and the administrative capital of French Louisiana was moved to Biloxi from Mobile. French Louisiana, part of New France, was known in French as La Louisiane in colonial times. In modern times it is called La Louisiane française to distinguish it from the modern state of Louisiana.<ref name="enquete">"La Louisiane française" (in French), by Virginie Tanlay, from book Histoire de la Louisiane, flfa-enquete7Template:Webarchive: states that Iberville chose "le site de Bilocci" (or Biloxi)
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Due to fears of tides and hurricanes, colonial governor Bienville moved the capital of French Louisiana in 1722 from Biloxi to a new inland harbor town named La Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans), built for this purpose in 1718–1720.Template:Citation needed
British rule lasted from 1763 to 1779, followed by Spanish rule from 1779 to 1810. Despite this, the character of Biloxi remained mostly French, as their descendants made up the majority of the population.<ref name="hco">"Biloxi: A Historic & Cultural Overview". City of Biloxi historical pamphlet, 2003.</ref> In 1811, the U.S. traded with Spain to take over Biloxi and the related area, making it part of their Mississippi Territory. Mississippi, and Biloxi with it, was admitted as a state to the union in 1817.
Biloxi began to grow. In the antebellum period of the 19th century, it became known as a summer resort due to its proximity to the breezes and beaches of the coast. It also had the advantages of proximity to New Orleans and ease of access via water. Summer homes were built by wealthy slave-owners and commercial figures, and hotels and rental cottages were developed to serve those who could not afford their own homes.<ref name="hco"/>
The Biloxi Lighthouse was built in Baltimore, Maryland, and shipped south, where it was completed at the site in May 1848.<ref name="blh">"Biloxi Lighthouse". City of Biloxi historical datasheet, 2003.</ref> (It is one of two surviving lighthouses on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which at one time had twelve.<ref name="blh"/>)
In the early stages of the Civil War, Ship Island was captured by Union forces, enabling them to take control of Biloxi. No major battles were fought in the area, and Biloxi did not suffer direct damage from the war.<ref name="hco"/> Some local Union sentiment could be discerned following the war's conclusion.<ref name="blh"/>
In the postbellum period, Biloxi again emerged as a vacation spot. Its popularity as a destination increased with railroad access. In 1881, the first cannery was built in the town to process seafood, leading others to join the location. This stimulated development in the city and attracted new immigrants from Europe and various ethnic groups who worked in the seafood factories. They processed shrimp and other local seafood. These changes gave Biloxi a more heterogeneous population.<ref name="hco"/>
Biloxi's casino history dates to a period in the 1940s. At the time, open, if technically illegal, gambling took place in a casino within the Broadwater Beach Resort.<ref name="sh-landmark">Template:Cite news</ref> Open gambling ended during the 1950s.<ref name="sh-before">Template:Cite web</ref> The Mississippi Gulf Coast became known as the "Poor Man's Riviera", and was frequented by Southern families interested in fishing expeditions during the summer.<ref name="nyt-1963"/> Commercially, Biloxi was dominated by shrimp boats and oyster luggers.<ref name="nyt-1963"/> The tradition of blessing fishing boats in the US seems to have first taken place in Biloxi in 1929 and has been practised ever since.<ref name="Melton">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="WLOX2023">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1959, Biloxi was the site of "Mississippi's first public assault on racial barriers in its 15-year civil rights struggle."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gilbert R. Mason, a black physician in Biloxi, went swimming at a local beach with seven black friends. They were ordered to leave by a city policeman, who told them that "Negroes don't come to the sand beach".<ref name=gestapo>Template:Cite journal</ref> Mason reacted by leading a series of protests, known as the Biloxi Wade-Ins. The protests were followed in 1960 by the worst racial riot in Mississippi history, during which ten people died.<ref name=denies>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> Ultimately, the protests led to the desegregation of the beaches of Biloxi.<ref name="gestapo"/>
In the early 1960s, the Gulf Coast again emerged as a prime alternative to Florida as a southern vacation destination among Northerners, with Biloxi a favored destination.<ref name="nyt-1963">Template:Cite news</ref> Biloxi hotels upgraded their amenities and hired chefs from France and Switzerland in an effort to provide some of the best seafood cuisine in the country.<ref name="nyt-1963"/> Edgewater Mall was built in 1963. The Biloxi Dragway hosted drag races between 1957 and 1967.
To celebrate the area's tricentennial in 1998/99, the city's tourism promotion agency invited the nationally syndicated Travel World Radio Show to broadcast live from Biloxi, with co-host Willem Bagchus in attendance
Scores of hurricanes have hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but the most destructive, as measured by storm surge levels in the Biloxi Lighthouse, occurred in 1855, 1906, 1909, 1947, 1969 (Hurricane Camille), and 2005 (Hurricane Katrina)<ref>Debbie Stringer. 2010. "Biloxi's Guiding Light". Today in Mississippi (Ridgeland, MS), Volume 63, Number 5, May 2010.</ref>
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast with high winds, heavy rains and a Template:Convert storm surge, causing massive damage to the area. Katrina came ashore during the high tide of 6:56Template:Nbspam, +2.3 feet more.<ref>"2005 NOAA Tide Predictions: Biloxi (Cadet Point), Biloxi Bay" (2005), tide on 29-Aug-2005, NOAA, web: NOAA-tide-tablesTemplate:Webarchive.</ref> Commenting on the power of the storm and the damage, Mayor A. J. Holloway said, "This is our tsunami."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour was quoted as saying the destruction of the Mississippi coastline by Hurricane Katrina looked like an American Hiroshima.
Hurricane Katrina damaged over 40 Mississippi libraries beyond repair, breaking windows and flooding several feet in the Biloxi Public Library, requiring a total rebuild.<ref>"Hurricane Katrina Related Damages to Public Libraries in Mississippi" (September 2005), Mississippi Library Commission, web: ALA-KatrinaTemplate:Webarchive.</ref>
Biloxi is located in southeastern Harrison County, bordered to the south by Mississippi Sound (part of the Gulf of Mexico) and to the northeast partially by Biloxi Bay, which forms part of the Jackson County line. To the northeast, across Biloxi Bay, are the Jackson County city of Ocean Springs and the unincorporated community of St. Martin. The Back Bay of Biloxi continues west from the Jackson County line, crossing the city of Biloxi to Big Lake on the city's western boundary, where the Biloxi and Tchoutacabouffa rivers join. The Tchoutacbouffa flows from east to west across the city and forms part of the city's eastern boundary. Biloxi is bordered to the north and east by the city of D'Iberville and to the west by the city of Gulfport.
Biloxi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) that is heavily influenced by the Gulf of Mexico. Winter days are mild and wet. Snow is extremely rare in Biloxi. Summers are hot and humid, bearing the brunt of tropical storms during the late summer to fall. Biloxi's record low of Template:Convert was recorded on February 12, 1899, and the record high of Template:Convert was recorded on August 29, 2000, and tied again on August 26, 2023.
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Biloxi is home to eight casino resort hotels, with 24-hour gambling, concert entertainment shows, and several restaurants. Many casinos were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but eventually reopened.<ref name=BixCasinos>"Tentative re-opening plans for Biloxi casino resorts" (2006), City of Biloxi, www.Biloxi.ms.us, webpage: Biloxi-CasinosTemplate:Webarchive.</ref>
Biloxi is the setting of Neil Simon's play and film Biloxi Blues, which starred Mathew Broderick. Biloxi Blues is the story of army recruits during World War II training at Keesler Field, the present-day Keesler Air Force Base.
The song "Louisiana", by The Loved Ones, is about the rebuilding of the hurricane ravaged areas on the Gulf Coast. Louisiana, Biloxi, and Alabama are specifically used by name.
The tradition of the Blessing of the Fleet, going back to 1929, takes place every year in late May/early June before the shrimp seasons to usher in a safe and prosperous season for each boat. The event is connected with the Shrimp festival as well as the ceremonial dropping of a wreath in remembrance of fishermen who have died.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the center of what fisheries biologists term "The Fertile Fisheries Crescent", Biloxi offers some of the finest sportsfishing along the entire northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Spotted seatrout, red drum, Spanish and king mackerel, flounder, snapper, grouper, sharks, and more are all available to anglers during the fishing season. It is not known how Hurricane Katrina affected this ecosystem.Template:Citation needed
According to Nielsen Media Research, the Biloxi market, as of the 2015–2016 season, is the third largest of five television markets in Mississippi, and the 158th largest in the country.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Three major television stations serve the Biloxi area. ABC and CBS affiliate WLOX 13 and PBS/MPB member station WMAH-TV 19 are located in Biloxi, while Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WXXV-TV 25 is located in Gulfport. In addition to the stations' main programming, WLOX and WXXV-TV broadcast programming from other networks on digital subchannels. WLOX-DT2 serves as the market's CBS affiliate, while WXXV-TV operates the market's respective NBC and CW affiliates on DT2 and DT3.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Coast Transit Authority provides bus service to the region with fixed-route and paratransit services.
Biloxi's main highway is U.S. Highway 90 (Beach Boulevard), which runs along the beach and by the casinos. It connects the city to Gulfport and points westward and to Ocean Springs and Pascagoula to the east. The Biloxi Bay Bridge, connecting Biloxi and Ocean Springs, was rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina, and was fully reopened in April 2008.
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