cieri5 ChrisB

By wisdstudent

  • Thanksgiving

    Thanksgiving
    1598 - April 30 - Thanksgiving is held near present-day El Paso by Juan de Oñate, the members of his expedition and natives of the region.
  • Period: to

    Texas

  • Explorers

    Explorers
    1685 - February 16 - French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, looking for the mouth of the Mississippi River, lands in Texas by mistake. He establishes a colony, Fort St. Louis, on Garcitas Creek in present-day Victoria County.

  • La salle is killed

    La Salle is killed by several of his own men at an unknown East Texas location.

  • Fearing French

    Spanish Gen. Alonso de León's expedition finds the remains of Fort St. Louis. Fearing French intentions to lay claim to Spanish territory, the Spanish begin establishing missions and settlements in East Texas.

  • First East Texas mission

    First East Texas mission under construction, San Francisco de los Tejas, near present-day Weches, Houston Co. The mission is closed in 1693.

  • First election held in Texas

    First election held in Texas, voters choose officials of the municipal government of San Fernando.

  • Santa Cruz de San Sabá mission destroyed and eight residents killed

    Santa Cruz de San Sabá mission near present-day Menard destroyed and eight residents killed by Comanches and their allies.

  • Texas' first hurricane

    Texas' first recorded hurricane strikes near Galveston

  • Moses Austin dies

    Moses Austin dies, his son, Stephen F. Austin, receives authority to continue the colonizing effort.

  • Mexico independence

    Mexico gains independence from Spain.

  • Stephen F. Austin received a grant

    Stephen F. Austin received a grant from the Mexican government and began colonization in the region of the Brazos River. Mexican officials approve Austin's plan to bring three hundred families into his colony. This group becomes known as the "Old Three Hundred."

  • immigration

    Mexican government stops legal immigration into Texas from the United States except in special cases. Relations between Anglo settlers and the Mexican government deteriorate.

  • First bloodshed

    First bloodshed of the Texas Revolution takes place at Velasco when Texans, transporting a cannon from Brazoria to Anahuac, are challenged by Mexican forces at Velasco. The Mexicans surrender on June 29.

  • Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed

    Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed, ending the War with Mexico and specifying the location of the international boundary.

  • Robert E. Lee arrives in San Antonio

    Robert E. Lee arrives in San Antonio. He serves at Camp Cooper on the Comanche reservation beginning April 9. He returns to Washington for a short time, coming back to San Antonio and Fort Mason in February 1860.

  • a Battle after the Civil War

    The Battle of Palmito Ranch is fought near Brownsville, after the official end of the Civil War, because word of the war's end at Appomattox on April 9 has not yet reached troops in Texas.

  • Great Hurricane kills 6,000

    The "Great Hurricane," destroys much of Galveston and kills 6,000 people there.

  • Oil found

    Oil found by mining engineer Capt. A.F. Lucas at Spindletop near Beaumont catapults Texas into the petroleum age.

  • The Democratic National Convention is held in Houston,

    The Democratic National Convention is held in Houston, the first nominating convention held in a Southern city since 1860.

  • Texas Centennial Exposition opens at Dallas' Fair Park

    Texas Centennial Exposition opens at Dallas' Fair Park; it runs until Nov. 29.

  • The disaster kills almost 600

    The French-owned SS Grandcamp, carrying ammonium nitrate, explodes in the Texas City harbor, followed the next morning by the explosion of the SS High Flyer. The disaster kills almost 600 and injures at least 4,000 more. The concussion is felt 75 miles away in Port Arthur, and the force creates a 15-foot tidal wave.

  • 150 homes and 185 other buildings are destroyed.

    A tornado kills 114, injures 597 at Waco; 150 homes and 185 other buildings are destroyed.

  • Ed White becomes the first American to walk in space.

    San Antonio native Ed White becomes the first American to walk in space.

  • Houston, the Eagle has landed

    Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong transmits the first words from the surface of the moon: "Houston, the Eagle has landed."