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Apr 16, 1500
The first European explorers
Prior to the arrival of Prior the first European explorers, numerous tribes of the Indians of Texas occupied the region between the Rio Grande to the south and the Red River to the north. numerous tribes of the Indians of Texas occupied the region between the Rio Grande to the south and the Red River to the north. -
Apr 16, 1516
Alonso Alvarez de Pineda
Sailing from a base in Jamaica, Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, a Spanish adventurer, was the first known European to explore and map the Texas coastline. -
Nov 16, 1528
Cabeza de Vaca shipwrecked
Cabeza de Vaca shipwrecked on what is believed today to be Galveston Island. After trading in the region for some six years, he later explored the Texas interior on his way to Mexico. -
Fort St. Louis
Robert Cavelier, Sieur de LaSalle established Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay, and thus formed the basis for France's claim to Texas. Two years later, LaSalle was murdered by his own men. -
Spanish Texas
Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. Although Spain nominally claimed ownership of the territory, which comprised part of modern-day Texas, including the land north of the Medina and Nueces Rivers, the Spanish did not attempt to colonize the area until after discovering evidence of the failed French colony of Fort Saint Louis in 1689. In 1690, Alonso De León escorted several Catholic missionaries to East Texas, where they established the first missio -
San Antonio
San Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventh-largest city in the United States with a population of 1.3 million. The city is the seat of Bexar County. Located in the American Southwest and the northern part of South Texas, San Antonio is the center of Tejano culture and Texas tourism.The city is characteristic of other Southwest urban centers in which there are sparsely populated areas and a low density rate outsi -
Catholic missions
Throughout the 18th century, Spain established Catholic missions in Texas, and along with the missions, the towns of San Antonio, Goliad and Nacogdoches. -
San Antonio
In early 1800, San Antonio was in a flourishing state. True, the buildings were mostly mud-houses, yet the place was extensive. The troops were stationed on the east side of the river, near the Alamo, in the new parish of Valero, then under the care of Father Clemente Delgado. The old town had a separate curate. The missions below the town, having been secularized, were all unoccupied, except that of San Jose. These old missions, the work of other days, had long been the seat of hospitality, of -
G.G.T.
In the early 1800’s, people would find the initials G.T.T. carved on the doors of families’ and friends’. G.T.T. - Gone To Texas. -
Irish
Around 1828 Irish families settled in small groups in many areas of Texas, before Texas independence from Mexico. The Irish Catholics were thought to be good, loyal, Catholics by the Mexican government. However, the Irish became important members of the Texas army. Many of the Irish colonists fought against Santa Anna in the Texas revolution. -
Mexico forbid further emigration
Relations between the Texans and Mexico reached a new low when Relations between the Texans and Mexico reached a new low when Mexico forbid further emigration into Texas by settlers from the United States. -
Austin
The recorded history of Austin, Texas, began with the first permanent settlement of the area in 1835. In the late 19th century, the establishment of several universities in the city made Austin a center of education. In the 20th century, Austin also became known for its music (now known as "the Live Music Capital of the World"), as well as its technology industry. Austin's history has also been largely tied to government and politics; at one time it was the capital of the Republic of Texas, and -
The Alamo
On February 23, 1836, the arrival of General Antonio López de Santa Anna's army outside San Antonio nearly caught them by surprise. Undaunted, the Texians and Tejanos prepared to defend the Alamo together. The defenders held out for 13 days against Santa Anna's army. William B. Travis, the commander of the Alamo sent forth couriers carrying pleas for help to communities in Texas. On the eighth day of the siege, a band of 32 volunteers from Gonzales arrived, bringing the number of defenders to ne -
The Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent state in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846. Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S. state of Texas, as well as parts of present-day New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming based upon the Treaties of Velasco between the newly created Texas Republic and Mexico. The eastern boun -
Votes for women
Votes for women were first seriously proposed in the United States in July, 1848, at the Seneca Falls Woman's Rights Convention organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. One woman who attended that convention was Charlotte Woodward. She was nineteen at the time. In 1920, when women finally won the vote throughout the nation, Charlotte Woodward was the only participant in the 1848 Convention who was still alive to be able to cast a vote, though she was apparently too ill to actually -
Dallas
Foreign immigration to Texas has enriched the culture and people of our state. One of the largest European groups to settle Texas were the Germans. In the 1860s, one-fifth of the residents of Houston, Galveston, and San Antonio were German. Towns such as New Braunfels and Fredericksburg continue to celebrate their heritage. Polish families migrated to Texas during the mid-1800s while many Czechs came during the 1840s to escape the political turmoil in Europe. -
Texas secede
Texas did secede in 1861, but the North's victory in the Civil War put an end to that. Perry is running for re-election against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a fellow Republican. His anti-Washington remarks have become more strident the past few weeks as that 2010 race gets going and since Perry rejected $550 million in federal economic stimulus money slated to help Texas' unemployment trust fund. -
The first battle of Sabine Pass
The first battle of Sabine Pass took place between September 24 – 25, 1862. Sabine Pass is located in Jefferson County. The purpose of the battle was the Union’s plans to operate a blockade of the Texas Coast and to give a point so forces could enter Texas. During this engagement, the Union commander was Acting Master Fredrick Crocker. The Confederate commander was Major J.S. Irvine. -
Great Depression & oil
Despite the onset of the Great Depression, business in construction was flourishing in 1930. That year, Columbus Marion "Dad" Joiner struck oil 100 miles (160 km) east of Dallas in Kilgore, spawning the East Texas oil boom, part of the larger Texas Oil Boom of the early 1900s. Dallas quickly became the financial center for the oil industry in Texas and Oklahoma. In the first months of 1931, 28 petroleum-related businesses either moved to or formed in Dallas. Banks made loans to develop the oil f -
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was an ecological and human disaster caused by misuse of land and years of sustained drought.[1] Millions of acres of farmland became useless, and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes; many of these families (often known as "Okies", since so many came from Oklahoma) traveled to California and other states, where they found economic conditions little better than those they had left. Owning no land, many traveled from farm to farm picking fruit and other c -
KKK
Soon, government officials in Texas needed Klan backing if they wanted to get re-elected. And first-time candidates sought the KKK’s endorsement if they were not already members. The Klan grew so large in Dallas County, no building in the city could accommodate their meetings. -
oil in Texas
The easy-going rural life of East Texas changed drastically with the discovery of oil in 1930 and 1931 – years of hardship, scorn, luck and wealth which brought people, ideas, institutions and national attention to East Texas. -
USS Texas
Four ships of the United States Navy have borne (and the fourth being a nuclear submarine) the name USS Texas, in honor of the State of Texas. -
Kennedy
The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time (18:30 UTC) in Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was fatally shot while riding with his wife Jacqueline in a Presidential motorcade. -
Dooms Day
the day we all die
