January Timeline
January 1
1685 - LaSalle first landed in Texas then continued to explore along the southern coast.
1863 - Using land and water attacks, Confederate forces captured Galveston Island, holding it until the end of the War.
1890 - Sul Ross, governor of Texas at this time, was elected president of the A & M board, a position he would take over in 1891.
January 2
1836 - Texas was split regarding Mexico. One group, which included James Fannin, thought the Texas army should move south fighting against Mexico. The second group, which included Sam Houston and Governor Smith, opposed this idea. Both groups began working on separate plans on this day.
January 3
1856 - Col. Albert S. Johnston began Camp Cooper as a calvary post for the Comanche Indian Reservation. Robert E. Lee served one year at the Camp.
1959 - Alaska was added as a state, replacing Texas as the largest. Texas, however, is still the largest continental state.
January 4
1823 - Stephen F. Austin was given permission to continue to colonize Texas by Spanish Governor Augustin de Iturbide.
1866 - Fort Jacksboro (which is now Fort Richardson) was built in Jack County to help with the Indian problem.
January 5
1836 - Purchased for $5000, the Independence became the flagship of the Texas Navy. Later it was captured by Mexico and became part of the Mexican Navy.
January 6
1540 - Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was appointed to lead an expedition to find the ’Seven Cities of Cibola’. This expedition took Coronado and his men across the land of Texas.
1862 - Five thousand dollars was given by the Texas Legislature in order to supply Texas Confederate troops with food and clothing.
January 7
1850 - Camp Crawford became Fort McIntosh, a fort used for border control. Now Laredo State University and Laredo Junior College occupy these grounds.
1905 - Harris County had its first major oil strike when the Humble Oil Field struck oil.
January 8
1865 - In the Dove Creek Indian Fight which took place on a branch of the South Concho River, Texas state troopers were defeated.
1866 - Delegates were elected for a Constitutional Convention to be held in February.
1884 - The law, making fence cutting a felony was passed.
January 9
1858 - Past president of the Texas Republic, Anson Jones, committed suicide in Houston.
1859 - Gov. H. R. Runnels called for citizens to avoid confrontations with the Indians.
January 10
1901 - At 10:30am, Spindletop exploded into history for nine oil-gushing days.
January 11
1834 - When a letter he had written fell into Mexican hands, Stephen F. Austin was sent to jail for eighteen months. The letter advised the Texans to make themselves a separate state if his appeal was denied.
January 12
1687 - While La Salle went looking for the Mississippi River, Sieur Barbier commanded Fort St. Louis.
1862 - To buy and manufacture arms, a state military board was created.
1907 - Country music legend Tex Ritter was born in Panola County.
January 13
1874 - Gov. Edmund J. Davis was forced to give up the office in favor of Richard Coke when Democrats took possession of the legislative chambers. Coke took office January 15, some calling him their ’redeemer’. Reconstruction was beginning in Texas with the state very much in debt.
January 14
1836 - The Runaway Scrape began when Texans fled from Mexican troops. The Texas Revolution was in full swing.
1839 - As President of the Republic of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar created a commission of five men to find a site for the government of Texas.
January 15
1874 - Edmund J. Davis left as governor; Richard Coke took office.
1895 - James Hogg left as governor; Charles Culberson took office.
1907 - Samuel Lanham left as governor; Thomas Campbell took office.
1935 - Miriam ’Ma’ Ferguson left as governor; James V. Allred took office.
1957 - Allam Shivers left as governor; Price Daniel took office.
1963 - Price Daniel left as governor; John Connally took office.
January 16
1843 - Though the Congress of Texas passed ’The Secret Act’ where all naval vessels would be sold at auction, the people of Texas said no.
1883 - Oran Roberts left as governor; John Ireland took office.
1973 - Preston Smith left the office of governor and Dolph Briscoe took office.
January 17
1821 - Governor Martinez was notified by Joaquin de Arredondo that Moses Austin’s grant to bring three hundred families to Texas had been granted.
1899 - Charles Culberson left as governor; Josepha Sayers took office.
1927 - Miriam ’Ma’ Ferguson left as governor; Dan Moody took office.
1933 - Ross Sterling left as governor; Miriam ’Ma’ Ferguson took office for her second term.
1939 - Jerry V. Allred left as governor; W. Lee O’Daniel took office.
January 18
1836 - The Texas Navy began: the Liberty, the Invincible, the Independence, and the Brutus.
1887 - John Ireland left as governor; Sul Ross took office.
1921 - William Hobby left as governor; Pat Neff took office.
January 19
1840 - Austin was chosen as the site for Texas’ state capitol building.
1911 - Thomas Campbell left as governor; Oscar Colquitt took office.
1915 - Oscar Colquitt left as governor; James E. ’Pa’ Ferguson took office.
1943 - Rock singer Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur.
January 20
1685 - LaSalle and his men erected a camp.
1891 - Sul Ross left as governor; James S. Hogg took office.
1903 - Joseph Sayers left as governor; Samuel Lanham took office.
1923 - Pat Neff left as governor; Miriam ’Ma’ Ferguson took office.
1931 - Dan Moody left as governor; Ross S. Sterling took office.
January 21
1861 - South Carolina seceded from the Union prompting Governor Sam Houston to ask legislature what Texas should do.
1879 - Richard Hubbard left as governor; Oran Roberts took office.
1947 - Coke Stevensone left as governor; Beauford Jester took office.
1969 - John Connally left as governor; Preston Smith took office.
January 22
1879 - A woodcutter from Atascosa County brought a strange, armor-shelled animal to San Antonio. Seems the citizens had never seen anything like it before. The asking price for this strange animal was $50. The good people of San Antonio had witnessed their first armadillo.
1973 - Lyndon Baines Johnson died at his ranch.
January 23
1691 - Domingo Teran de los Rios became the first Spanish governor of the province of Texas. He was given the charge to rule ’Tejas and adjacent regions’.
1762 - In Edwards County, the Mission San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz was founded.
January 24
1839 - The Congress of the Republic of Texas founded the Texas State Library. Ten thousand dollars was given for books.
1876 - A fatal fight between Bat Masterson and Sgt. Ed King was fought in Mobeetie, near Pampa, TX. Masterson lived to tell about it.
January 25
1839 - The Texas flag that is still flown today was approved as the flag of the Republic of Texas. It is the only state flag that was also used as an independent country's flag. As Texas was its own country, the Texas flag may fly along side the United States and not always under it.
1905 - The Daughters of the Republic of Texas became the guardians of the Alamo shrine and grounds.
January 26
1833 - Sculptress ElisabetNey (who did the magnificent sculpture of Albert Sydney Johnston reposing in eternal rest that is on display in Austin) was born in Germany.
1837 - The Laura sailed into Buffalo Bayou and became the first seafaring vessel to come into this area by the Houston area.
1839 - Congress set aside land in each county for the building of primary schools and academies.
January 27
1827 - Victor Blanco stepped down from the governorship of Coahuila and Texas. During his term of office, Benjamin and Haden Edwards had their land grant forfeited by Blanco. Not ones to give up, the Edwardses claimed the land to be the free Republic of Freedonia.
January 28
1840 - The first chamber of commerce was organized in Houston.
1861 - Texas seceded from the Union on this date.
January 29
1844 - Charles Fenton Mercer, who founded the Mercer Colony, was granted an empresarioship from President Sam Houston.
1918 - Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio began operation on this date. There were over 1000 enlisted men and officers at that time.
January 30
1841 - Chartered by the Republic of Texas, Galveston University operated for three years, closing in 1844.
1928 - The man for whom Randolph Air Force Base was named, Capt. William Randolph, was killed in an airplane crash.
January 31
1831 - Robert M. Williamson and John Aitken founded the publication Mexican Citizen.
1863 - Confederate gunboats Josiah Bell and Uncle Ben captured the Union warships Moderate Light and Velocity.