Texas Day by Day
Find out what happened today in Texas history.
Governor Coke appoints commander of Frontier Battalion
149 years ago today on May 2nd, 1874
On this day in 1874, Governor Richard Coke appointed John B. Jones to command the newly raised Frontier Battalion of Texas Rangers. Jones, a veteran of the Civil War, was well suited to execute the governor's mandate to put an end to Indian raids on the frontier and to enforce the laws of Texas in the interior. The new battalion was successful in suppressing Indian incursions against white settlements. Jones reported to Gen. William Steele that during the first six months of the battalion's service more than forty Indian raiding parties had been reported on the frontier, of which the rangers engaged fourteen. During the second six months Jones's men had only four Indian fights, and after May 1875 only six raids and one small battle were reported. During this period Jones reported an estimated thirty-seven Indians killed; the battalion lost two killed and six wounded. In the seven years of its service under his command the battalion was also responsible for the quelling of considerable civil unrest as well as the return of much stolen property recovered from the Indians.
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Henry Robert, engineer and parliamentarian, born in South Carolina
186 years ago today on May 2nd, 1837
On this day in 1837, Henry Martyn Robert was born in Robertville, South Carolina. As an engineer, he was involved in most of the major river and harbor improvement and fortification projects undertaken by the U.S. government in the later nineteenth century. After the Galveston hurricane of 1900 he served as consulting chairman of the board of engineers to design means of protection against future tidal waves. The result was a seawall that successfully saved the city of Galveston in two subsequent hurricanes, in 1909 and 1915. Robert also became this country's leading parliamentarian. Robert's Rules of Order, first published in February 1876, remains in print in 2001 as an authoritative reference work on parliamentary procedure.
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Boerne Village Band honored by German president
31 years ago today on May 2nd, 1992
On this day in 1992, Richard von Weizsaeker, the president of Germany who was in Houston on a state visit, commended the German musical tradition exemplified by the Boerne Village Band. German immigrants to Texas had a profound influence on the development of music in the state. Acclaimed as "the Oldest Continuously Organized German Band in the World outside Germany Itself," the Boerne Village Band was organized in 1860 by Karl Dienger to complement the Boerne Gesang Verein (singing club). The band practiced in barns during the difficult Civil War period. After the war it continued to practice and play at various events in and around Boerne. During World War I and World War II the band was less active but remained organized, and it has flourished since 1945. Dr. Kenneth Herbst became director of the band in 1972 and attended the luncheon at which the German leader made his remarks. For the band's 130th anniversary in 1990, Peter Fihn, a noted German composer, dedicated and presented his march, "Grüsse an Texas" ("Greetings to Texas"), to the band. In the 1990s the band continued to perform regularly at the Texas Folklife Festival, the New Braunfels Wurstfest, the Kendall County Fair, the Boerne Berges Fest, Boerne Abendkonzerte (summer evening concerts), and many other events.
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From Cabeza de Vaca's ship-wreck in 1528 through the Texas Revolution to present day—almost 500 years of recorded history—a myriad of significant events in Texas history have occurred. These events are arranged by day of the year to allow the reader to see into the past on any specific day.
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Recent & Upcoming Anniversaries
The following entries have anniversaries that occurred this month or will occur in the next 2 month(s)
325th Anniversary
- San Juan Bautista Mission founded 1 month 3 weeks from now
310th Anniversary
- St. Denis arrives at San Juan Bautista 2 months 2 weeks from now
245th Anniversary
- American Revolution reaches Texas 1 month 2 weeks from now
205th Anniversary
- Provisional government declares Texas independence 1 month 3 weeks from now
- Early Texas journalist heralds Long expedition 1 month 1 week from now
200th Anniversary
- Austin Colony settlers clash with Karankawas 1 month 3 weeks from now
195th Anniversary
- Future Alamo defender and survivor elope 3 weeks from now
- Irish trader takes citizenship oath 2 weeks from now
185th Anniversary
- Texans defeat Cherokees in battle of the Neches 2 months 2 weeks from now
- Republic of Texas defeats revolutionary plotters in key action 2 weeks from now
- "Village Blacksmith of Cumby" born in Tennessee 4 weeks from now
- Principal battle of Cherokee War begins 2 months 2 weeks from now
- Lamar expresses good will to Chief Colita 2 months 1 week from now
180th Anniversary
- Pioneer Texas doctor born in Alabama 2 weeks from now
- English writer leaves Texas 2 months 1 week from now
- Historic steamer arrives in Texas 6 days from now
175th Anniversary
- Major Neighbors returns to San Antonio after leading historic western surveying expedition 1 month 1 day from now
- German furniture artist arrives in Texas 2 weeks from now
170th Anniversary
- Texas Germans declare slavery to be evil 1 week from now
165th Anniversary
- Mexican folk hero shoots Brownsville marshal 2 months 1 week from now
160th Anniversary
- Partisan leader promoted 1 month 23 hours from now
- Former Texan rallies Union troops, awarded Medal of Honor 5 days from now
- Hood's Texas Brigade rallies around General Lee 5 days from now
- Civil War skirmish at Las Rusias 1 month 3 weeks from now
155th Anniversary
- Alleged participants in mob killing go on trial 3 weeks from now
150th Anniversary
- Governor Coke appoints commander of Frontier Battalion 1 day from now
- Indian raiders strike again at Adobe Walls 1 month 3 weeks from now
- Feudists intensify conflict by lynching 1 month 2 weeks from now
145th Anniversary
- New law authorizes sale of state land to finance education 2 months 1 week from now
- Northeast Texas community gets a post office 1 month 2 weeks from now
- Greatest manager in Texas League history born 2 months 23 hours from now
140th Anniversary
- Santa Fe Expedition survivor dies 2 months 2 weeks from now
- First public hospital in Central Texas opens 2 months 2 days from now
135th Anniversary
- Texas booster fair opens in Fort Worth 4 weeks from now
130th Anniversary
- Water-well contractor accidentally discovers first major Texas oilfield 1 month 1 week from now
125th Anniversary
- Water rises disastrously as rain gluts the Brazos rivershed 1 month 2 weeks from now
120th Anniversary
- First train to Brownsville touches off Kingsville celebration 2 months 3 days from now
105th Anniversary
- Texas Senate ratifies women's right to vote 1 month 3 weeks from now
- Racial disturbance rocks Longview 2 months 1 week from now
- Texas congressman calls Mexican president a "spineless cactus" 1 month 2 weeks from now
100th Anniversary
- Congress establishes United States Border Patrol 3 weeks from now
90th Anniversary
- Murderers and bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde gunned down in Louisiana 3 weeks from now
85th Anniversary
- UT observatory dedicated in Davis Mountains 4 days from now
- Soil Conservation Board established 4 weeks from now
- Refugee conductor gives "demonstration concert" in San Antonio 1 month 1 week from now
80th Anniversary
- African-American civil rights advocate achieves ballot 2 months 3 weeks from now
- Rudder's Rangers fight with distinction on Normandy beaches 1 month 5 days from now
75th Anniversary
- Residents of homestead community petition for incorporation 1 month 4 weeks from now
65th Anniversary
- African American bus franchise in Houston suburb is first in the South 2 months 23 hours from now
60th Anniversary
- San Antonio preservationist and architect dies 2 months 1 week from now
- Construction begins at Toledo Bend Reservoir 1 week from now
- Natural Bridge Caverns, largest in Texas, opens to public 2 months 2 days from now
55th Anniversary
- New park opens to public 1 month 23 hours from now
- Last passenger train leaves Dallas terminal 4 weeks from now
- New airport opens in Houston 1 month 1 week from now
- El Paso County gives rock art site to state 1 month 1 week from now
50th Anniversary
- Old Galveston lives again in restored Ashton Villa 2 months 3 weeks from now
45th Anniversary
- Dallas designates Federal Reserve Bank a historic landmark 1 week from now
- Novelist dies after fistfight 1 month 6 days from now
- Orange Show opens to the public 1 week from now
40th Anniversary
- Landmark public education suit filed 3 weeks from now
25th Anniversary
- Spurs are champions! 1 month 3 weeks from now