Texas Day by Day
Find out what happened today in Texas history.
East Texas lake completed
59 years ago today on March 29th, 1965
On this day in 1965 the deliberate impoundment of water began at Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The reservoir is dammed eighty miles north of Beaumont, is fed by the Angelina River, and covers part of Jasper, Angelina, Sabine, Nacogdoches, and San Augustine counties. Construction began on September 7, 1956. The reservoir's name was changed from McGee Bend to Sam Rayburn, in honor of the congressional leader, in 1963. The dam serves two hydroelectric plants. The lake has a drainage area of 3,449 square miles. It is a favorite resort destination for East Texans.
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Rebels defeat Spanish royalists
210 years ago today on March 29th, 1813
On this day in 1813, the battle of Rosillo was fought on a prairie near the confluence of Rosillo and Salado creeks, nine miles southeast of San Antonio. The engagement was between the Republican Army of the North led by José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara and Samuel Kemper and a Spanish royalist force under Texas governor Manuel María de Salcedo and Nuevo León governor Simón de Herrera. The republican army, variously estimated at 600 to 900 men, was advancing along the road from La Bahía to San Antonio when it was confronted by a royalist force variously reported to be 950 to 1,500 men.The ensuing battle was bloody and brief, lasting no more than an hour but resulting in the complete rout of the royalists and the capture of most of their arms and ammunition, six cannons, and 1,500 horses and mules. Royalist losses were heavy, estimated to be 100 to 330 men, while the republicans lost only six men. The battle of Rosillo resulted in the capture of San Antonio and the establishment of a first "republic of Texas," but the rebellion was eventually crushed at the battle of Medina in August 1813.
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Ann Raguet marries Robert Irion instead of Sam Houston
183 years ago today on March 29th, 1840
On this day in 1840, Anna W. Raguet, who was courted by Sam Houston, married Robert A. Irion instead. The eldest child of Texas pioneer Henry Raguet, Anna was born in Pennsylvania in 1819 and lived in Cincinnati until she was brought to Nacogdoches by her father in the spring of 1833. There she became acquainted with Sam Houston. He evidently contemplated marrying her, for in 1833 he engaged the services of Jonas Harrison to secure a divorce for him from his first wife, Eliza Allen. As divorces were not granted under Mexican law, nothing came of the application, but Houston's courtship continued. Soon after he became president of the Republic of Texas he issued a proclamation giving his authority to Judge Shelby Corzine to try his application for divorce in the district court of San Augustine County, although Congress was supposed to have exclusive jurisdiction of such matters. Houston's attorney, W. G. Anderson, used the same petition that had been drawn up by Jonas Harrison. The divorce was granted on April 8, 1837, but did not satisfy the scruples of Anna Raguet, who apparently abandoned any plans she might have had for marrying Houston. Robert Irion, secretary of state under Houston, bore many messages between Anna and the president. When Irion learned of the final rift between the two, he persuaded her to marry him. The date of their marriage differs in printed sources, one saying March 29, another March 30, and a third April 9. The couple had five children.
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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)
470th Anniversary
- Spanish treasure ships wrecked on Padre Island 1 month 23 hours from now
335th Anniversary
- Spanish explorer names the Nueces 6 days from now
- Coahuila governor discovers and names Guadalupe River 2 weeks from now
- Spanish explorer finds defunct French fort 3 weeks from now
315th Anniversary
- Expedition reaches future site of San Antonio 2 weeks from now
195th Anniversary
- Future Alamo defender and survivor elope 1 month 3 weeks from now
- Irish trader takes citizenship oath 1 month 3 weeks from now
185th Anniversary
- Republic of Texas defeats revolutionary plotters in key action 1 month 2 weeks from now
- "Village Blacksmith of Cumby" born in Tennessee 2 months 2 days from now
180th Anniversary
- Pioneer Texas doctor born in Alabama 1 month 3 weeks from now
- Historic steamer arrives in Texas 1 month 1 week from now
175th Anniversary
- Secessionist paper founded in Marshall 1 day from now
- Fort Inge established on Texas frontier 2 weeks ago
- German furniture artist arrives in Texas 1 month 3 weeks from now
170th Anniversary
- War Department orders surveys for Indian reservations 4 weeks from now
- Texas Germans declare slavery to be evil 1 month 2 weeks from now
- Prairie chicken namesake born in England 4 weeks from now
160th Anniversary
- General Taylor foils Union campaign in Louisiana 1 week from now
- Former Texan rallies Union troops, awarded Medal of Honor 1 month 1 week from now
- Hood's Texas Brigade rallies around General Lee 1 month 1 week from now
- Confederate guerilla leader arrested by own side 1 day ago
155th Anniversary
- Alleged participants in mob killing go on trial 1 month 3 weeks from now
- High court rules that Texas can sue in federal courts despite secession 2 weeks from now
150th Anniversary
- Governor Coke appoints commander of Frontier Battalion 1 month 4 days from now
- First letter from "Pidge" appears in Austin paper 4 weeks from now
- Wildcatter born in Lithuania 2 weeks ago
145th Anniversary
- First county in Panhandle organized 2 weeks from now
140th Anniversary
- World-famous animal trapper born in Texas 1 week ago
135th Anniversary
- Texas booster fair opens in Fort Worth 2 months 23 hours from now
130th Anniversary
- March on Washington falters in desert 1 week ago
125th Anniversary
120th Anniversary
- West Texas Landscape painter born in Milford 2 weeks from now
- Black gold gushes in East Texas 3 weeks ago
100th Anniversary
- Congress establishes United States Border Patrol 1 month 4 weeks from now
- West Texas Historical Association organized in Abilene 3 weeks from now
- Texas baritone makes professional debut in New York 3 weeks from now
95th Anniversary
90th Anniversary
- Murderers and bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde gunned down in Louisiana 1 month 3 weeks from now
85th Anniversary
- UT observatory dedicated in Davis Mountains 1 month 1 week from now
- Soil Conservation Board established 2 months 23 hours from now
- Script writer and future Texan born in Chicago 1 week ago
80th Anniversary
- Medal of Honor recipient's plane shot down 3 weeks ago
- U.S. Supreme Court dooms white primary 5 days from now
70th Anniversary
- A jolly good barbecue 3 weeks ago
60th Anniversary
- Construction begins at Toledo Bend Reservoir 1 month 1 week from now
- Ruby found guilty 2 weeks ago
55th Anniversary
- Houston surgeon implants first artificial heart 6 days from now
- Famous horse wins at Aqueduct on the eve of his trainer's death 4 days from now
- Last passenger train leaves Dallas terminal 2 months 2 days from now
45th Anniversary
- Dallas designates Federal Reserve Bank a historic landmark 1 month 1 week from now
- Orange Show opens to the public 1 month 1 week from now
40th Anniversary
- Landmark public education suit filed 1 month 3 weeks from now
- Legendary jazz pianist dies 3 weeks from now