This Day in Texas History: Pirate Resigns as Ruler of Galveston Island July 31, 1817 On this day in 1817, pirate Louis Michel Aury resigned his Mexican commission to rule Galveston Island. Aury, born in Paris about 1788, served in the French navy and on French privateers from 1802 or 1803 until 1810, when he…
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This Day in Texas History: City of Nocona Incorporates July 30, 1891 On this day in 1891, the residents of Nocona voted to incorporate. Nocona is on U.S. Highway 82 twelve miles north of Montague in north central Montague County. Settlement there began in the 1870s, when William Broaddus and D. C. Jordan moved 15,000…
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This Day in Texas History: Eisenhower Signs Bill Creating NASA July 29, 1958 On this day in 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, born in Denison, Texas, signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The national commitment to a broad program of space exploration, including manned space…
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This Day in Texas History: Civil Rights Activist Denied Vote in Harris County July 27, 1940 On this day in 1940, civil-rights activist Lonnie E. Smith attempted to vote in the Democratic primary in Harris County. Smith, an African-American dentist born in Yoakum in 1901, was denied a ballot under the white primary rules of…
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This Day in Texas History: Sweethearts of the Cattle Trail Marry July 26, 1870 On this day in 1870, rancher Charles Goodnight married his sweetheart Mary Ann (Molly) Dyer. The two first met at Fort Belknap about 1864. Goodnight, a veteran cattleman, helped blaze the Goodnight-Loving Trail in 1866. His wife Molly, orphaned in the…
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This Day in Texas History: Galveston’s Ashton Villa Restored July 25, 1974 On this day in 1974, the restored Ashton Villa, one of the first brick structures in Texas, was opened to the public. The historic Galveston home was built in 1859 by James Moreau Brown, who by the late 1850s had developed the largest…
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This Day in Texas History: Town of Kyle Established July 24, 1880 On this day in 1880, the town of Kyle was established when David E. Moore and Fergus Kyle (for whom the town was named) deeded 200 acres for a townsite to the International-Great Northern Railroad. Kyle is on Interstate Highway 35 eight miles…
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This Day in Texas History: Future Film Actress Born in Houston July 23, 1895 On this day in 1895, Florence Arto was born in Houston. She appeared in Texas filmmaker King Vidor’s first two-reel film, In Tow, as well as in a documentary on the sugar industry. In 1915 she and Vidor were married and…
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