-
Period: to
living in the 20th century
The events that happened in the 1900s to the beginning of the 2000s -
The "Great Hurricane"
A hurricane devastates Galveston as the first disaster of the year. It destroys much of the city and kills over 6,000 people. -
Oil found
Oil found by mining engineer Capt. A.F. Lucas at Spindletop near Beaumont catapults Texas into the petroleum age. -
Voting
Poll tax becomes requirement for voting. -
Mexican civil war begins
The Mexican civil war begins and goes into Texas by accident. -
Period: to
Mexican civil war
Mexican civil war spills across the border, as refugees seek safety, combatants seek each other, and Texas settlements are raided for supplies by all sides in the fighting. Pancho Villa and his followers are active along the border during some of this time. -
Period: to
World War I
-
Women win right
Texas women win the right to vote in primary elections.
Annie Webb Blanton becomes the first woman elected to a statewide office when she is elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction. -
Mexican civil war ends
-
Agriculture
Large-scale agricultural irrigation begins in the High Plains. -
Period: to
Democrat convention
The Democratic National Convention is held in Houston, the first nominating convention held in a Southern city since 1860. -
Drilling
The Daisy Bradford #3 well, drilled near Turnertown in Rusk County by wildcatter C.M. (Dad) Joiner, blows in, heralding the discovery of the huge East Texas Oil Field. -
Massive EXPLOSION
A massive explosion, blamed on a natural-gas leak beneath the London Consolidated School building in Rusk County, kills an estimated 296 students and teachers. Subsequent deaths of people injured in the explosion bring the death count to 311. As a result, the Texas legislature requires that a malodorant be added to the odorless gas so that leaks can be more easily detected. -
Period: to
World War II
-
Race riot
A race riot in Beaumont leads to a declaration of martial law. -
French camp explodes
The French-owned SS Grandcamp, carrying ammonium nitrate, explodes in the Texas City harbor, followed the next morning by the explosion of the SS High Flyer. The disaster kills almost 600 and injures at least 4,000 more. The concussion is felt 75 miles away in Port Arthur, and the force creates a 15-foot tidal wave -
Senate race results
Lyndon B. Johnson beats Coke Stevenson in the US Senate race by 87 votes. The winning margin in the disputed primary is registered in Ballot Box No. 13 in Jim Wells County. -
Terrible tornado
• May 11 - A tornado kills 114, injures 597 at Waco; 150 homes and 185 other buildings are destroyed. -
Integrated circuit
Integrated circuit, developed by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments, Dallas, is successfully tested, ushering in the semiconductor and electronics age. -
NASA opens in houston
NASA opens the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. The center moves to a new campus-like building complex in 1964. It is renamed Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center on Aug. 17, 1973. -
President assassinated
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas; vice president Lyndon B. Johnson succeeds to the office, becoming the 36th US president. -
Poll tax abolished
Poll tax is abolished by the 24th Amendment to the US Constitution as a requirement for voting for federal offices. It is retained in Texas, however, for state and local offices. -
Terrorist
Charles Whitman kills 17 people, shooting them from the observation deck of the main-building tower on The University of Texas campus in Austin. -
Moon landing
Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong transmits the first words from the surface of the moon: "Houston, the Eagle has landed." -
New constitution
Constitutional Convention meets to attempt to write a new state constitution. However, the delegates, comprising the membership of the 63rd Legislature, become mired in divisive politics, and the convention adjourns on July 30, 1974, without a document. -
Federal Home Loan Bank Board suspends deposit insurance for Texas
The Federal Home Loan Bank Board suspends deposit insurance for Texas savings-and-loan companies applying for state charters. Three years later, after uncovering widespread insider abuse at Texas lending institutions, federal regulators announce bail-out plans for many Texas thrifts and begin prosecution of S&L officials -
new president
Former Texas Gov. George W. Bush elected President of the United States.
