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Prohibition
"Wets" and "Drys"— those opposed to and for prohibition, respectively— battled over the issue in the Texas legislature for decades. Prohibition gained momentum nationally, in part due to the efforts of Senator Morris Sheppard of Texas. Texas approved the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1919. But by the mid-1920s, Prohibition had become unpopular as anti-prohibitionists took control of the Texas legislature. Prohibition was ended in 1933. -
First Woman Governor
Ma Ferguson was the first woman elected to be governor in Texas after the impeachment of her husband. -
Black Voting
U.S. Supreme Court rules blacks could not be barred from voting in the Texas Democratic primary. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the first Texas-born President of the United States. -
NASA Opening
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. -
Kennedy Assassination
On November 21, 1963, President John F. Kennedy flew to Texas to attend several events across the state. On November 22, he flew to Dallas to speak at a luncheon. En route from the airport, Kennedy rode in an open car motorcade through downtown Dallas, along with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally and Texas First Lady Nellie Connally,. As they entered Dealey Plaza on Elm Street, shots rang out. Both Kennedy and Connally were struck. -
First Black Woman Senate
Barbara Jordan of Houston becomes the first black woman elected to the state Senate. -
"Houston, the Eagle has landed."
Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong transmits the first words from the surface of the moon: "Houston, the Eagle has landed." -
George H.W Bush
George H.W. Bush moved to Texas in the 1940s. In 1966, Bush was elected to Congress from Texas's 7th district in Harris County. From there he moved on to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and vice-president of the United States under Ronald Reagan. Bush was elected to the presidency in 1988. -
First Woman Senator from Texas
Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison becomes the first woman to serve as U.S. Senator from Texas.
