Texas History for January

January 1, 1863 - Confederate troops reclaimed Galveston harbor, the most important port in Texas, at the Battle of Galveston.

January 2, 1888 - The Daily-Times Herald published its first issue after the merger of the two Dallas newspapers, the Daily Times and the Daily Herald.
January 3, 1962 - Ground was broken to begin the building of the Astrodome in Houston, the first fully air-conditioned, enclosed, domed, multipurpose sports stadium in the world.
January 4, 1789 - Birthday of Benjamin Lundy, antislavery advocate who planned to create a colony of free blacks in Texas. His plans were interrupted by the Texas Revolution.
January 5, 1829 - Thomas S. Gathright, first president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University), was born in Monroe County, Georgia.
January 6, 1808 - Hero of the Alamo, Albert Martin, was born in Providence Rhode Island. Martin served Texas as one of the “Old Eighteen” defenders of the “Come take it cannon” in Gonzales.
January 7, 1892 - The agreement between The Galveston, La Porte and Houston Railway was chartered to build the two-mile bridge across Galveston Bay.
January 8, 1910 - German born school teacher/inventor Jacob Brodbeck , considered by many to be the first man to fly in an airplane, passed away. Almost 40 years before the Wright brothers, Brodbeck created what he termed an "airship" and attempted flight in Luckenbach on Septmeber 20, 1865. The airship, with a rudder, wings, and a water propeller powered by coiled springs in case of accidental landings on water, featured an enclosed space for the "aeronaut", a compass, and a barometer. Though no official records exist, the airship is said to have managed to lift off from the ground above 12 feet and fly a distance of about 100 feet before the coil came unwound and the ship crashed into a chicken coup injuring the inventor. Brodbeck's other before-their-time inventions: an ice-making machine (in 1869) and a self-winding clock. For more information please fly to www.texaslesstravelled.com.
January 9, 1907- Cordelia Sloan married Robert Duke, a foreman and later general manager of the XIT ranch. She became the first woman game warden in Texas in the 1920s.
January 10, 1929 - María de Hernández helped found the Orden Caballeros de América, an organization to advance civic and political causes for Mexican-Americans and immigrants in San Antonio.
January 11, 1954 - Hernández v. the State of Texas was brought before the Supreme Court, which reversed the murder conviction of Pete Hernández because no Hispanics had served on the jury.
January 12, 1875 - Crockett County was formed, and was named after the Alamo hero David Crockett.
January 13, 1871 - José Antonio Navarro, a leading Mexican participant in the Texas Revolution, and one of three Mexican signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, passed away.
January 14, 1836 - Wiliam McDowell was sworn into the Texas Army. He rode to San Antonio with David Crockett and later died in the battle of the Alamo.
January 15, 1841 - The initial Houston and Austin Turnpike Company was chartered to lay out a road from Austin to Houston.