1. In 1835, a skirmish occurred between Texas settlers and Mexican soldiers near the town of Gonzales, marking the beginning of the Texas Revolution.

2. In 1880, the town of Amarillo was founded in the Texas Panhandle. Today, it is the 14th largest city in the state.

3. In 1936, jazz musician and bandleader Lionel Hampton performed at the Cotton Club in Austin, Texas.

4. In 1996, a fire broke out in the Big Thicket National Preserve, which spans over 100,000 acres in East Texas. The fire burned for several weeks and destroyed thousands of acres of forest.

5. In 2016, the University of Texas at Austin announced that it would be opening a new medical school in the city. The Dell Medical School opened in 2016 and has since become one of the leading medical schools in the country.