1. On February 26, 1869, the Texas legislature approved a bill establishing Prairie View A&M University, the first state-supported college for African Americans in Texas.

2. In 1901, the Spindletop oil field was discovered near Beaumont, Texas, on February 26. This event marked the beginning of the Texas oil boom and transformed the state into one of the leading oil-producing regions in the world.

3. On February 26, 1952, author and playwright Tennessee Williams premiered his landmark play "The Rose Tattoo" at the Shubert Theatre in New York City. The play tells the story of a widow who falls in love with a truck driver, and it won several Tony Awards, including Best Play.

4. In 1962, astronaut and Texas native John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, piloting the Mercury-Atlas 6 spacecraft on February 26. Glenn later served as a US senator from Ohio and returned to space in 1998 at the age of 77.

5. On February 26, 1976, Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe signed a law allowing women to serve on juries in the state. Texas was the last state in the US to grant women this right, and the law was a major victory for the women's rights movement in the state.