1. On March 10, 1836, William Barret Travis, commander of the Texan forces at the Alamo, wrote his famous letter “To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World,” calling for reinforcements to defend against the Mexican army. The letter ends with the now famous phrase, “I shall never surrender or retreat.”

2. On March 10, 1861, Texas officially seceded from the United States and joined the Confederacy, becoming the seventh state to do so. This decision eventually led to Texas being readmitted to the Union after the Civil War.

3. On March 10, 1876, the first-ever successful practical demonstration of the telephone in Texas was made by Alexander Graham Bell. The call was made between his laboratory in Boston and the office of his assistant, Thomas Watson, in San Antonio.

4. On March 10, 1920, the Texas Railroad Commission was established, which had the power to regulate oil prices and production. This move was crucial to the growth of the Texas oil industry, which became a major economic force in the state.

5. On March 10, 1997, Houston-based Enron Corporation announced its purchase of Portland General Electric for $3.1 billion. This acquisition was a key part of Enron’s diversification strategy and helped propel it to become one of the largest companies in the world, before it collapsed in scandal in 2001.