1. Texas became a state on November 1, 1845. After being an independent republic for nine years, Texas officially joined the United States as the 28th state.

2. In 1911, the first paved highway in Texas opened on November 1, running from San Antonio to Boerne. The road was part of the Bankhead Highway, which was the first transcontinental highway in the country.

3. On November 1, 1936, the University of Texas Longhorns football team played its first game at Memorial Stadium in Austin. The stadium was built as a tribute to students and alumni who died in World War I.

4. In 1946, the Texas City Disaster occurred on November 1, when a ship carrying ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Texas City, killing over 500 people and injuring thousands more. It remains one of the deadliest industrial disasters in U.S. history.

5. On November 1, 1960, the first issue of the Texas Observer was published. The progressive magazine has been covering Texas politics and culture ever since and is still in publication today.