| Monday, September 5, 2005 |
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Statue of Military Hero Sam Houston |
SpotlightSam Houston became the first president of the Republic of Texas on this date in 1836. Houston lived for a while with the Cherokees, and was a congressman and governor of Tennessee. He went to Texas in 1832, and when Texas declared its independence from Mexico (1836), he was made Major General of its army. He was later a three-term senator of Texas. In 1859 he became governor of the state, but was discharged two years later when he opposed the state's decision to secede from the Union.
Quote""I would give no thought of what the world might say of me, if I could only transmit to posterity the reputation of an honest man." – Samuel Houston
Today in History
- Continental Congress: convened in Philadelphia in response to the British Intolerable Acts (1774)
- Battle of the Marne: 2 million soldiers took part in French repulsion of German advance on Paris in WWI (1914)
- Munich Olympics: Palestinian terrorists of Black September murder 11 Israeli athletes (1972)
Today's Birthdays
- Jesse James: outlaw (1847-1882)
- actors: Raquel Welch (65), Michael Keaton (54)
- Cathy Guisewite: cartoonist, Cathy (55)
Word of the Daybayou: small, slow-moving stream that was once part of a larger river or lake; Houston grew from a muddy town on the Buffalo Bayou, to become Texas' largest city.
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