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1836 - John Kirby Allen and his brother, Augustus Chapman Allen purchased more than 6,600 acres of land around Buffalo Bayou and founded the city of Houston. The Allen brothers bought the land from John Austin which lay along Buffalo Bayou not far from Harrisburg. Upon investigation they found that the bayou contained sufficient water for navigation and that the site was beautiful, so they decided to establish a town and name it for Sam Houston.

1837 - On this day in 1837, an important figure of early Texas, known only as Joe, apparently made good his escape from slavery. He was a slave of William B. Travis and one of the few survivors of the battle of the Alamo. Joe was born about 1813. He claimed that as the famous battle began he armed himself and followed Travis into the fray. After the battle the Mexican troops searched the buildings and called for any blacks to reveal themselves.

Joe responded and was struck by a pistol shot and bayonet thrust before a Mexican captain intervened. Joe was taken to Bexar, where he was detained and interrogated by Santa Anna about Texas and its army. He somehow made his way to Sam Houston's camp at Gonzales. He was questioned at Groce's Retreat about the events at the Alamo.

He was then returned to Travis's estate, and on the anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto he and an unidentified Mexican man escaped. A notice offering a fifty-dollar reward for his return was published in the Telegraph and Texas Register for three months and discontinued on August 26, 1837. Joe was last reported in Austin in August 1875. [ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fjo01 ]

1837 - Disturbed by the appearance of Mexican cruisers patrolling Gulf Coast waters during the latter part of 1835 and the beginning of 1836, the provisional government of Texas was compelled to procure vessels to combat the superior Mexican ships. The Invincible was one of those vessels, purchased by Texas special agents Thomas F. McKinney and Samuel May Williams. The Invincible was a 125-ton schooner built in Baltimore, Maryland. By using his brother's credit and contacts Williams obtained the ship, which was intended for the African slave trade.

McKinney and Williams sold the vessel to the Texas government after it was fitted out in New Orleans by William Bryan, Texas general agent, Thomas Green, a Texas supporter, and Edward Hall, On August 26, 1837, the Invincible escorted the Brutus into Galveston harbor. The Brutus had a Mexican prize vessel, Abispa, in tow. The Invincible anchored overnight outside the harbor. The next day she was assailed by two Mexican cruisers, Vencedor del Alamo and Libertador, which apparently were pursuing the Texas naval vessels.

The Brutus attempted to assist the Invincible but ran aground. The Invincible, therefore, was left alone to engage the Mexican cruisers. After a prolonged engagement, the Invincible attempted to flee from the battle, but ran aground and sank. The wreck may have been found in 1995.
[ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qti02 ]

1842 – In a treaty, Caddo Indians agreed to persuade other tribes to join in councils with Texas commissioners. Their efforts led to a peace treaty among nine tribes in 1843.

1849 - On this day in 1849, Thomas Short ostensibly admitted his role in a cattle theft operation in a confession printed in the Texas State Gazette. His confession was surprisingly imaginative and vivid given the fact that he was only sixteen at the time. The Short family, headed by patriarch John Short (1790-1847), had settled near La Grange in Fayette County, where they engaged in agriculture, milling, speculation, trading, and controversy.

They supported an underground railroad for runaway slaves. By repeatedly reselling the slaves at intervals along the way north and thereafter assisting with their escapes, they profited from their altruism. A similar cattle theft operation and counterfeiting ring with principals in five states, according to the Huntsville Texas Banner, resulted in the public hanging of John's son William Short and the incarceration of John's son-in-law William Greenbury Sansom as the first inmate of the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. Other members of the family were implicated but not tried and convicted; young Thomas had been one of these, and was acquitted because of his youth after his confession appeared in print.

1880 - The last spike was driven to complete the Louisiana Western Extension Railroad. The spike connected New Orleans and Houston by train.
[ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eql09 ]

1886 - The second organization of black medical professionals in the nation was formed in Galveston. Doctors J. H. and L. M. Wilkins, pharmacist J. S. Cameron, and twelve other men established the Lone Star State Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Association. The group formed its own organization after the Texas Medical Association had refused them admission.

1917 - The Ninetieth Division of the U.S. Army was activated at Camp Travis, Texas. It was initially composed of members from Texas and Oklahoma. It became known as the "Tough Ombres," "Texas' Own," or the Alamo Division. It adopted the monogram insignia T-O in France during World War I. The division set up headquarters in France in 1918 and saw action in Lorraine and in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne operations.

After the Armistice the Ninetieth did occupation duty in Germany and came home in 1919 for demobilization. The division was reactivated at Camp Barkeley, Texas, in 1942. It fought on D-Day and in subsequent campaigns in Normandy, southern France, the Ardennes, the Rhineland, and Central Europe. Of its men in World War II, 2,963 were killed, 143,009 wounded, 1,052 missing, and 442 captured.

1949 The French Legation in Austin was placed in the custody of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. The legation was built in 1840 for the French diplomatic mission to the Republic of Texas. The Daughters researched the legation with the help of historians and architects, and the restored structure was opened to the public on April 15, 1956.

1980 - On this date in 1980, famed cartoonist Tex Avery died of lung cancer. At Warner Brothers, Tex is credited with creating Daffy Duck, and developing Bugs Bunny into a wacky character. It was Tex who added the googly eyes to wolves, curves to the women, and droop to Droopy the dog. Tex was 72.

1987 - The Fuller Brush Company announced plans to open two retail stores in Dallas, TX. The company that had sold its products door to door for 81 years.