TEXAS
State Information
Nickname(s): The Lone Star State
Motto(s): Agriculture and Commerce
State song(s): Texas Our Texas
Capital Austin
Largest City Houston
Admitted to US 12/29/1845 28th State
Brief History of Texas
In a treaty signed with Mexico, the Republic of Texas was conveyed to the US upon payment of $18 million.
Here are a few interesting facts about Texas:
The Astrodome was the first domed stadium in the world.
Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco.
Texas is the largest producer of oil, cattle, sheep, cotton, and wool in the Nation.
The first word spoken on the moon was “Houston.”
There were two Presidents from Texas: Eisenhower and Johnson.
Michael Dell of Dell Computers first sold computers out of his dorm room.
Carl Deckard invented 3-D printing.
Jack Kilby invented the first integrated circuit.
Texas has the lowest gasoline price in the Nation.
There are many famous people from Texas, including Gene Autry (actor), Roy Orbison (singer), Johnny Mathis (singer), Kenny Rogers (singer), Audie Murphy (actor & most decorated US soldier in WWII), David Texas Hill (aviator and Flying Tiger ace), and many others.
Interesting Stories
George Lawson Keene was born in Crockett, Houston County, Texas. He enlisted in the Army at age 19 and was sent to France. Due to the various battles, officers had a short life span. Many enlisted men were given field promotions. Corporal Keene was one such man with no previous command or leadership experience. On his first day after being promoted, he organized and successfully led a group of soldiers against an enemy stronghold, personally capturing an officer with maps of enemy positions. He commanded a company in a wave attack on day two and rescued a wounded battalion commander. He took out six machine guns and captured 40 more prisoners. This heroism continued, and remarkably he survived, although he was wounded several times. He was considered one of the most decorated soldiers in WWI. He proves that field promotions work and on-the-job training is more valuable than reading a textbook.
Doris “Dorie” Miller was born on October 12, 1919, in Waco, Texas. Doris went by “Dorie,” but being a big guy, no one teased him. He enlisted in the Navy and was a cook on board the USS West Virginia. At 7:57 a.m. on December 7, 1941, he was collecting laundry when the first of nine torpedoes hit his ship. He jumped behind a .50-caliber anti-aircraft machine gun and began taking out Japanese fighters. Admiral Nimitz personally pinned the Navy Cross on Dorie’s chest. It just shows that you should never judge a person by their status. Even humble ranks turn out great men.
E Donnall Thomas was born in Mart, TX. He was a physician studying blood cells and bone marrow. Patients, particularly children, who develop leukemia usually die unless they can obtain a bone marrow transplant. At that time, such transplants required identical twins. However, Dr. Thomas discovered a way to transplant bone marrow from non-identical donors. This revolutionary breakthrough earned him the Nobel Prize. Today, survival rates in most blood cancer cases have gone from zero to almost 90%. Thank you, Dr. Thomas.
Nolan Ryan was born in Refugio, Texas. Nolan broke almost every pitching record on the books. One of his favorite quotes is, “It helps if the hitter thinks you’re a little crazy.” He had dyslexia, a slight lisp, and was shy. But that didn’t hold him back. His fondest memory was going down to the hardware store with his dad when he was 7 and picking out his first baseball glove. Another great moment came when he was 15. He asked a girl named Ruth Holdorff, “Do you think your mom would let you go to a movie?” This took more courage than facing down home-run slugger Barry Bonds. Nolan married that girl several years later; they’ve been married for 52 years.
Sergeant Marcario Garcia was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States with his parents, settling in Sugar Land, Texas. Garcia joined the Army in 1942. While serving, his platoon was pinned down by German machine gun fire. He inched closer to the machine gun emplacements and attacked, killing enemy soldiers with his rifle. He then rejoined his men, and they went on to take out another machine-gun nest. Only after things quieted down he sought help tending to his wounds. He was the first Mexican immigrant to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Marcario became a proud American citizen on June 25, 1947.