Washington Wheeler-Dealer Cut His Teeth On Corruption
The nation hardly notice when Bobby Baker, the poster boy for political corruption, got out of prison on June 2, 1972. The nation hardly notice when Bobby Baker, the poster boy for political...
View ArticlePardon-Happy Governor Frees Cop-Killing Folk Hero
When the lukewarm trail of a horse thief led the Karnes County sheriff to the Cortez place on June 12, 1901, retired Texas Ranger Brack Morris and two of his deputies dropped by to ask a few questions....
View ArticleCunning Con Artist Finally Gets His Comeupance
The case against Monroe Edwards, con artist and fugitive from Lone Star justice, went to a New York jury on June 17, 1842. The case against Monroe Edwards, con artist and fugitive from Lone Star...
View ArticleProtestant Colonists Had No Better Friend Than Irish Priest
Catholicism was the state religion of Mexico, and conversion to the official faith was a condition of citizenship for all immigrants. This religious requirement rankled the vast majority of...
View ArticleSam Houston Odd Man Out In Love Triangle
On July 12, 1839, Sam Houston wrote his favorite pen pal, who was young enough to be his daughter, to say how much he missed her and his beloved Texas. The three sides of the best known romantic...
View ArticleTransplanted Texan Fights Duel With U.S. Senator
California Democrats allowed David Smith Terry, chief justice of the state supreme court, to address their convention on July 18, 1859 after he promised to behave himself. Nothing was more important to...
View ArticleDoak Walker Plays His Last Season Of Football
Doak Walker ended the speculation about his future in football by announcing on July 29, 1955 that he had agreed to play one more season with the Detroit Lions. Grantland Rice, dean of American...
View ArticleMexican Bandits Hold ‘River Pilots’ For Ransom
Two “river pilots” on patrol over the international border on Aug. 10, 1919 mistook the Rio Conchos River for the Rio Grande and took a wrong turn deep into the Mexican interior. A chronic burr under...
View ArticleBusinessman’s Novel Twice As Long As ‘Gone With The Wind’
Afraid no editor would take the time to read a two-and-a-half-foot thick manuscript, a wealthy Waco businessman mailed the first 300 pages of his record-breaking novel to an East Coast publishing...
View Article1915 Hurricane Tests Galveston’s New Seawall
There was still no news from Galveston on Aug. 18, 1915 two full days after a hurricane packing 125 mile-per-hour winds slammed into the island. Texans on the mainland, including 7,000 refugees from...
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