On April 14th throughout Texas history, several significant events took place. In 1689, Alonso De León discovered and named the Guadalupe River near the future site of Victoria. De León, the Spanish governor of Coahuila, played a crucial role in the exploration and naming of this important river.
David Gouverneur Burnet, the interim President of Texas and the second Vice President of the Republic of Texas, was born on this day in 1788 in Newark, NJ. His contributions to the Republic of Texas are remembered and honored to this day.
In 1933, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the first state museum in Texas, opened in Canyon. This museum, founded in 1921, has been a valuable resource for preserving and sharing the history of the region.
In 1935, a polar air mass swept through the Texas Panhandle, causing a massive wall of dirt to rise as high as 7,000 feet. This event was a testament to the power and unpredictability of nature.
In 1984, the Texas Board of Education mandated that the state’s public school textbooks describe the evolution of human beings as a “theory rather than fact.” This decision sparked debates and controversy among educators and the public.