This Day In Texas History - June 17

[joe817]

1797 - Philip Nolan received a third passport to enter Spanish Texas from the governor of Louisiana, Louis Héctor, Baron de Carondelet. His first expedition in 1791 saw his possessions confiscated, and Nolan of necessity, forced to live with the Indians for two years. Nolan eventually got permission from the Spanish Governor in San Antonio to round up wild mustangs in Texas and secure them for the Louisiana Militia.

1836 - A mounted ranger company with the Texas revolutionary army captured the two Mexican ships Comanche and Fanny Butler. The company had captured the Watchman on June 3.

1851 - Capt. J. V. Bamford of companies F and H of the Eighth Infantry assumed command, relieving Maj. Ripley A. Arnold of his duties at Camp Worth(now known as Fort Worth).

1872 - Manuel Garcia was born. He became the first Mexican American to graduate from the University of Texas in 1894.

1881 - The Abilene Reporter-News began as a weekly newspaper called the Abilene Reporter. The paper was founded by Charles Edwin Gilbert from Navasota, Texas, and printed at the Abilene Steam Printing House.

1897 - The first official annual meeting of the Texas State Historical Association was held in Austin.

1899 - Rain began falling on the Brazos River watershed, the beginning of the disastrous Brazos Flood. Over the next eleven days, a total of 8.9 inches fell on more than 66,000 square miles, causing the Brazos to overflow its banks and inundate 12,000 square miles. The known dead number 284, and thousands of others were left homeless. The highest recorded stage was at Hearne, where the water rose above the flood gauges.

1929 - On this date in 1929, Delta Air Service began its first airline service, traveling from Dallas, Texas to Jackson, Mississippi. The plane traveled 427 miles in roughly 5 hours and made two stops in Monroe and Shreveport, Louisiana. The price of a trip ticket cost $90. The aircraft was designed by Travel Air and had a single engine. The length of the plane was 31 feet and its wingspan 49 feet.The plane was designed to carry four passengers and two pilots and could hold 150 pounds of baggage.

1932 - A grand jury met in Kaufman and no-billed Bonnie Parker, thus securing her release. Within a few weeks she connected with Clyde. Once again, they were on the run. In March 1932 Bonnie was captured in a failed robbery attempt and jailed in Kaufman, Texas.

1937 - The Kilgore Oil Field is discovered.

1965 - The Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation opened a sound and light show entitled "Thundering Sounds of the West" in an outdoor amphitheater in Palo Duro Canyon. The foundation was organized in 1961, with Margaret P. Harper as president, to increase tourism to Palo Duro Canyon State Scenic Park through the presentation of a historical drama. "Thundering Sounds of the West" ran until September 6, 1965, and attracted 36,000 visitors. Its success led to the first annual staging of the musical drama Texas the following year.

1967 - The tower at the University of Texas at Austin was reopened just 10 months after ex-eagle scout Charles Whitman went on a shooting rampage, killing 14 and wounding another 31 from the observation deck atop the tower.

2008 - Movie star and dancer Cyd Charisse died of an apparent heart attack at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She appear in dozens of movies, most notably Singing in the Rain, and Brigadoon. Cyd was born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo Texas in 1932. As a child, her brother had difficulty pronouncing "Sis" and it came out "Sid". At MGM, she insisted on keeping Sid, but producers thought spelling it Cyd would add an aire of mystery to her name.