1. On August 31, 1842, the Battle of Salado Creek took place near San Antonio. Mexican troops invaded Texas in an attempt to capture San Antonio, but were defeated by Texan forces led by Mathew Caldwell.

2. On August 31, 1861, Confederate troops under General Henry Hopkins Sibley defeated Union forces at the Battle of Mesilla in what is now New Mexico. This victory secured control of the southern portion of the New Mexico Territory for the Confederacy.

3. Aug. 31, 1900, marked the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, the Galveston Hurricane. It was a Category 4 hurricane that devastated the city of Galveston, Texas, killing an estimated 8,000 people and causing millions of dollars in damages.

4. On August 31, 1966, Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the University of Texas Tower in Austin and opened fire, killing 14 people and injuring 32 others before he was killed by police.

5. August 31, 2005, was the day Hurricane Katrina reached the Gulf Coast, impacting Texas and other Gulf Coast states. The storm caused extensive damage and resulted in the deaths of more than 1,800 people.