1. On July 31, 1834, the Battle of Gonzales occurred, which is considered the first battle of the Texas Revolution. The battle was fought between Texian settlers and Mexican soldiers and marked the beginning of the conflict that ultimately led to Texas independence.

2. On July 31, 1875, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was involved in a notorious gunfight in Abilene, Texas. Hickok, a legendary figure in the Wild West, had been appointed the town's marshal but quickly found himself at odds with local cowboys who resented his strict law enforcement.

3. On July 31, 1897, the Texas State Capitol building was dedicated in Austin. At the time, it was the seventh largest building in the world and remains an iconic symbol of Texas to this day.

4. On July 31, 1970, Janis Joplin performed her last concert in Houston. The singer, who grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, died of a drug overdose just a few months later, leaving her mark on the music world as a trailblazer of the blues-rock genre.

5. On July 31, 1987, Southwest Airlines flight 189 crashed at Dallas's Love Field airport, killing 13 people and injuring dozens more. The accident was caused by a microburst of wind that caught the Boeing 737 during a landing approach, leading to changes in flight training and technology to prevent similar incidents in the future.