1. In 1845, Texas was officially admitted to the United States as the 28th state. This event marked the end of the Republic of Texas and the beginning of Texas' status as a state within the United States.

2. In 1953, the Texas A&M University football team suffered a tragic loss when a plane carrying the team and coaching staff crashed near the city of Wichita Falls, killing all 22 passengers on board. The tragic incident, known as the "Aggie Bonfire Crash," led to the suspension of the university's annual bonfire tradition for several years.

3. In 2008, Hurricane Ike made landfall in Texas, causing widespread destruction and flooding along the Gulf Coast. The storm caused over $30 billion in damages and resulted in the deaths of at least 112 people in Texas and several other states.

4. In 1992, the first episode of the popular television series "Dallas" aired. The show, which portrayed the lives and scandals of a wealthy Texas family, ran for 14 seasons and became a cultural phenomenon in the United States and around the world.

5. In 1962, Dallas businessman Lamar Hunt founded the American Football League (AFL), a rival to the established National Football League (NFL). Hunt's team, the Dallas Texans, won the AFL championship in 1962 and then moved to Kansas City, becoming the Kansas City Chiefs. The AFL merged with the NFL in 1970, and the Chiefs went on to win two Super Bowls as an NFL team in 1970 and 2020.