Texas' Historical Milestones On This Day May 4th

On May 4, 2023, Texas history was marked by several significant events that took place in the past centuries. Catholic Diocese of Galveston was established on this day in 1847 by Pope Pius IX, and Jean Marie Odin became the first bishop of the new diocese. In 1876, the Houston system of free schools was set up, which assumed control of all the city's public schools through an ordinance.

In 1886, labor organizer Albert Richard Parsons from Texas found himself implicated in the infamous Chicago Haymarket Massacre, where seven police officers and seven members of the crowd were killed. Parsons was among those eventually hanged for their involvement. Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld pardoned the remaining defendants six years later and condemned the previous convictions as a miscarriage of justice.

The year 1953 saw the formation of the Texas Council of Churches in Dallas, bringing together 11 mainline Protestant denominations. In 2010, Laura Bush's hardcover version of "Spoken From the Heart" was published, sharing her personal insights on life as the First Lady. The USS Fort Worth also marked its acceptance trials on Lake Michigan in 2012.

Our Texas Quote for the day comes from Mexican Colonel Pedro Delgado, who noted about the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, that "no important incident took place until 4:30 p.m. At this fatal moment, the bugler on our right signaled the advance of the enemy upon that wing."