On This Day In

From the clash of college to the best married shooting duo in history, the Lone Star State clears every hurdle the sports world offers. A former Texas Christian basketball player became the first tenured African American professor at Harvard Business School. Aggie football legend John Kimbrough's first professional contract required him to act in movies and serve as the stadium's handyman. For every date on the calendar, Ryan Sprayberry provides a play-by-play of 365 memorable days in the state's athletic history, beginning with the birth of the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 1937, and ending with the final snap of the Ice Bowl on December 31, 1967.

September 4, 2000 was Houston's hottest day on record, as well as Beyoncé's nineteenth birthday. Sam Houston was elected president on September 5, 1836. The city was awarded a National League baseball franchise on October 17, 1960, and on November 1, 2017, the Astros won their first World Series. On December 13, 1882, the Capitol Hotel became Houston's first public building to get electricity. Tragedy struck on April 16, 1947, when a ship carrying ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded alongside a Texas City dock. James Glassman captures every single day of the year in the prism of Houston history, from the Texas Revolution to the moon landing.

South Dakota is quietly nestled in the grasslands and Black Hills, but its history is far less hidden. One day at a time, author Brad Tennant presents intriguing, event-driven anecdotes of state history. On July 17, 1925, the state American Legion passed a resolution to initiate American Legion baseball. On April 29, 1930, Congress passed an act honoring the deceased chiefs of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the valiant men who made the supreme sacrifice in service in World War I. Celebrate an entire year of history in the Mount Rushmore State or enjoy it one day at a time.