Lawrence Sullivan Ross (1838–1898) was the 19th Governor of Texas, a
Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and a
president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. As a
teenager, Ross attended Baylor University and Florence Wesleyan
University. After graduation Ross became a Texas Ranger, and in 1860
led troops in the Battle of Pease River, where he rescued Cynthia Ann
Parker, who had been captured by the Comanches as a child. When Texas
joined the Confederacy, Ross joined the Confederate States Army. He
participated in 135 battles and skirmishes and became one of the
youngest Confederate generals. Following the Civil War, Ross briefly
served as sheriff of McLennan County before resigning to participate in
the 1875 Texas Constitutional Convention. With the exception of a
two-year term as a state senator, Ross spent the next decade focused on
his farm and ranch concerns. In 1887, he became the 19th governor of
Texas. During his two terms, he oversaw the dedication of the new Texas
State Capitol, resolved the Jaybird-Woodpecker War, and became the only
Texas governor to call a special session to deal with a treasury
surplus. Days after leaving office, Ross became president of the
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. After his death, the
Texas legislature created Sul Ross State University in his honor.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Sullivan_Ross>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1455:
Forces led by Richard, Duke of York and Richard, Earl of Warwick
captured Lancastrian King Henry VI of England, beginning the Wars of
the Roses with a Yorkist victory in the First Battle of St Albans.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_St_Albans>
1809:
War of the Fifth Coalition: Austrian forces under Archduke Charles
prevented Napoleon I and his French troops from crossing the Danube
near Vienna at the Battle of Aspern-Essling.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aspern-Essling>
1826:
HMS Beagle departed on its first voyage from Plymouth for a
hydrographic survey of the Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego regions of
South America.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Beagle>
1960:
The Great Chilean Earthquake, measuring 9.5 Mw, devastated Valdivia,
Chile, and generated destructive tsunamis that reached Hawaii the
following day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake>
1964:
During a speech at the University of Michigan, U.S. President Lyndon B.
Johnson presented the goals of his Great Society domestic social
reforms to eliminate poverty and racial injustice.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Society>
1980:
Pac-Man, an arcade game that became virtually synonymous with video
games and an icon of 1980s popular culture, made its debut in Japan.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
esoteric (adj):
1. Understood only by a chosen few or an enlightened inner circle.
2. Having to do with concepts that are highly theoretical and without
obvious practical application.
3. Confidential; private
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/esoteric>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly
recognizes genius.
--Arthur Conan Doyle
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle>
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