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When Mirabeau B. Lamar, vice president of the
Republic of Texas, first visited what is now Austin in 1838, he
found a few settlers living near the banks of the Colorado River
in a village called Waterloo.
Construction of the first government buildings
began in May 1839. Edwin Waller was chosen to design plans for
the city and was elected the first mayor.
In 1839, the city boasted one dirt boulevard,
the Avenue, now known as Congress Avenue. In 1845, Texas was
annexed by the United States, and Austin became the state
capital.
It is now the center of a metropolitan area of
more than 1 million people and a center of government, commerce,
education, high technology and an eclectic music and arts
community.
1839--The Congress of the Republic of
Texas selects Waterloo as capital of the republic. It is renamed
Austin after Stephen F. Austin. Government offices open in
October; Congress convenes in November.
1883--The University of Texas opens,
and its 221 students attend class in the temporary Capitol until
the Old Main building is completed.
1888--The current Capitol opens at 11th
Street and Congress Avenue.
1915--Billions of crickets converge on
Austin, so many that several wagonloads of the critters have to
be hauled away each day.
1937--Buchanan Dam is completed,
opening the first of the Highland Lakes on the Colorado River
northwest of Austin. The 307-foot University of Texas Tower
lights up for the first time.
1942--The first plane lands at Del
Valle Army Air Base, later renamed Bergstrom Army Airfield after
the first Austin man killed in World War II.
1966--On Aug. 1, Charles Whitman kills
his wife and his mother before opening fire from the University
of Texas Tower, killing 14 people and wounding 31.
1973--The Austin American-Statesman
begins daily publication.
1981--Water rushing down Austin-area
creeks is responsible for 13 deaths and $35 million in damages.
In Shoal Creek, normal flow is 90 gallons per minute, but a
post-flood study shows that at the peak of the storm, the flow
was 6.55 million gallons per minute.
1984--Michael Dell starts his personal
computer company, which eventually becomes the largest
Austin-based company.
1985--The South by South-west Music and
Media Conference meets for the first time. It has grown into the
nation's largest showcase of popular music.
1989--Treaty Oak, the last surviving
member of a 500-year-old group of trees known as the Council
Oaks, is poisoned with Velpar, a poison specifically designed to
kill hardwood trees.
1995--The state Capitol is rededicated
after a six-year, $187 million restoration and expansion
project. The metropolitan-area population passes 1 million. The
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the University of
Texas Law School's minority admission program is
unconstitutional.
1999--Austin-Bergstrom International
Airport opens to the public in May. Lance Armstrong wins the
Tour de France in July. He repeats in 2000 and 2001.
2001--The Bob Bullock History Museum is
opened with President George W. Bush presiding over the
ceremonies.
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