Cold War Security – Today In Southern History

Jul 26, 2026

26 July 1947

1861 – Confederate forces captured Fort Fillmore at Mesilla, New Mexico Territory.
1863 – Tennessee Governor, general, and first Republic of Texas President, Sam Houston died at Huntsville, Texas.
1864 – The Battle of Ezra Church, Georgia.
1896 – Vitascope Hall, the first permanent commercial movie theater, opened in New Orleans
1938 – The soap opera “Young Widder Brown” set in Simpsonville, WV was debuted on NBC radio. It ran until 1956.
1943 – Temperatures reached 120°F in Tishmoningo, OK, setting a state record
1948 – President Harry Truman issued Executive Order No. 9981 to desegregate the US armed forces
1952 – Mickey Mantle 1957 of Spavinaw, OK hit his first grand slam for the New York Yankees
1953 – Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle ordered an anti-polygamy raid on the fundamentalist Mormon residents of Short Creek, AZ
1957 Mickey Mantle of Sapvinaw, OK hit his 200th career home run
1971 – Apollo 15 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1972 – Priscilla and Elvis Presley filed for legal separation
1978 – Johnny Bench of Oklahoma City hit his 300th MLB career home run
1979 – 43 inches of rain fell in Alvin, TX, setting a national record
1991 – Paul Reubens better known as Pee Wee Herman was arrested for “public obscenity” in a Florida theater