Polish Texan History Timeline

This time line lists some of the important events in Polish, Texan and American history that had an influence on the Polish Texans. This timeline can also be viewed as it relates to a specific person or persons in our genealogy database by clicking on the timeline button on the persons main page. An example of this can be seen here.

• 966 – Poland adopts Christianity
• 1364 – The first Polish university is founded in Kraków.
• 1493 – The first national parliament of Poland is established.
• 1608 – Polish glass blowers come to work in Jamestown.
• 1683 – Polish forces lead by their king Jan III Sobieski win the Battle of Vienna and break the power of Turkey.
• 1772 – The first partition of Poland – Prussia, Austria and Russia annexed one-quarter of Poland's territory.
• 1776 – Tadeusz Kosciuszko a 30 year old military engineer wins a decisive victory for the American Revolution over the British in the battle of the Saratogo.{sidebar id=9}
• 1779 – Casimir Pulaski, a brigadier general in George Washington's Continental Army, dies in the battle at Savannah.
• 1791 – Polish parliament votes Constitution.
• 1793  – Prussia and Russia seize additional territory in western and eastern Poland.
• 1795  – The third partition of Poland by Prussia, Austria and Russia.
• 1818 – Polish veterans who had served under Napoleon sail up the Trinity River and found the military camp of Champ d'Asileqv north of Galveston, near what is now Liberty, Texas.
• 2 Mar 1836 – The Texas Declaration of Independence is adopted at Washington-on-the-Brazos.
• 22 Oct: 1836 – Sam Houston is inaugurated president of the republic.
• 29 Dec1845 – Texas enters the union as the 28th state.
• 1846 – Polish uprising in Austrian partition of Poland fails.
• 1850 – Texas's first railroad, the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado, is chartered.
• 1854 – One hundred Polish families arrive in Galveston, an event marking the start of major Polish immigration to Texas. The first organized settlement of Polish immigrants in America is founded at Panna Maria in Karnes County, Texas.
• 12 Apr 1861 -: The United States Civil War begins.
• 1 Jan 1863 – The Confederates win the Battle of Galveston.
• 1863 – Unsuccessful Polish rebellion against Russia.
• 14 Apr1865 – Abraham Lincoln is assassinated.
• May 1865: – The Civil War ends.
• 19 Jun1865 – Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrives in Galveston with word that slavery has been abolished.
• 18 Dec1865 – The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified; slavery is abolished.
• 19 Sep 1866 – Texas cotton planters meet and organize the Waverly Emigration Society.
• 23 Apr 1867 – Meyer Levy and twenty-nine Polish families arrive in Galveston and head to New Waverly, Texas.
• 1875 – Joseph Bartula becomes the first Polish immigrant to settle in Bremond, Texas.
• 4 Oct 1876 – Texas A&M opens with 40 students and a faculty of six men.
• 14 Feb 1895 – A rare Gulf Coast snowstorm dumps up to 20 inches of snow on the Houston-Galveston area.
• 20 Jun 1899 – A severe flood on the Brazos River in Texas kills nearly 300.
• 8 Sep 1900 – The Great Galveston Storm destroys half the city and kills thousands.
• 1909 – Stefan Nesterowicz visits the major Polish communities in Texas.
• 1914 – World War I begins.
• 28 Feb 1918 – Texas ratifies the Prohibition Amendment.
• 7 Oct: 1918 – Poland declares independence.
• 11 Nov 1918 -: World War I ends.
• 18 May 1920 – Karol Jozef Wojtyla, later to become Pope John Paul II, is born in Wadowice, Poland.
• 29 Oct 1929 – "Black Tuesday". The stock market crashes and America is plunged into the Great Depression.
• 1930 – Unsuccessful Polish rebellion against Russia.
• 1939 – Germany and the Soviet Union invade and partition Poland.
• 7 Dec 1941 – The bombing of Pearl Harbor plunges the U.S. into World War II.
• 8 May 1945 – V.E. Day, World War II is over in Europe. Poland became a Soviet-dependent country with a Communist government.
• 25 Jan 1948 – The first edition of the Polish American Journal printed entirely in the English language.
• 10 Sep 1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes the upper Texas coast.
• 22 Nov 1963 – President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas.
• 20 Jul 1969 – Apollo II lands on the moon.
• 16 Oct 1978 – Karol Wojtyla is elected as the 264th pope of the Catholic Church, the first Polish pope ever.
• 2 June 1979 – John Paul II visits Poland for the first time as pope.
• 14 Aug 1980 – Polish workers, led by Lech Walesa, begin a 17-day strike at the Lenin Shipyards in Gdansk, resulting in the creation of the Solidarity labor movement.
• 1982 – Polish Genealogical Society of Texas is founded.
• 18 Aug 1983 – Alicia, the most expensive hurricane in U.S. history, hits Galveston and Houston.
• Sep 1987 – Polish descendants from Panna Maria, Texas greet Pope John Paul II during his visit to San Antonio.
• 1989 – Poland became a fully independent country.
• 22 Dec 1990 – Lech Walesa takes the oath of office as Poland's first popularly elected president.
• 2004 – Poland became a part of the European Union.
• 2 April 2005 – Pope John Paul II dies at 84.